Berisha announces referendum for immunity
06/08/2012

In the last Parliamentary session for this season, after failing to vote the lifting of the immunity, Prime Minister Berisha declared that there will be a popular referendum for this issue.

“Tomorrow we will address to the people for a civil referendum about the immunity lifting. It will be a plebiscite voting against the wall of shame”, Berisha declared.

The PM accused the opposition MPs of violating the basic interests of their voters by refusing to lift immunity.

“Today more than ever, the lawmakers should have shown more respect for the citizens, the institutions and the European future of the country. But the opposition MPs raised the blocking wall and unanimously declared that they will block the voting. The opposition MPs will go against the interests of their electors”, Berisha declared.

The Prime Minister added that the only goal of the opposition is to block the EU candidate status, as they did, according to him, with the Stabilization Association Agreement and the country’s NATO membership.

“You did the same for blocking the SAA and the NATO membership. This is a typical scheme of the communist party. You leader believed that he would be the next Prime Minister, and he cant see himself on that post without immunity”, Berisha declared.

“The law against criminal assets that was requested for lifting the visa regime not only was rejected by you, but you even sent it to the Constitutional Court. On behalf of the drug traffickers, the opposition sent it to the Constitutional Court”, Berisha declared.

Rama on Twitter: Referendum for all amends

The SP leader, Edi Rama, reacted on Twitter after Prime Minister’s Berisha announcement of a referendum on the immunity lifting law.

Rama invites the government leader to vote for all Constitutional amends, and see which of the parties will be supported by the people.

“Referendum for immunity? Ready to ask people for entire justice reforms package. This would be the ideal referendum.

Since we have agreed for the immunity and for other amends, and Berisha hides, let’s confront our visions and arguments with the people.

Sali, if you have courage not to play games with the people, but to have a confrontation with the opposition in front of the people, let us do the Referendum.

Let the Albanians decide if the Constitution should be amended only for the immunity, or also for the other propositions made by the opposition.”

Majko: Lifting immunity, Berisha’s illusion

The Socialist MP, Pandeli Majko, declared that the majority’s initiative for lifting the immunity is only an illusion.

He underlined that the problem is not about the immunity that the Constitution gives to citizens, but the political immunity given by the political post.

“The government wants to feed the illusion that this law will end the corruption in Albania. The political immunity is the first to be lifted. This is the one that protects the government officials from corruption, not the Constitutional one. This is the partnership of evil, the justice that doesn’t hit but it is corrupted. This is the reality”, Majko declared.

“It seems that we have a government that is trying to convince the citizens and Brussels that they are making everything possible for fighting corruption”, he added.

Majko declared that the SP was the main protagonist in the compromise for the Constitutional amends, but this didn’t help in resolving the problems.

“The opposition’s fault is that they proposed other amends related with the election of the constitutional institutions’ leaders. The failure comes as consequence of the government’s failure to act, which failed with the implementation of the promise made since 2005 for fighting corruption and strengthening the rule of law”, Majko added.

MP Taulant Balla underlined that the problem is not the Socialist Party and what Berisha calls “its billionaires club”, but those who Majko called the government’s billionaires and the Prime Minister’s relatives.

How did the become billionaires? Three houses in Tirana, one at the Lalzi Bay. Compare the balance of your son with that of Tom Doshi. 200.000 EUR are guarantee by Shkelzen Berisha”, Balla declared.

Marathon debates in Parliament