The Interior Minister, Ervin Demo, has announced that 156 citizens were injured in the violence that has engulfed Tirana over the past four days. According to him, among the injured are 97 police officers, 45 protesters and 14 passersby. Demo condemned the involvement of four minors in the incidents, calling on parents not to allow their children to be used in political clashes. The minister stressed that violence serves no one and said it must not hinder Albania’s path toward the European Union.
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Dear citizens, in the wave of violence that swept the capital over the past four days, 156 Albanian citizens have been injured.
97 police officers, who performed their duty and, like all of us, want at the end of the day to live peacefully in our country and return home to their families in the evening.
45 protesters, who likewise have their legitimate aspirations for the present and future of this country, for themselves and their families, along with 14 passersby, who were perhaps on their way to their families or their work.
To all of them, I wish a speedy recovery, and I want to remind you that we have more reasons to come together and work for the good of the country, rather than clash on behalf of someone who seeks to pull the chestnuts out of the fire of political war with the hands of others, blinded by hatred and the flames of division.
The words of a doctor at the Trauma Hospital have stayed with me, who said: “When they come here, everyone is lost; no one has won.” Among the injured there were also 4 minors, and I want to pause here for a moment. I do not believe there is a parent in Albania, regardless of their party affiliation, who rejoices when they see their underage children with stones or other objects in their hands, attacking police officers, breaking the windows of public institutions, destroying traffic lights and signage, and looting and burning private and public property.
Using minors in deeply political acts, and even more so putting their lives at risk for the sake of the struggle for power, is an abomination, one that must not pass unnoticed or unscorned by Albanian society as a whole. I have repeatedly instructed the police forces to show particular care toward them, but I want to make another appeal to the parents. Please, with your hand on your heart, do not allow your children to be used in the struggle for power by those who recognize no limit, neither human nor moral.
Therefore, when we say that violence has nothing to do with students, we are not engaging in rhetoric. We refuse to equate students with those who choose violence. Among the people arrested and prosecuted for violent acts, the number of students is extremely small, and I am convinced that they have no connection whatsoever with the violent political scenario.
There may be many differences and we may divide into many opinions, but there is one fact that no one who respects the truth can deny. This is a disguised attempt by those who want to seize power through violence, and who intend to spare neither minors nor the private businesses of people who have nothing to do with their battle, and who want to halt Albania’s path toward the European Union, moving the country from the negotiating table with the EU back onto the road of the past, from which we have emerged with great effort. I want to assure you that they will not succeed! Albania has already set off toward its destination, and no one and nothing will stop the European development of the country!