Prime Minister Edi Rama’s daily calls for dialogue with protesting students are being met with question marks and objections from the protest representatives themselves. During an interview on the programme ”Koha Jonë-Debat” with Nikoll Lesi, protesting student Irini Myftaraj was asked why the students do not attend the proposed meeting and tell the prime minister directly that he must resign.
“Why don’t you go to the meeting and say: You, Mr. Prime Minister, must resign, saying it LIVE! Because he’ll still be sitting on his chair!”, was Lesi’s question. In her response, Myftaraj shifted the focus to the lack of direct confrontation with the students, using an ironic expression to describe how, in her view, communication with the government is being conducted. “He just brings out the chairs, because he doesn’t sit down to sit, only to receive us. Why don’t you stay there, instead of hiding while you decide the letters, since you want dialogue? Why doesn’t he come out in front of a square?”, the student stated.
The statement comes at a time when Rama has repeatedly called publicly for dialogue, while the students continue to articulate their objections and demands to the government. For the protesters, the issue is not simply the organisation of a meeting, but how it is conducted and whether the prime minister is willing to face them directly.
Lesi: Why don’t you go to the meeting and tell him: You, Mr. Prime Minister, must resign, saying it LIVE! Because he’ll still be sitting on his chair!
Myftaraj: He just brings out the chairs, because he doesn’t sit down to sit, only to receive us. Why don’t you stay there instead of hiding while you decide the letters, since you want dialogue? Why doesn’t he come out in front of a square?