The third leg of the tour of the founder of the Democratic Party (DP), Sali Berisha, the first president after the fall of communism in early 1990s, in Vlora, southern Albania, on Saturday, has been characterized by a strong urge of his supporters for his return to the helm of the party for its rebuilding. Besides hundreds of local participants, the meeting so called ‘Foltore’ was attended by Eva Kokalari, an Albanian- American, who is an activist of the US Republican Party.
“My entry into Parliament defended the sovereignty and dignity of my country. There is a process in Paris and I invite everyone to present the facts there, but I guarantee you that there are no facts,” Berisha told his supporters in a comment on the decision of the current DP chairman, Lulzim Basha to expel him from the parliamentary group.
In a comment on the ‘Open Balkans’ initiative launched by Albanian PM Edi Rama and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the former PM, Berisha said that what is happening now near the borders of Kosovo, where Belgrade has deployed the army with tanks and bombers, is its result. Berisha attacked Prime Minister Rama who sided with Serbian President Vucic, paving the way for an initiative that envisions turning Serbia into a superpower in the region, while it is Kosovo which suffers from that scheme.
“The Open Balkans is in clear contradiction with the Berlin Initiative as the latter is an EU initiative that seeks to prepare us for membership,” he said.
Speaking at the ‘Foltore’ launched by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha in Vlora, Kokalari said that very soon there will be a new chairman of the Democratic Party, and it will occur as soon as the National Assembly of the party convenes.
“Basha currently has only the stamp and logo of the DP left. The only thing that needs to be done now and Sali Berisha has to tell all democrats is that whoever has the right to vote should sign the forms to convene the DP assembly,” she said.
During the conversation former Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the decision of the State Department to declare him persona non-grata is an act of revenge of George Soros.
“I was declared persona non- grata because I opposed Soros’ project for the partition of Kosovo, because I opposed the Open Balkans as it establishes Serbian hegemony. And Serbian hegemony does not bring stability, but instability. I went to court in Paris. I was told that the law cannot punish a man 8 years after leaving office, because the law is for officials and not for former officials. But I have filed a lawsuit against him (Blinken) for defamation and let him prove it in court, because I will defend my dignity,” he said.
Further on Berisha noted that the current leader of PD, Lulzim Basha has led the party from failure to failure, and that is why he should resign. According to him, the opposition has lost not because the members of the Democratic Party did not ‘sweat’, but the attitudes of the chairman have led the DP to such a situation. Berisha accused Basha of having been taken hostage by PM Rama and the Soros clan.
“We as the opposition went from failure to failure, from defeat to defeat. This is true. Not that you did not sweat, but because the leadership of the DP was held by a man who after 8 years could not even get the votes of 2013,” said Berisha in the Vlora meeting which lasted almost two hours. /argumentum.al
