Former Socialist MP hits out at Rama: You deal with the number of protesters, not their concerns

Former Socialist Party MP Ermelinda Meksi has criticized Prime Minister Edi Rama for the way in which citizen protests are being handled, arguing that the government's attention is focused more on the number of participants than on the reasons that brought them out on the streets.

In her reaction, Meksi notes that Rama has placed importance on the size of the protest, the way it was covered in the media, and the influence of social networks in shaping public opinion.

According to her, although these are important topics, they cannot replace the debate on the issues that the protesters are raising.

She emphasizes that citizens are seeking answers about transparency, corruption, public consultation, ownership, and the environmental impact of projects that affect the public interest, while the government continues to present the debate as premature with the argument that the project in question does not yet exist.

REACTION:

Are the protesters being heard by the government?

The Prime Minister's latest reaction on the X platform pays close attention to the size of the protest, the way it is portrayed in the media, and the role that disinformation, digital amplification, and social media can play in shaping public perceptions.

These are legitimate concerns for any modern democracy.

But his response pays much less attention to the content of the questions that citizens are raising regarding corruption, transparency, public consultation, ownership, environmental impact, and concrete public benefits of the investment.

The Prime Minister continues to treat the issue as a debate over a project that “does not yet exist.” While the message coming from the protests seems different: “Precisely because we are in the early stages of the process, we demand transparency, information and dialogue now, not after everything has been decided.”

In fact, it is at this stage that a public debate should take place on the benefit of the investment, its long-term impacts, and the development model we want for Albania. Not just for a specific project, but also for how we understand sustainable tourism, environmental protection, and the fair benefit of citizens from the country's natural resources.

In a democracy, more than the number of protesters, what matters is the message they are trying to convey.
The longer the protests continue, the greater the need for it to be heard and addressed with dialogue, transparency, and verifiable facts.

Because the issue is not the number of those protesting, a number that should not be neglected, but how many institutions are willing to listen and respond in a timely manner to the concerns they express.