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As the protest on Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard continues for its 37th day today, political scientist Ermal Hasimja considers this civic protest to be one of the largest mobilizations in the history of Albania since the 1990s. According to him, it has set a new standard for civic reaction to governance and creates a precedent for any future government.
"Albanians have taken it to an even higher level. This protest is very good and for something else, beyond what it is asking for at this moment; the resignation of the government, a caretaker government, free and fair elections, it is very important, because it is a clear form of warning for any government that will come and in the future, even if it were a government today of the opposition and the parties that are in the opposition today. It has set a new standard and whatever government that will come in the future, it does not matter which party it will be. Today it is clear that if it reaches a certain point, Albanians are able to rise up in protest, are able to mobilize massively and come out as the god of their own country," said Hasimja in the Off the Record studio on A2 CNN.
Hasimja rejected foreign influences on the protest and said it is a "release valve" for citizens' dissatisfaction.
"I have been to protests constantly, I have talked to people, I have asked them and I do not see Iranian, Serbian, Greek and other agents there and I do not think that there is any foreign country that has so much power over Albanian youth, over Albanian citizens, to take them out there. If there were, we would have been taken away a long, long time ago whenever we have been dissatisfied with the government, or we have had problematic situations with these countries that we talked about before. What I see and believe that everyone who goes out there to protest understands very clearly even when they see parents who go out with their children with their families and others. It is very difficult to take these people out there simply with the algorithm or to take them out then even less with influences from other countries with which we not only do not have any kind of connection, but in fact we are in political conflicts or in not at all friendly situations. This is a very important protest because it is a kind of discharge valve for citizens, who have found a way to express "their dissatisfaction, their disappointment with the entire transition, not just currently, despite the fact that their main demand is for the prime minister to leave and it is something that goes beyond the elections, especially considering that we have not had normal elections in Albania," said Hasimja.
Commenting on the incidents recorded during the protests, Hasimja stated that she remains against any form of violence, but egg throwing does not fall into this category, as it is a symbolic act.
"I have spoken out against Molotov cocktails and any other form of violence. Take the current protests, just compare this big protest with the last big protest that took place on the famous January 21st to understand the difference between the logic of the protests and the scale of the violence. Here we are talking about throwing eggs at MPs. Throwing eggs at MPs does not seem to me to be something that endangers the lives of MPs, and I do not see any damage to property. Throwing stones is one thing and throwing eggs is another. Throwing eggs is a symbolic act. You cannot include it in acts of violence. An act of violence is an act in which you aim to intimidate someone through physical violence, to tear them apart, to kill them, to physically incapacitate them ," he concluded.
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