Democratic Party MP, Klevis Balliu, has reacted harshly after several serious criminal incidents recorded during Saturday in the country, accusing the government of failing to guarantee public safety.
In a statement, Balliu lists the murder of a 20-year-old man in the city of Korça, the fight with injuries in the Fier prison, and the explosives explosion in Durrës, describing them as indicators of a worsening public order situation.
According to him, citizens no longer feel safe either in public spaces or within security institutions, while the state is failing to prevent and crack down on crime.
Balliu accuses Prime Minister Edi Rama of failing in what he considers the fundamental duty of a government: guaranteeing the security of citizens, after 13 years in power.
He also brings to attention the Democratic Party's ongoing accusations of links between crime and power, arguing that recent events are a consequence of the weakening of the state.
The democratic MP also criticizes the government's narrative about Albania as a tourist destination, saying that in the face of propaganda, citizens face a different reality every day.
Balliu also links the public order situation to the protests that have been going on for 70 days, saying that thousands of citizens have taken to the streets due to the lack of security.
According to him, the call "Rama, resign!" takes on a different meaning after the recent criminal events.
"Their main call, 'Rama, resign', resonates with even more truth after the blood-soaked Saturday," Balliu concludes.
Full statement:
Yesterday Albania woke up and went to sleep again with serial crime news.
The murder of a 20-year-old in the middle of the city of Korça, a fight with injuries in the Fier prison and an explosive explosion in Durrës. Three serious events, on the same day, that show a frightening reality: public safety in Albania has been surrendered and transformed into chronic insecurity!
Citizens are no longer safe on the streets, in the city, or in high-security institutions behind prison bars, while crime acts with a boldness that it would not have if the state were truly standing.
This is no longer a matter of statistics, but a matter of the lives of Albanians.
After 13 years in power, Edi Rama has failed in the fundamental duty of a government: guaranteeing the security of citizens.
The Democratic Party has consistently denounced the capture of the state by crime and the serious connections between the criminal world and power. Today, we see the consequences every day on the streets of Albania.
When crime kills in the middle of the city, when there is violence inside prisons, and when explosives explode in our cities, the problem is not just the criminal. The problem is a state that does not prevent, does not crack down on, and does not punish crime.
Edi Rama can continue to talk about Albania as a tourist destination, about propaganda and imaginary successes. But Albanians know the reality: today in Albania there is no lack of cameras and propaganda; the state is missing.
Public order cannot be held hostage to political interests and connections to crime.
Albania needs a state that fights crime, not a government that coexists with it.
And for this, the political responsibility is clear: Edi Rama and his government have failed to guarantee the security of Albanians.
Those thousands of citizens who have been protesting for 70 days have come out, among other things, for the lack of order and security. Their main call, 'Rama, resign', resonates even more truly after the blood-soaked Saturday news!
