As leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha has described the decision to suspend him from parliamentary proceedings for 10 days as unconstitutional, following statements he made in the latest plenary session, which the majority considered incitement to violence. He accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of not tolerating political opposition and said that, in his view, the decision to suspend him is evidence of this mindset.
“This is a suspension in conflict with the fundamental principles of the Constitution of Albania, since a deputy is free to express his statements in parliament”, Berisha declared, describing the decision as an expression of a “executioner’s mindset”. Returning to the statements that triggered the majority’s reaction, the Democratic leader said his position was linked to the violence that, in his view, is being exercised against students taking part in the protest.
Berisha argued that deputies who support the government and its laws bear political responsibility for this situation. “Why did he suspend me? Because I told them that the deputies who vote for Rama and his laws deserve all that violence, terror and torture that his phalanxes are carrying out against peaceful students in their revolt”, he said on ”A2CNN”.
Berisha also defended his description of parliament as a “parliament of crime”, claiming that it includes individuals with criminal records and that the links between politics and crime are more pronounced than ever. “That parliament is one of crime. In that parliament there are bigger criminals than those who are in Albania’s prisons, of the kind of Balla and Rama”, declared the DP leader. He insisted that this statement was not accidental, but a position expressed with full awareness, for which he claims he can present evidence. “I have said it with the fullest awareness, and I can prove to Albanians what kind of criminals these are”, Berisha concluded.