TIRANA, Oct 19 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama said today that he remains open to dialogue with all political forces and citizens, except for political groups that support violence and refuse to distance themselves from it.
“Dialogue is possible at any time, on any day and in any place, with anyone except political forces that are behind the violence and refuse to distance themselves from it, those who throw stones at the police, and those who applaud when a police officer is set on fire. Everyone else is welcome, and I am ready to meet with anyone, listen to them and understand how and where a solution can be found.
Rama emphasized that power does not belong to him personally, but represents a responsibility entrusted to him by citizens through elections. He added that his mandate runs until 2029 and that the government’s political objectives remain unchanged.
“It has nothing to do with that. Absolutely nothing. Power is not personal to me. For me, the Prime Minister’s office is not a job; it is a mission entrusted to me by more than 800,000 Albanians under a contract that runs until 2029. That contract sets out a series of commitments, and so far, I have not deviated from it. All the new programmes we promised have been set in motion.
Meanwhile, the very essence of this entire story, where all the good and bad elements ultimately come face to face, is that we have not moved an inch from our objective or the path toward raising the flag of Skanderbeg and Ismail Qemali in Brussels, in the courtyard of our European home. This is where Albania will finally free itself from the force that has pursued it since 1912 and grips it by the throat whenever the country tries to rise, whenever it lifts its head or begins to emerge above the surface.
Today, however, Albania has risen well above that surface. On that boulevard, in that square where police officers were subjected to violence yesterday amid applause from corrupt media outlets, all of Europe once gathered, and NATO will gather there next year,” he said.
Rama added: “Who wants this, apart from us and our friends? Who wants Albania to host the entire NATO alliance here and become the centre of the world for another day? Do those who wish this country harm want it? Do the enemies of Europe and democracy want it? Absolutely not.
According to the prime minister, there have always been people within Albania who have served foreign interests without fully understanding the consequences of their actions.
“You don’t have to be a paid agent receiving instructions and money to act on someone else’s behalf. That is not necessary at all. Zeal, hatred, resentment, anger and envy can be enough to drive someone to blindly serve even their own enemy, simply out of a desire to see their fellow countryman brought down, without considering that they could be tearing their own home apart in the process. It is as though Albania only matters when it belongs to you,” Rama said.
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