TIRANA, Sept. 21 /ATA/ – Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Monday he would have preferred members of the Albanian community in Michigan who called for protests during his U.S. visit to attend his meeting and voice their objections directly.
“Before coming here, I heard that some members of this community had called for protests over my visit. That is, of course, their right, but I would have liked them to be here, facing me, to voice their objections and hear the answers directly,” Rama said.
Speaking to the Albanian community in Michigan, Rama said disagreement was an essential part of democratic life but should be expressed with respect and without hatred.
“I particularly like the saying that the quality of democratic coexistence is not determined by how often we agree, but by how we disagree,” he said.
Rama said people could strongly defend opposing positions while respecting one another, drawing a distinction between verbal political confrontation and hostility.
“Democracy is disagreement that excludes hatred, confrontation that always implies respect, and a struggle in which the end does not justify every means,” he said.
Rama added that building a society in which democracy works for everyone was a longer process than initially expected.
“Simply being free is not enough to create a society where democracy works for everyone,” he said.
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