By Roland Qafoku
In the past 27 years, the way political parties have acted when they’ve been in opposition, has been almost the same. Both the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party have been like two drops of water, following a rule stating that “when I block the roads and attack the institutions, I am right to do this, but when the opponent does it, then this is an attack against constitutional order”.
Is it not true that in 1991, when it had just come out of the communist lethargy, the opposition of that time had every right to shake the country of its foundation, but God knows why did they have to loot every single public property in the country, including bakeries, on the insane pretext that everything was communist?
Was it not the case when on 2 April 1991, four young innocent people remained killed and tens of others were wounded in Shkoder during a violent protest inspired by the opposition against state institutions? Was it not the case when the Socialist Party in opposition boycotted the polls on 26 May 1996 by withdrawing all of its commissioners on the pretext that they were being stolen?
Was it not the case in March 1997 when the Socialist Party in opposition provoked a significant amount of violence and crowds looted institutions and what’s worse, kill and slaughter the representatives of the state in their offices, causing the state to collapse like never before?
Was it not the case in the events of February 1998 in Shkoder when supporters of the Democratic Party destroyed the police department and the precinct, freed all inmates and kidnapped the heads of local police? Or when opposition MPs from Shkoder backed this protest with guns and grenades? Was it not the case when on 14 September 1998, supporters of the Democratic Party and its senior officials who were carrying the coffin of Azem Hajdari, swarmed the Prime Minister’s office and then supporters of this party set fire, attacked with tanks and destroyed all government buildings causing a March 1997 in miniature? Shops, bars, homes were robbed and the worst happened when 40 protesters entered a private parking, broke glasses and each of them took 40 cars as trophies for this democratic protest.
With the replacement of Fatos Nano with Edi Rama and Sali Berisha with Lulzim Basha, the way the opposition protested didn’t change.
Do you remember Edi Rama’s odd move regarding the birth certificates, which led to local government elections of 2007 to be postponed for three months?
Was it not the case when in the fall of 2009 with the opposition’s protest that requested the opening of ballot boxes? And for these unopened ballot boxes, an odd hunger strike took place, the most massive one ever to take place in the history of the Albanian state, but one which has not become part of history for its scope and for what it achieved.
Was it not the case with the move regarding the district of Fier. An odd move which looked like a whim of a capricious opposition.
Was it not the case with the opposition’s protest on 21 January 2011, which led to the killing of four innocent protesters, in which case, according to the current government, the former opposition had the right to use violence against police?
Has it not been the case with the calls for violence that are launched by Lulzim Basha, when he’s no longer himself?
Do you remember the shameful attack against the building of the Central Election Commission when Taulant Balla and other opposition MPs threw themselves over the police officers on duty?
Was it not the case when this opposition blocked national roads and burned car tires as a sign of protest for what it considered to be a rightful cause?
After making a retrospective of events, there’s very little room for comments. The Albanian opposition has constantly shown that it believes that it is right for everything it does when it destroys, blocks and attacks the institutions. In fact, the opposition is entitled to raise its voice, but not its unconstitutional weapons, which the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party have raised every time they’ve been in trouble and for this reason they look like two drops of water.
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Note: The stances expressed in the Opinion section do not necessarily represent the editorial line of Albanian Free Press
