Berisha from Strasbourg: Democracy in Albania is in agony

The chairman of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, in a video message from Strasbourg, where he is taking part in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, denounced the situation in Albania and levelled grave accusations against the government of Edi Rama.

At the centre of his statement was the denunciation of what he calls “the first and only narco-state in Europe”, built, according to him, by the Rama government. Berisha linked this situation to grave consequences for the economy, agriculture and industry, and to the demographic crisis the country is going through.

He declared that Albania is Europe’s main exporter of cannabis, while Albanian clans are the main transporters of cocaine from Latin America and control the European market.

In this context, the DP chairman called for the support of European institutions in the fight against this phenomenon, describing it as a danger not only for Albania, but also for the region and beyond.

“During my stay at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, my main focus has been denouncing the first and only narco-state in Europe, which Edi Rama has built in Albania during these years — the devastating consequences of this narco-state on the country’s economy, the dramatic devaluation of the euro and the dollar, the massive fall in industrial and agricultural production and the terrible demographic shock, unprecedented in Albania’s history for centuries. Albania is the main exporter of cannabis to Europe; Albanian clans are the main transporters of cocaine from Latin America and control the European market.

“In this context, I called for support from this institution in the fight against the narco-state in Albania, which poses a danger not only for Albania, but for the region and beyond,” Berisha stressed.

Berisha also addressed developments in Serbia, criticising the use of Ratko Mladić’s figure in the political campaign alongside President Aleksandar Vučić. He described this as a grave insult to world civilisation and a danger to the region’s stability, demanding clear sanctions against Serbia in relation to the Council of Europe.

“In my statement, an important place was also given to discussions about the fact that today in Belgrade the ghosts of Ratko Mladić are campaigning alongside Edi Rama’s patron, Aleksandar Vučić, and this constitutes an insult, a great danger for the region, a grave insult to the whole of world civilisation.

“I asked and will insist that clear sanctions be imposed on Serbia in relation to the Council of Europe, because this act flagrantly contradicts all fundamental principles. Ratko Mladić is the orchestrator and chief author of the greatest genocide since the Second World War, in Srebrenica; he committed grave crimes in Croatia and in other areas, and now he is campaigning alongside Aleksandar Vučić in the villages and towns of Serbia,” Berisha said further.

Closing his video message, the Democratic Party chairman declared that “democracy in Albania is in agony”, while accusing the government of consolidating an authoritarian system backed by crime, drugs and corruption.