18:30 31/01/2023
In a Skype connection for Klan News, DP deputy Edi Paloka spoke about the latest political developments in the country and what will be discussed today at the meeting of the Presidency of this party.
Paloka said that the McGonigal case is a scandal that proves that Prime Minister Edi Rama does not love the opposition.
He said that today’s meeting will discuss the 10-day exclusion from the Assembly of some deputies of the Democratic Party, the request for an investigative commission or the opposition’s action to solve these problems.
question: What does the opposition action contain besides protests?
Edi Paloka: We will meet in the Presidency precisely to discuss this matter. I cannot tell you things that are decided after the meeting is over.
Question: There is a request for an Investigative Commission precisely to investigate Prime Minister Rama’s connections with former FBI official McGonigal, but only a day ago Taulant Balla declared that no request with Berisha’s signature will be discussed in the Assembly. On the other hand, you are excluded from the Assembly for 10 days. That’s why we ask what is the action to solve all these problems.
Edi Paloka: What you said describes a part of the political situation in the country where the parliament has lost all functions because Rama does not want opposition and the latest scandal has proven this. Rama uses every means to eliminate the opposition. We will discuss ways out of this situation because we are in a country without democracy and a regime that is practically heading towards dictatorship.
Question: What does robust solutions mean?
Edi Paloka: Interviews with the prime minister are an opportunity given to him to deceive the Albanians. We have completely removed the interpellations with Rama. A week ago, a large group of MPs was expelled from Sali Berisha’s group, none of those MPs that Rama will have in the opposition.
After expelling us, he has the luxury to come to the Parliament calmly and continue to deceive the Albanians on an issue for which he must give an account before justice. SPAK did not even need lawsuits or denunciations.
Gaz Bardhi has filed a lawsuit, it should also be seen formally because I only saw the reaction of the SPAK that says bring me the document-lawsuit that is officially on the FBI website. So this seems to me a game of this justice, that’s why we asked for an investigative commission to investigate how far this scandal goes. As many opportunities as there are because we have often seen that investigative commissions are blocked by Rama.
question: Do you still believe that the DP really used Russian money to lobby the US?
Edi Paloka: I never believed. Basha’s reaction came only after Berisha denounced the fact that Basha was walking with Rama. It would have been better not to have reacted because neither Rama nor the other accused are mentioned. Personally, even the official PD has never accused Lulzim Basha of receiving Russian money, on the contrary, we have said that if such a fact is true, it would be serious for the DP, not only for Basha, who has personal responsibility.
I was the vice president but no one knows anything about this act. The stain certainly remains for DP and that is why we have set up a commission within the party to investigate the finances and have asked Basha to provide clarifications. Basha’s responsibility cannot tarnish the Democratic party.
We asked him for clarification because he was the only one involved in this act and none of us was informed, then whether it is Russian money or not, the investigation reveals this. I have never believed that Russian money entered the Democratic Party. The commission had and still has a deadline, we want to verify if the money has come out of the DP’s finances, and this actually becomes difficult because Lulzim Basha has taken many documents with him./broread