TIRANA, Jan 21 /ATA/ The Democratic Party chairman, Sali Berisha, in a press conference on Tuesday, recalled the January 21 event, which took place 14 years ago, where four individuals were killed during a protest organized by the then opposition in front of the Prime Minister’s office.
In his remarks, Berisha expressed his regret about what happened in the evening of January 21, 2011. “To begin with, my condolences for the victims were not expressed 14 years later, as you suggest, but precisely at 7 p.m. that night, during the siege on January 21, 2011, and I reiterated it several times,” Berisha stated.
The leader of the Democratic Party stated that he had called for an international investigation into the incident, and according to Berisha, the most reputable international institutions have confirmed that it was a violent –turned protest with a political agenda.
“The most respected international institutions have affirmed that the violent protest had a political agenda. There is a statement from the U.S. government calling for an investigation from the police all the way to the organizer, who is publicly and internationally known as Edi Rama. Moreover, those who do not want to deceive themselves and should refrain from using the misfortunes of others as political fodder must understand that, for the past 14 years, the prosecution has been entirely under the control of Edi Rama. It was Ina Rama, the prosecutor whom I accused of supporting a coup, who rejected the involvement of an international prosecutor. And since 2013, one prosecutor after another, including Arta Marku and Olsi Çela, has faced no obstruction in their investigations, except from Edi Rama himself,” Berisha remarked.
The leader of the Democratic Party described the political exploitation of the event as an effort to hide the responsibilities of those who organized and led the protest. “The political manipulation of this tragic event, driven by genuine political motives to take control of the Prime Minister’s office—since, most likely, Edi Rama also aimed to deliver a speech—serves as clear evidence of the total misuse of this event for political gain, while obscuring the accountability of those behind the protest, the most violent one Albania has seen in 32 years.”
Berisha stated that he supports any investigation into January 21 and that nothing can absolve the masterminds from their responsibility.
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