“I have never aimed at becoming the chairman of the Democratic Party (DP) because you already have the chairman and he is the veteran leader Sali Berisha,” has said the Albanian-American activist of the Republican Party in the US Eva Kokalari.
Kokalari made that statement at the meeting called ‘Foltore’ which is a conversation of the DP veteran leader Sali Berisha with the party grassroots whose fourth leg was in Durres on Wednesday.
At the outset of Foltore it was held a minute of silence in honor of the assassinated police officer, who was laid to rest on Wednesday.
In his speech Berisha spoke to hundreds of supporters who gathered at the Palace of Culture of Durres on the failures of the government of PM Edi Rama who has led the country to the abyss.
Further on he said that the true democrats will not allow the current head Lulzim Basha, who is taken hostage by Rama, to shut up the mouth of DP rank-and-file.
“Opposition did not accomplish actions for inspiring the people for 8 years since 2013. This failure belongs to the person who is at the helm of the chairmanship. But I have part of responsibility and I am here to apologize,” said Berisha, who added that he tried to contribute with advice but he failed. He accepted as a mistake that he did not observe the internal matters of the DP. I asked Basha to resign but I did not start the right process for him to take the responsibility for the loss of 2017. Berisha said that he did not deal with internal party matters because he had resigned not to return.
Berisha compared Foltore as the meetings of 1991s because people of ideals are standing up to save Albania and its people. “The goal of Foltore is to prevent those people who want to take hostage the party. This battle has to do with the current chairman who has behaved like the son of Idi Amin taking decisions without asking anyone.”
Berisha said that it is absurd the order of Basha trying to pressure Democrats for not convening the institutions and the Assembly. Signatures are being collected to gather with this institution.
Speaking of the mission of Foltore, Berisha said that it aims at restoring the sovereignty of the Democratic Party. “I tell the current (DP) chairman that he could not decide on behalf of Democrats,” said Berisha. In addition he warned PM Edi Rama not to play with pluralism in Albania because his destiny would be worse that of his predecessors.
He concluded by calling on the DP activists to get engaged in a dialogue to listen to each other while the goal of the expected Assembly is to set the right norms in the party ranks.
In her intervention the Albanian-American activist of the Republican Party in the US, Eva Kokalari revealed that Basha sold out Berisha in exchange for closing his file which was being investigated in the US. She pledged to continue to pursue his case together with Diaspora representatives, and assured that Basha could not get a visa to travel to the US.
The participants in Foltore put questions to Berisha and Ms. Kokalari and some repeated the demand for the return of Berisha at the helm of the DP chairmanship. / Argumentum.al
