In an interview with the News24 program, former Democratic Party MP Ervin Salianji described the package of criminal measures announced by the government against protesters as a desperate attempt to intimidate students.
He said the measures announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama would not stop the protests that have continued in Albania for two weeks.
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Salianji rejected comparisons between the protests in Albania and those in France and Italy, arguing that the circumstances are entirely different.
According to him, developments in Albania bear greater similarities to the student movement in Serbia, which confronted the government of Aleksandar Vučić.
Speaking about the restrictive measures against protesters, the former Democratic Party MP described the government’s warnings as “teaspoon pressure.”
He stressed that these measures would not deter young people, while the executive’s reactions, in his view, say more about the government’s political condition than about the students.
He also commented on developments in Serbia and the close relationship between Edi Rama and Aleksandar Vučić. Salianji said that even the former Serbian president’s statements show that the Albanian prime minister is facing an increasingly difficult political situation.
Salianji emphasized that the protests in Albania have nothing to do with those in France or Italy, where, according to him, the entire Italian political class supports the state-of-emergency measures. He added that the only point they have in common is people’s participation, while he sees the main similarity in Serbia.
He described the “teaspoon pressure” as measures that might cause temporary irritation but appear childish and do not pose a real threat to young people. According to him, these reactions are desperate and say more about the government than about the students, who will not be intimidated.
Referring to Vučić, he said the Serbian president had been an enemy of Albanians since the time he was close to Milošević, yet had maintained friendly relations with Edi Rama. Salianji recalled that Vučić had described Rama as “Albania’s asset,” while stating that the Albanian prime minister could have responded earlier to the student movement but did not.
According to Salianji, the fact that even Rama’s friends are predicting his downfall shows how difficult the situation is. He added that Edi Rama’s departure as soon as possible would mean fewer costs for the prime minister himself, while Albanians are already facing the costs of this situation.
