In a TV interview after the Albania-Italy intergovernmental meeting in Rome, Rama said it was still unclear whether the Special Anticorruption Prosecution Structure (SPAK) would be able to deliver what he called “a real breakthrough”.

“January 21 is the heaviest burden of a justice system that has yet to prove it can rise to a higher standard and handle major crimes that set benchmarks for the rule of law,” Rama said, when asked about the opposition leader’s call for him to be questioned by SPAK.

He added that he hoped the renewed proceedings would mark “a final and substantive phase”, not “another episode of spectacle” around SPAK.

“For years, January 21 has stood as a test. The victims turn in their graves every year, while the rest of us bow our heads in shame because there is nothing left to say, and those responsible still preach morality from morning to night,” Rama said.

Four protesters were shot dead by the Republican Guard on January 21, 2011, during a Socialist Party demonstration on the central boulevard outside the prime minister’s office.

/j.p/u.sh/