Lawyer Altin Goxhaj, speaking on the television program Quo Vadis on Vizion Plus, discussed the ongoing protests, claiming that Prime Minister Edi Rama’s greatest fear is the attitude of police officers and members of the Republican Guard. He compared the situation to Serbia, where, according to him, President Aleksandar Vučić had complete confidence in the loyalty of his security forces.
Goxhaj added that many relatives of police officers have joined the protests and highlighted the important role of the Albanian-American diaspora, which he described as a factor that Rama fears more than anything else.
According to him, the arrival of Albanians from Europe and the United States, who are organizing to participate in the protests in Albania, puts the government in a difficult position because Albanian citizens holding foreign passports enjoy special international protection. Goxhaj emphasized that the strong presence of the diaspora makes it much harder for the authorities to use traditional methods such as tear gas or police intervention, especially against Albanian-Americans.
“Rama’s greatest fear is the smile of the police officers and guards. Rama has a problem that Vučić had already solved. Vučić genuinely had guarantees from his police and security forces. The relatives of police officers and guards are now part of the protest camp.
You cannot find a single police officer who does not have a relative there. Secondly, when protests took place in Serbia, Serbian students also received support from the diaspora. But we have a very special diaspora because our wounds are still fresh. We have an Albanian-American diaspora, and that is what Rama fears most. Why? Because if these people stand face-to-face with the police, the police may be protected and justified in their actions. But are we really going to confront American citizens? The global conduct of U.S. embassies and consulates has changed. With Donald Trump’s return, American citizens are more protected than ever before. It was not like this in the past.
The problem is that an Albanian-American diaspora is now coming, and police officers and guards will tell Rama: ‘No, we are not dealing with them.’ A convoy of hundreds of vehicles has already set off from across Europe, gathering participants from many countries, and they are expected to arrive at Albania’s borders. On Saturday they will be in Albania. Many others are also coming from the United States, buying airline tickets despite prices increasing due to high demand. Rama cannot stop this diaspora because it is not easy to halt international air travel.
This is the most beautiful and necessary thing at this moment: to have Albanians with foreign passports standing here, because we want our children to stay in this country rather than leave it, and for Rama to leave instead. He can no longer use tear gas or deploy the police as he once did. It is much more difficult for him to do that against foreign citizens, especially Albanian-Americans.”
