Sali Berisha, leader of the Democratic Party, has called for the immediate release of protesters detained during the student uprising, stressing that Prime Minister Edi Rama miscalculated in his attempt to extinguish the protest. Berisha expressed confidence that Rama will not manage to quell the student movement.
At a press conference, Berisha offered deep gratitude to thousands of students and citizens who, in his words, with their courage and determination, threw into the trash the government’s dictatorial decrees, which aimed to annihilate the uprising. He stressed that he had full confidence that the students and citizens of Tirana would give the deserved response, completely disregarding and rejecting the anti-constitutional and unlawful acts with which Rama believed he would find protection and stop the protest.
Berisha declared that the Democratic Party will never respect any legal act that conflicts with the Constitution, any restriction of the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, or any form of state of emergency. He added that these efforts failed disgracefully on the streets and squares of Tirana, as citizens and students united and gave the “narcodictator” and his regime the deserved response. The DP leader expressed deep gratitude for the massive participation, bravery, and “new records of bravery” displayed in confronting “Edi Rama’s mercenaries”.
Furthermore, Berisha demanded the immediate release of students and citizens detained in police stations. He guaranteed every student and citizen that the fines imposed by the “narcostate” will be returned to them at three times their value, while those who impose these fines will pay dearly for their signature. He warned those who sign anti-constitutional fine orders that they may be prosecuted criminally, and reminded them that compensation for all those punished will be made from their salaries and incomes.
Finally, Berisha stressed that it has been established that protesters, students and citizens in their peaceful uprising, were repeatedly provoked by the police, which, in his words, is acting with a criminal scenario against the student uprising.