TIRANA, Oct. 18 /ATA/ – Parliament Speaker Niko Peleshi on Sunday condemned violence during six days of protests in the Albanian capital, urging all sides to engage in dialogue and warning that further delays would make an agreement harder to reach.
Attacks on public institutions and the destruction of public and private property had nothing to do with the right to peaceful protest, Peleshi said, while acknowledging young people’s right to demand greater opportunities and aspire to the same future as their peers in the European Union.
“Attacks on institutions, arson and the destruction of property have nothing to do with students or their right to protest,” he wrote in a social media post accompanying a European Commission statement on the demonstrations.
Peleshi said violence could not resolve citizens’ grievances and called for mutual understanding, even where views differed.
“Let us sit down together, without prejudice or resentment. Every hour that passes makes dialogue more difficult,” he said.
He ended his message with a call for unity and cooperation, saying the country’s interests should take precedence over divisions.
“Let us extend a hand to one another today. We share one goal: Albania,” Peleshi said.
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