Prime Minister Edi Rama has spoken to the Italian media outlet "Italpress" about the popular revolts that have erupted in Albania for almost a month. Rama said that those who accuse him of handing over the lands of Zvërnec seem to be presenting evidence to substantiate these accusations.
He said that the Flamingo Revolution is like a movie script. While Albanians protest against the country's misgovernance, Rama in the international media includes the US president, saying that the protests are against him.
Rama also spoke at length about the "Flamingo Revolution" protests against a resort project in southern Albania. He dismissed the accusations and said they are damaging the country's image.
"For years I have been accused of all sorts of things. I don't know if there is anything left that hasn't been attributed to me," he said, adding that this "causes me deep pain. Because at that point it's no longer just about me, but about Albania."
“How can you answer? We have reached a point where a fundamental principle seems to have been overturned: it should be those who make the accusations who bring evidence, not the accused who must constantly prove his innocence. This so-called Flamingo Revolution at first seemed almost like a movie script. Today it seems to me that the protest has taken other directions and shifted to other issues. If they accuse me of handing over these lands or of damaging a beautiful part of Albania’s coastline, then they should bring evidence. So far, however, no evidence has been presented. No one, so far, has proven anything. There is no evidence, because the process is still ongoing,” he said, adding that “we have not yet signed any agreement, because the negotiations have not ended.”
As for the other development, on private land, according to Rama: "the state and the government have nothing to do with it: there is still no building permit and the procedure is ongoing. We have truly reached a paradoxical situation."
Prime Minister Rama said that, however, he understood the reasons of those who had taken to the streets to protest: "I completely understand those who came out to protest."
"I have said it publicly: if I had been among them and had heard everything that was being said, I would probably have felt the same dissatisfaction and the same indignation. But if I had then heard the other side – in this case the government – say: 'Come, I will show you that there is nothing of what they have told you, there is no evidence,' I would have felt reassured and returned home.
"Unfortunately, today the issue has gone beyond that and people are not even talking about flamingos anymore. Flamingos have become a useful symbol for those who want to take this issue to the international arena. At the local level it is an issue that involves different groups in society, including the opposition; at the international level it turns into a battle against Donald Trump," he concluded.
