The former socialist minister, Ermelinda Meksi, has reacted again to the debates that have accompanied the recent protests against the proposed project in the Zvërnec area, raising questions about the way the government is handling the citizens’ concerns.
According to Meks, the Prime Minister’s latest reaction to the X platform focuses mainly on the size of the protest, the way it is presented in the media, as well as the potential influence of disinformation, digital amplification and social networks in shaping public perceptions.
Meksi further emphasizes that the prime minister’s reaction “pays much less attention to the content of the questions that citizens are raising regarding corruption, transparency, public consultation, ownership, environmental impact and concrete public benefits of investment”.
She says that the Prime Minister continues to treat the issue as a debate on a project that “doesn’t exist yet”, while the message coming from the protests seems different.
“This is the stage when the public debate should take place on the usefulness of the investment, its long-term impacts and the development model we want for Albania. Not only for a certain project, but also for the way we understand sustainable tourism, environmental protection and the right benefit of citizens from the country’s natural resources.
In a democracy, more than the number of protesters, the message they try to convey matters.
The longer the protests continue, the greater the need to be heard and addressed with dialogue, transparency and verifiable facts.
Because the issue is not the number of those protesting, a number that should not be neglected, but how many institutions are ready to listen and respond in time to the concerns they express”, says Ermelinda Meksi’s reaction.
