The Democratic Party (DP) will resurrect stronger than ever with new power without Lulzim Basha as chairman of the largest opposition force in Albania, has said the DP founder and veteran leader, Sali Berisha in the city of Korca, southeastern Albania, where party members present in the event welcomed former PM warmly wishing him on his 77th birthday with flowers and a cake and singing ‘Happy birthday to you!’ on October 15, 2021.
“Today I had the most beautiful birthday of my life with you here. Thank you very much,” Berisha told hundreds of participants among whom some deputies of the new parliament.
Further on Berisha declared that the 9th meeting in the frame of Foltore was being held to talk with the local rank and file on the critical situation of Albania. “And it is not critical that we say it for propaganda. The truth is that the past 8 years have been the worst years for this country because instead of progress, we have made a great regress,” he said, adding that Albania became the black sheep of the Balkans and Europe due to this governance.
According to analysts of prominent institutions, Berisha said Albania has become the first narco-state in Europe; Albania has become the second country in the world for corruption; 520,000 Albanians left the country in the last five years; Albania today is the country with the lowest salaries in the region. “All these happened because of this government. We lost our pole star, which was the integration into the European Union because of this government,” he said.
Further on Berisha said that Balkan gangsters created their own projects, Mini-Schengen at a time when it was the Berlin process. “Mini-Schengen was created by Vucic, because he knows that for him Europe is a closed door. He knows this, but he is trying to take the lead in the Balkans. He finds two vassals, Edi Rama and Zoran Zaev, and sets up an initiative to oppose the Berlin initiative. Angela Merkel comes and says nothing undoes the Berlin Process. If we do not become aware of this, we will probably be left out of the European path. What does the Open Balkans bring? It brings the establishment of Serbian hegemony in these areas,” Berisha said.
In addition the veteran leader accepted the responsibility for the current DP’s situation. “We do not give up. Rather we make an honest, candid analysis of these developments and see a much stronger recovery. Can we resurrect?! Yes! We resurrected in 1997 when we were torn to pieces, but we rose strongly. Now we will rise even faster, even stronger. Now that we have clear things about what we need to do, we are more aware. We have experience. We won in 2005 because we got united. It is not that we did not have quarrels, as we had made mistakes. We had divisions, but we rose up above all them and got united,” said Berisha.
Referring to the US decision to designate him persona non-grate he declared that it happened at a time when there had been no accusation and facts against him, at a time when he had been 8 years out of power, three weeks after the loss of the DP election. “That’s why I took this issue to Paris to defend my dignity. I have not asked any man in the world for any help. Why? Because the courts have neither negotiations nor over-negotiations at all. I also told the chairman (Lulzim Basha) not to get involved because we are a pro-American force and we do not have to start a debate.”
In addition Berisha said that the charges against him were made after he had asked Soros to be declared ‘non grata’ because his activity was anti-democratic in 2017. “What did he do? He took all the NGOs and put them under the umbrella of the SP. Today, thanks to Soros and the opposition, the Socialist Party has more power than it had in 1991. We will dismantle this power,” Berisha said. According to him, billionaire Soros helped Rama catch the so-called justice reform and used vetting as a witch hunt to remove any judge or prosecutor who had a right-wing conviction or background.
The first to speak in the Foltore of Korca was the Democratic MP, Sorina Koti. She asked the historical democratic leader, Sali Berisha, to find a solution for the restoration of the DP. “I ask you as the founder of the Democratic Party to find a way out and a way out to revive the Democratic Party. All of us today believe in that logo, in the DP. Our strength is unity,” she said.
In his response Berisha said that one should start only from the vote to be elected. “We passed from loss to loss and the chairman did not resign. He made decisions he should not have made. He could not take them because the statute stipulates otherwise. That is why we say the Assembly which is the highest and most powerful forum should be convened abiding by the statute,” said Berisha.
In conclusion Berisha declared that his position in the party will be determined by the Democrats by vote. He reiterated that PM Edi Rama leaves with protests, but first the DP should set the free vote as the standard.
“I invite every delegate from Korca to sign the form to convene the Assembly. The Assembly meeting is imperative. We must unite, vote and accept the result of the vote. My undertaking is not personal. The biggest goal is to return the values to the DP. I will return being open for any function in the constitutional framework of the country. Having said that, I will absolutely respect every race and verdict. I will welcome any rival with the highest rating. What the position of Sali Berisha will be will be determined by the membership of the Democratic Party.”
During the conversation many participants asked Berisha to return to the helm of the DP and it was reiterated that the Rama government could be overthrown only through protests. / Argumentum.al
