Can SPAK turn into a killer of democracy?

2023-12-16 09:47:00, Opinione Andi Bushati

Can SPAK turn into a killer of democracy?

Andi Bushati

SPAK and the assembly are cooperating to end the procedures for the arrest of Berisha. On the other hand, it is no longer a secret, neither among journalists nor among politicians, that at least one of the members of the couple that leads the second largest party in the opposition, will suffer the same fate.

This unprecedented case, according to some, opens a new page in the history of this country. They proclaim with confidence and hope that, finally, the long-awaited last era of impunity has arrived. They rejoice in the fact that they managed, in their lives, to experience what seemed unimaginable only a short time ago, that is, for Saliu, Iliri, or Monika to go to justice like all ordinary people.

In fact, the dream of independent prosecutors or judges who hit ministers, deputies, or mayors of the ruling party, without even sparing those of previous governments, is a beautiful fable, in this country that has been robbed for three decades. If this punishment of all parties is carried out with the same standards, using the same measure and the same weight for everyone, of course it would be welcome.

But, unfortunately, this optimistic picture can also be seen from a much darker and more disturbing angle. After all, if the accountability of those who governed yesterday could be a hopeful omen for justice, the "en bloc" strike of today's opposition leaders is bad news for democracy.
looking at what is happening from this perspective, I don't want to dwell only on the double standards of SPAK, which is telling us a story according to which in Berisha's time it was stolen with the blessing of the boss, while in Rama's time by throwing it at him behind your back. I don't even want to go back to the overused paradox that LSI or Beleri were the ones stealing votes, and not the organized gang of Durrës and Dibra files that no Albanian remained without hearing them with his own ears. At the end of the day, they are separate issues and anyone can claim the alibi that there is no reason to compare them to each other.

The problem is deeper and has a greater impact on the system and the whole society. The beating of the leaders of the opposition by justice, whether we like it or not, cannot be seen separated from the well-thought-out and systematic strategy for its destruction by Rama. It is happening in the social and political context when the spaces of freedom are narrowing, when the media owners are being bullied, when the really critical voices are stifled to the point of misery.

If SPAK hits someone from the Meta couple, no one can help but think of the attempts that were made to dismiss the president as a violator of the constitution, then the sudden release of the "spy" documents, then the drafting of a bill that ex-insurance should be excluded from politics and even further, the other, in order not to leave the parties headed by former collaborators, to compete in the elections.

The same fable applies to Berisha. They lobbied against him to declare him non grata with methods alla McGonigal. Pressure was exerted to expel him from parliament. This divided, divided and crippled the PD. And despite this, although both the elections and opinion polls show that Berisha has an overwhelming majority in the DP, the government is using some political palaces and kamikaze courts to hold the seal of representation hostage. These maneuvers revealed the anomaly of an opposition that could not compete normally in the May 14 elections, that was stripped of the right to have commissioners, enumerators, public funding, and even the most absurd, to have the name of its leader on the ballot of voting.

So, no matter how dishonest, unprincipled, unrenovated or unjust this opposition is, no matter how badly it has deteriorated, it is an undeniable fact that there is already a project for its total elimination. a>
Coincidence or not, SPAK risks playing the role of guillotine executioner in this process that ends a long ordeal. He can probably close an effort that Rama started without being able to finish it. And if we continue with the references, all this started after the prime minister raised his voice at his party's congresses, that the patience for Saliu's arrest was running out and that all of Albania wanted Meta in prison.

Now that these requests are becoming a reality, many people are rejoicing, either out of a sense of revenge or out of naivety, that at the end of the day, anyway, someone is going behind bars. But, while "celebrating" this, we don't have the luxury of forgetting that this could be the finalization of the plan for a system without opposition.

Very soon, Albania may be a country with two opposition leaders arrested and the representative of the largest minority in prison. Is there such a similar place in Europe? The answer is known. But even this finding can make anyone happy, since only we are lucky enough to have SPAK.