The student protests and the reported violence during them sparked a debate between the chair of the Culture Committee, Ina Zhupa, and members of the PS. Ina Zhupa, a deputy of the PD, called for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign and for a transitional government to be formed, while the socialists responded by stating that they had taken the students’ cause from them. The deputy chair of the committee, PS deputy Erion Malaj, said the PD had brought an unsuitable group into the protest, adding that they do not want them at the protest either.
“I have been hearing you say for a long time that your end has come, but that your end would come while you are in opposition, in this way, I did not expect it. You did it to yourselves, well done. What should be emphasized is that, although you stole the students’ cause, you put inside it a group unsuitable for their cause, nevertheless, they not only do not vote for you, but they do not want you close to them at the protest”, said deputy chair Erion Malaj.
On the other hand, Zhupa said that Rama has lost the chance for dialogue with the protesters. “As for dialogue, with them and with everyone, Edi Rama has lost his own chance for dialogue when he deceived them for 14 years. Edi Rama has lost the chance for dialogue when he massacred them, because an eye does not make dialogue with a bullet. Dialogue is not done with violence. The PD has been protesting for 14 years. There is no greater achievement than the people protesting on their own against the government. The opposition people in general are greater than a party. The PD has not imposed and will never impose how it should be done, whether or not it has a monopoly on the protest. The PD supports the students’ protest”, Zhupa declared.
