Valentina Madani
For Democratic Deputy Leader Agron Gjekmarkaj, civil disobedience remains the only form and path of opposition in the face of what he considers to be the usurping power of Edi Rama.
Mr. Gjekmarkaj appeals that the government has a policy of annihilation and that they want him to keep his mouth shut and his hands tied in the elections. The Democrat MP tells the newspaper "Panorama" that the creation of a caretaker government is the only hope for free elections, to break the chain of electoral crime, the identification of the state with power.
As the initiator of the opposition protest in front of the EP, Gjekmarkaj says that during the meetings with the MEPs they informed them about any form of violence against the opposition, political arrests, the tendency for the opposition to enter the elections with their mouths closed and their hands tied. Gjekmarkaj indicates that the MEPs will express their positions in the following in a closer and dynamic monitoring of the situation in Albania, by sending fact-finding missions and by holding positions on the situation in Albania.
The vice president of the Democratic Party, and at the same time the political leader of Lezha, Agron Gjekmarkaj, says that the October 29 protest, through civil disobedience, aims to block the path of the regime, which according to him uses the political arrest of opposition leaders as a weapon.
Mr. Gjekmarkaj, what has revolted the opposition recently? Why is it appearing so "aggressive"?
There is a strategy of annihilation against the opposition! Its entire leadership is under house arrest, prison and a candidate for shackles. Its leader Sali Berisha is unjustly kept isolated, turning him into a very significant political prisoner. Likewise Ervin Salianji, whose imprisonment is a clear message from this government to anyone who should shut up, not denounce!
The Assembly has been transformed into a barracks of violence where the opposition is excluded a priori by having their mandates partially removed for 40-60 days! The majority's connections with crime, SKY/ECC, the failure to implement OSCE-ODIHR suggestions for the elections, the corruption scandals that explode like fireworks on New Year's Eve, social wounds, the emptying of the country, poverty and much more force the opposition to be on the front lines of the confrontation with Edi Rama and his Rilinda detachment.
What will tomorrow's protest be like? What is the goal of civil disobedience?
All citizens on October 29th must rise up in civil disobedience as the only remaining form and path of opposition against the usurping power of Edi Rama. Therefore, I invite everyone to disobey the regime, in Milot not in blocking the road, but in that of the neo-dictatorship, which sees the opposition as a danger, which has political arrest as a weapon! The battle is for a European Albania against the regime, against the drug scumbags!
You were the initiator of the opposition protest in front of the European Parliament, but what did the opposition really gain from it?
There is no room here for taking credit that does not belong to me or beating my chest. This was a decision of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and I think it was the right one. The opposition returned to its home with dignity in the EPP. In the European Parliament we had numerous impressive meetings, at the highest levels! We met with 16 MEPs during our 2-day visit, representing the 4 largest parliamentary groups in the European Parliament. We are grateful and they listened to us with great respect on all the issues we raised. Communication and meetings will be continuous.
The Democratic Party is not isolated at all. It has many friends and supporters in its struggle for free and fair elections.
You held a series of meetings in Strasbourg, but what is the guarantee you received from the MEPs? What instructions did you receive from them? What is their attention to the situation in the country?
We informed the MEPs extensively about any form of violence against the opposition, political arrests, the tendency for the opposition to enter the elections with its mouth closed and hands tied. We spoke extensively about the connections with the criminal world that this majority has, the Durrës list remains typical. They will express their positions in the following in a closer and dynamic monitoring of the situation in Albania, by sending fact-finding missions and by holding positions on the situation in Albania.
What do you specifically expect from the internationals? Does the opposition enjoy their support and that of the Albanians to impose its demands on the government?
The opposition is increasing international support every day. The visit and attention we received in Strasbourg is a clear indicator. Albanian society is under repression. It is breaking the wall of fear by increasing the reaction through the protests that the opposition is calling for. There is no other way but confrontation.
Is the arrest of Mr. Berisha, and the imprisonment of Ervin Salianj and Ilir Meta a pressure, a political punishment against the opposition? Why this violent political overthrow?
The way in which the former president, former Prime Minister Ilir Meta, was detained had caused surprise and indignation. Every individual deserves respect even when he is in judicial proceedings, a former president cannot be hit and dragged, he must be treated with dignity and presumed innocent until there is a final judicial decision.
The police cannot be the moral and ethical punishers of the prime minister's political opponents! This is also a message of violence and intimidation from this government. The "Salianji" case is also outrageous! A politician who has fought numerous battles for transparency, risking a lot, denunciations that have served the public, but who today suffers political punishment precisely for this reason from a personal revenge.
Are the arrests being made selectively? The opposition is being taken away from its generals! Edi Rama's anonymous soldiers. In the situation where the opposition is, its own weapon is the word, the influence of public opinion, the confrontation of high-ranking state officials. What rights are not being recognized to the opposition?
The opposition is not being recognized as such. It is being asked to be a facade. Edi Rama's fourth term is being attempted at the table with an opposition that has been hit everywhere. Hitting the opposition is a blow to every standard and guarantee. Its fall is the fall of pluralism and democracy! Protecting it, being on its side is the main battle for a European and democratic Albania.
Civil disobedience is based on the political persecution of opposition figures and the creation of a caretaker government. What should the caretaker government be like in order to ensure the most minimal standards for the 2025 elections?
First, political will or the right imposition is needed to achieve it. The modalities are available, the models are not lacking. It is the only hope for free and fair elections, to break the chain of electoral crime, the identification of the state with power.
Why all this insistence by the opposition for a caretaker government while the RamaBasha pact in 2017 did not resolve the issue of vote guarantees?
There is no technical government with Edi Rama as prime minister. It has never been like that. There needs to be something real, something that functions as such, not a trick for the opposition and society.
What is the scheme that the opposition has devised for the caretaker government? What should its composition be? Who should lead it?
Once that is achieved, it is not a problem to find the schemes. Against the opposition's demands, the Socialist Party has stated that it has won with a large majority of votes, calling the creation of an interim government unnecessary.
What will be the opposition's reaction in this case?
The last time, by violating the Constitution and the Electoral Code, with a difference of 37 thousand votes, it produced 11 additional mandates, 87 thousand votes were invalid! Every day, facts emerge about the influence of organized crime in elections.
What are the opposition's goals in the 2025 elections, while Prime Minister Rama has stated that he will govern until 2030?
Deserved victory in the elections; Transformation of Albania in every aspect; Separation from crime and fight against corruption; Minimum pensions of 300 euros; Quality education and healthcare; Stable economy, completion of membership in Europe and European behavior in Albania.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the opposition in the upcoming elections?
The advantage of the opposition is the truth it carries! Its history, the quality people it has, its morality. The program it presents: Resistance to evil and society's urgent need for better governance.
