The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, has reacted to the protests and objections regarding the investment projects on the island of Sazan and in the Zvërnec area. During his speech at the meeting of the Democratic parliamentary group, Berisha described the critics of these projects as a group of "hypocrites".
Berisha stated that both he and former Prime Minister Fatos Nano have personally taken steps in the past to offer Sazan to foreign investors, emphasizing that these are large-scale projects and not simple investments.
"Those who cry the elegy of Sazan are a group of hypocrites. They can shed as many tears as they want, because I was directly taken, and Fatos Nano was also taken. We have offered it to investors and it is not a simple investment," said the leader of the Democrats.
Responding to concerns about damage to nature, the leader of the Democrat Party assured that the projects would not harm the natural wealth of the area. He made a clear distinction between the legal status of Sazan and that of Zvërnec, explaining where the island's uniqueness lies:
Berisha emphasized that the wonder of Sazan is not the coast or the sea, but the wonderful vegetation on a landlocked island, which, according to him, will be fully preserved.
According to him, unlike Sazani, Zvërnec in its entirety is private land, a habitable area where people have historically lived.
At the end of his speech, the leader of the Democratic Party reconfirmed the line of the political force he leads, making it clear that economic development through foreign capital must go hand in hand with the protection of the ecosystem. “We supported foreign investment, but we are a party that stands fully for respect for the environment,” Berisha concluded.
Sali Berisha:
For several days now, the problem of Zvërnec has become a national and international issue. I consider it necessary to present our position to you once again. Our position. Let us present it openly with complete sincerity and I believe that it is fully consistent with the program of the Democratic Party. I ask for your understanding to go back two or three years ago when the news was given. That the company 'Affinity' of the son-in-law of former US President Trump, at that time when he was not in power, has shown special interest and will invest in Sazan and Zvërnec, at that time it was said 2 billion or something of that nature. My reaction to this news was this.
Despite the fact that he was in the opposition, I completely agree. Why? To be open with you. I only said one word, because he has the money. Because it was said that the Saudi fund, the Saudi investment fund, the Saudi fund, are the public investment funds, it is a trillion-dollar fund. He has trillions and of course there was money. The basic reason why I said yes was this and I linked it to money. With this, I had absolutely no doubt that Edi Rama was buying political influence. I did not doubt this at all. But again, for me, the national interest, the interest of the country came above this. It came above this.
The investment was made after the Omnix company was expelled, for which I felt the greatest regret, which had prepared 1.5 billion euros of investments in the Bay of Lalzit and was expelled, I found out later, by the Albanian mafia. The Albanian mafia. He's gone.
That Qatari investor was there too, as far as I know. He took it, broke its bones, and made its representative at the Limuthi bridge, Rrumi, run over it. But someone tells me he didn't leave for that, but he left because the Albanian mafia emerged on the surrounding borders and now you'll get this, or you'll get that, in a word, they completely drove him out. Gone! 1.5 billion.
And they said that the investment in Zvërnec is a completely private affair. As for the island, those who cry, the elites of Sazan, they are a group of hypocrites, for whom they can shed crocodile tears as much as they want, because Sazan is absolutely, because I myself was directly involved and my predecessor, Fatos Nano, was involved, we have offered it to investors and it is not a simple investment. Nothing is broken there, friends.
There is a strange way that Sazani is this. There are neither shores nor sea, it is that wonderful vegetation on an island without water. The vegetation is, there is a vegetation that will be preserved. So, Sazani is public land. Zvërnec is private land in its entirety. It is habitable, they have inhabited it. Okay. So we support foreign investment.
