Former ambassador and diplomat Fatos Tarifa, invited to the studio of the show "Oponencë" in News24, has commented on the next protest that took place today in the capital. Tarifa described this gathering as a completely civic, legitimate and overdue protest, noting the high culture shown by the participants.
According to the diplomat, this move comes as a reaction to the way the prime minister is governing, openly criticizing what he called the "arrogance" of the government that has lasted for years.
Tarifa said that unlike the violent rallies the country has faced in its 35-year history, today's one showed a new standard of citizenship. He particularly praised the gesture of cleaning the boulevard by the protesters themselves at the end of the rally.
"There is no other name than a civic protest, a delayed protest because the conditions for protesting the way the current prime minister is governing are not new... For the first time we see this. We have seen voluntary initiatives to clean the beaches before the season starts, but after a protest we are used to violent protests and the boulevard was a battlefield until recently. Now we see a self-organization... I say it is an important and magnificent thing," Tarifa declared.
The former ambassador did not spare criticism of the head of government's reactions to the citizens who filled the boulevard, describing them as irresponsible and arrogant.
"It's been a while since this prime minister has been at the helm of the government, behaving in such a way with an arrogance that I pointed out years ago... and which is again visible in the reactions he has made these days towards the protesters, considering them worthless people who come to the boulevard, who don't know what they are doing, who have no demands and don't really know what they are asking for," said Professor Tarifa.
The diplomat also noted the atmosphere and composition of the civic gathering, describing it as a colorful organization dominated by the presence of women, girls, and children.
"What struck me now that I was watching was a colorful protest. The colors white, pink, and blue stood out. So there was a lot of female presence in this protest, unlike the others, and children were definitely there until late at night with their parents," he said.
Concluding his analysis, Fatos Tarifa emphasized that this rally serves as a strong lesson for the country's political class about who truly holds sovereignty.
"It is an important protest because it reminds our leadership that it is the people who elect you, it is the people who tell you what you will do with this people. Not as you want, but as the people want. That is why we say the government is of the people, for the people and by the people," concluded Tarifa.
