The Democratic Party has decided not to be part of today’s session in the Parliament of Albania.
Through a statement distributed to the media, it is announced that the DP will not participate in the session as long as the demands of the protesters are not discussed.
DP statement
The Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party strongly condemns the behavior of the majority in the Assembly of Albania, which continues to hinder the opposition in exercising its constitutional functions and fulfilling its obligation to represent the interests of the citizens.
On Tuesday, using the strength of the cards, the majority rejected the request for accountability from the Prime Minister and the development of a parliamentary debate on the legitimate demands of the citizens, who have been protesting for more than a month, as well as on the findings and recommendations of the European Parliament Resolution approved a few days ago.
Following this blocking approach, yesterday, at the meeting of the Conference of Speakers, the majority approved the work calendar of the Assembly until the end of this parliamentary session, without determining the date of consideration of the four draft laws filed for about a month by the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party. It is about:
1. The draft law on repealing the changes in the law on protected areas;
2. The draft law on the repeal of the law on strategic investments;
3. The draft law for the repeal of the Package of Mountains;
4. The draft law on the repeal of some provisions of the law on cultural heritage.
These legal initiatives correspond directly to the demands of the protesting citizens and the concerns raised in the European Parliament Resolution. For this reason, they should have been included in the agenda of today’s session, as they deal with issues of high public interest.
As long as the majority refuses to include these draft laws in the agenda or determine their consideration within this parliamentary session, the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party has decided not to participate in the works of the Assembly in today’s session and we strongly request the inclusion in the parliamentary procedure of the four draft laws for discussion and approval in the Assembly.
On the other hand, we note that the Parliament building has been surrounded by hundreds of police officers to prevent citizens from protesting. If the Parliament conducts its work under the siege of the State Police, only for the purpose of suppressing the voice of the citizens, then it loses its mission of representing the citizens.
In the conditions where the majority continues to reject the review of the legal initiatives of the opposition and the Prime Minister, together with the Government, systematically avoids accountability for issues that directly affect the public interest, our presence in the plenary session today would not serve to protect the interests of the citizens, but would only legitimize a parliamentary process that is taking place in opposition to the principles of parliamentary democracy.
