TIRANA, March 15 – The opposition is continuing its protest seeking a caretaker government into its fourth week.
Addressing party supporters in the tent erected in front of the prime minister’s office, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha called on his successor, Edi Rama, to leave and allow the formation of a caretaker government to protest free and fair elections.
Berisha accused Rama of making his office into the headquarters of “murderers and traffickers.”
“This is the democratic revolution headed toward final triumph. This battle is for a free vote and not for power. Rama is hopeless. He should surrender,” Berisha said in his remarks.
The former Democratic Party chairman accused Rama of being filmed while visiting one of the hotels owned by an alleged drug baron, Klement Balili. Police in Albania have been unable to catch the “Escobar of Balkans” wanted by neighboring Greece since last May.
The ousted minister of justice, Ylli Manjani, said in January that two government ministers had stayed at Balili’s hotel with their mistresses.
Earlier this week, an Albanian reporter known for his variety of sources in the State Police, issued a statement that fueled speculations that prime minister Rama fired former interior minister, Saimir Tahiri in a devious deal made with his ruling coalition partner, Ilir Meta.
According to Artan Hoxha, Rama delivered Tahiri in a gold platter in exchange for Meta’s approval for the dismissal of Ylli Manjani. Furthermore, Hoxha claims that the prime minister is one of the government officials filmed while staying at Balili’s resort in the coastal city of Saranda.
