Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Party, Belind Këlliçi, speaking on behalf of the Democratic parliamentary group, condemned the violence against students and called for the dissolution of the current Parliament, stressing that the opposition will stand alongside citizens who demand change. He called for Rama to resign immediately and for Parliament to dissolve itself.
The full speech
Today is the tenth day that Albania is experiencing the most powerful student movement in the last 35 years. This is the response of a generation that refuses to accept any longer the misgovernance, arrogance, corruption and capture of the state by the power of Edi Rama.
This movement is not merely a protest against a government. It is a revolt against a model created by Edi Rama, which has stolen hope from young people, undermined citizens’ trust and is pushing Albania further and further away from its European future.
The Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and every opposition MP is and will remain, without any ambiguity, on the side of students, pupils, young people, both young men and young women, and every citizen who rises up for dignity, justice and a better Albania. We strongly condemn the brutal violence of Edi Rama against students, which has culminated in broken legs, bones, serious skull fractures and other very serious injuries. We condemn the reprisals being carried out against young men and women in the streets of the capital. We firmly reject and condemn the blackmail and pressure that the delegitimised prime minister is exerting on the parents of pupils and students, who have destroyed the foundations of a government that has produced a narco-state.
At this moment, our political and civic duty is clear: to be close to the protesters, to support their demands and to listen to the voice of a generation that no longer accepts being treated with contempt by those in power. When students are on the streets, when universities and schools face boycotts and when their demands call for a political response, institutions cannot behave as if nothing is happening. There can be no parliamentary normality in the face of a deep political and social crisis, while the voice of citizens is ignored and their demands remain unanswered.
For us, the message is clear: students in the streets, opposition MPs at their side. There can be no facade of institutional normality when citizens demand change and those in power choose not to listen. The Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, together with its allies, supports the political demands for change and, at this decisive moment, stands in favour of the demands for:
1. The immediate resignation of Edi Rama’s government and the formation of a caretaker government, with the sole mission of preparing and guaranteeing early, free and fair elections.
2. Immediately afterwards, the dissolution of the current Parliament, which cannot claim to normally represent the will of citizens in the face of the crisis of trust and the demand for change.
Albania cannot be held hostage by a power that sees every protest as a threat and every demand for accountability as an attack on itself. Students do not need lectures in arrogance, nor more promises. They deserve answers, responsibility and real change. Today, the responsibility is clear: to hear the voice of citizens and open the way for a political solution that restores democratic legitimacy to the country. The Democratic Party Parliamentary Group will stand alongside citizens who demand change. Because Albania cannot be the property of one man, one government or one power. Albania belongs to its citizens.