The tense situation in the Baks-Rrjoll area of Shkodra, where residents have been opposing the construction of the Ulajt resort for days, has turned into a political clash between the opposition and the government.
Asked by journalist Osman Stafa about the Democratic Party's position, its leader, Sali Berisha, stated that the DP "stands behind every legal owner" and directly blamed the government for the situation created.
Berisha stressed that nothing prevents the opposition from supporting the residents, but added that the main responsibility for property conflicts falls on state institutions, which according to him should not grant permission without first guaranteeing the full resolution of the issues of expropriation and compensation.
Osman Stafa: Mr. Berisha, another heated situation is developing almost daily in Shkodra in Baks-Rrjoll. What is preventing the DP from supporting these residents?
Sali Berisha: Absolutely, nothing prevents it and the DP stands behind every Albanian whose rights are violated, whose property is violated.
Nothing.
There is no obstacle and there cannot be.
Our MPs have been there.
If you think that the DP will take part in every protest, I believe that this is... the DP supports every fair protest.
And, let me say one thing here, we have built more than anyone in history and more than ever and we have had absolutely, except in one case, no protests from the owners about the expropriation of their lands.
Why?
Because we have not taken a single step without compensating them or signing an agreement with them that at this time they will receive the money.
And I will give you an example.
The National Road has made the largest expropriations and it was built by doing the design and building.
What did we do?
We created a team of competent experts and attached it to the design with a single goal, that where the line was drawn to take the land, negotiations were held with the owner, a reward was offered, a contract was signed with him and from Rrëshen to Morinë, there was no protest because it was not built without solving the ownership problem.
So, what should I say with this?
The main responsibility for this is the government, which in no case should sign any permit without receiving a full guarantee that the problem with the owners has been completely solved.
Meanwhile, the government takes the money itself and issues the permits as it wishes.
We, whether in Rrjoll or wherever they appear, fully support the legal owners.
We never accept arbitrariness towards them.
Those who try to politicize it, they deceive.
Since you can't go to the field to support them on a daily basis, how many statements have you made from the DP headquarters?
Sali Berisha: The DP supports it politically.
How many statements have you made?
Sali Berisha: DP supports politically. It should be the communities that...
But apart from the cases when we asked them questions, on how many occasions has the DP issued a press statement to express support or seek a solution to the situation?
Sali Berisha: This is at least the third time that I have spoken to the media.
After the questions...
Sali Berisha: No, even without question, because we had our MP there, our representative.
And I say it again here, everywhere and in every case, we stand behind the legal owners.
I emphasize this.
But we blame the government first and foremost because the government should not grant any permit without fully guaranteeing that the community has received what it deserves.
That is.
We have acted this way for ourselves. The case of the National Road, because the National Road was built in that form, while the others were not, the others were made into a project, then expropriated.
And in 8 years, 11,300 kilometers of roads, hundreds and hundreds of schools, kindergartens, sewers, water supply systems, the only clash we have had was with the residents at the Technological School, to whom we offered a solution and they completely agreed.
We have not had any.
What is happening should never have happened.
And we do not protect anyone in an absolute way.
Our position is this, to solve the problem with the owners. Whatever it is and whoever it is.
State violence against property owners can never be used because this is what the government creates.
The government gets paid and does these things.