The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, has returned to the spotlight over the protest known as the “Flamingos” protest, accusing certain actors of deliberately interfering in its development and trying to divert the cause of the protesters. In a public statement, Berisha claimed that behind what he described as the destruction of the protest there was a political scenario aimed at weakening the Democratic Party and creating an alternative opposition in the interest of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Referring to the group that, according to him, influenced the change in the protest’s direction, the Democratic leader used harsh language, describing it as a “Macbethian” group. According to Berisha, the turning point was the use of the slogan “Rama in prison, Berisha in prison”, through which, he claimed, the protest moved away from its original goal and was steered toward dividing the opposition.
“They grabbed the Flamingo by the throat. They grabbed it by the throat with the sine qua non slogan ‘Rama in prison, Berisha in prison'”, Berisha declared, linking this development to what he described as a project to replace the real opposition. He claimed the scenario aimed to push the Democratic Party toward political weakening and remove it from its opposition role, also referring to a so-called “Serbian scenario” for replacing the opposition.
Berisha considered the protest an extraordinary civic mobilization in which, according to him, young people, intellectuals and citizens from various strata of society played an important role. However, he assessed that the active involvement of the Democratic Party was decisive in not abandoning the protest and in maintaining its connection with citizens.
“We were the largest party among all the parties at that protest,” said the DP leader, adding that the gathering also included representatives of other political forces, including socialists. In conclusion, Berisha defended the Democrats’ decision to join the protest, despite the developments that he claims diverted it. According to him, the non-participation of the Democratic Party would have had consequences for its relationship with citizens.