VLEN seeks clarification from DUI: Does it disavow Gëzim Ostreni?

The VLEN coalition has called on DUI to provide a clear answer following Gëzim Ostreni’s statements about the Ohrid Agreement and Ali Ahmeti’s role, criticizing what it describes as the party’s silence.

According to VLEN, DUI has yet to comment, even though Ostreni’s views on the Ohrid Agreement and the constitutional treatment of the Albanian language were publicly presented at yesterday’s press conference.

The coalition said it was unacceptable for DUI not to respond to statements by one of the key figures of 2001, particularly when they relate directly to the way the Albanian language was incorporated into the Ohrid Agreement.

VLEN believes DUI must answer a direct question: Does Ali Ahmeti disavow Gëzim Ostreni?

The coalition said Ali Ahmeti has consistently used the Ohrid Agreement as an answer for everything he has done, as well as for many things he has failed to accomplish. According to VLEN, this time it is precisely this agreement that has put him in a difficult position and left him without an answer—not because of VLEN’s claims, but because of what Gëzim Ostreni said.

VLEN recalled that Ostreni publicly stated that, during the period when Ali Ahmeti was leading the political process, the Albanian language was not included in the Constitution by name. According to the coalition, he also said that it was only many years later that he realized the constitutional wording was not “the Albanian language,” but the language of a community comprising more than 20 percent of the population.

The coalition emphasized that these claims were not raised by VLEN, but were made by Gëzim Ostreni himself. For this reason, it said, DUI cannot act as though it has not heard or understood them. VLEN demanded that, if Ali Ahmeti disavows Ostreni, he should speak publicly and explain which part of his statement is inaccurate.