STATEMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP.
For 48 hours, Albania has been experiencing the most powerful student movement of the last 35 years. This is the response of a generation that refuses to accept any more misgovernance, arrogance, corruption and the capture of the state by Edi Rama. This movement is not simply a protest against a government. It is a revolt against a model created by Edi Rama that has stolen hope from young people, violated citizens' trust and is increasingly distancing Albania from its European future.
The Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party is and will remain unequivocally on the side of students, pupils, young men and women, as well as every citizen who stands up for dignity, justice and a better Albania. We strongly condemn Edi Rama's animalistic violence against students, which has culminated in broken legs, bones, severe head fractures, and other very serious injuries.
In these moments, our political and civic duty is clear: to stand by the protesters, support their demands, and listen to the voice of a generation that no longer accepts being treated with contempt by the government.
When students are on the streets, when universities are facing boycotts, and when their demands require political responses, institutions cannot act as if nothing is happening. There can be no parliamentary normality in the face of a deep political and social crisis, while the voice of citizens is ignored and their demands remain unanswered.
For us, the message is clear: students on the streets, opposition MPs by their side. There can be no facade of institutional normality when citizens demand change and the government chooses not to listen. The Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party supports the political demands for change and, at this crucial moment, stands by the demands for:
Immediate resignation of Edi Rama's government and the creation of a caretaker government, with the sole mission of preparing and guaranteeing early, free and fair elections.
Immediately afterwards, the self-dissolution of the current Parliament, which cannot claim to normally represent the will of the citizens in the face of a crisis of confidence and demand for change.
Albania cannot be held hostage by a government that sees every protest as a threat and every demand for accountability as an attack on itself.
Students do not need arrogant lectures, nor repeated promises. They deserve answers, responsibility, and real change. Today, the responsibility is clear: to hear the voice of citizens and pave the way for a political solution that returns democratic legitimacy to the country.
The Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party will be on the side of the citizens who demand change. Because Albania cannot be the property of one person, one government or one power. Albania belongs to its citizens.
