Tensions in Parliament as DP Lawmakers Try to Block the Podium; Guard Intervenes

Today’s plenary session opened with debate between the majority and the opposition, and tensions rose after Democratic Party lawmakers’ request to change the agenda was voted down. From the Assembly podium, Socialist Party Secretary General Blendi Klosi declared that the government will not protect any public official and that no one will escape individual accountability before justice.

“We have proven, not only as political will but also with facts, that what we did with the justice reform will be our standard. In no case will we take any official under our protection; we will not spare from individual accountability anyone who faces the new justice,” Klosi said.

During his speech, Klosi also turned to the opposition, accusing it over its stances toward the national security institutions. He went on to reference the 1997 unrest, accusing the opposition of political responsibility. “How many years have you been in politics? 22 years. You have led this political force in opposition. That is a lot for a politician’s life, but you have not given up accusations against the institutions, against the heads of the services. What you did with the head of the service when you were in power — your own service chief, who did all he could as Armed Forces commander in ’97 to kill more people, to open the depots and destroy Albania,” Klosi said.

As Klosi was speaking, Democratic Party lawmakers tried to block the podium after their agenda-change request was rejected. The situation prompted the intervention of the Republican Guard, which surrounded the podium. Following the tensions in the chamber, Assembly Speaker Niko Peleshi suspended the session for 10 minutes.