Berisha: Rama founded Europe's only narco-state. Democracy, the family, and Albania are the battles of our lives and mission

Calling the head of government the founder of Europe's only narco-state, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha said that democracy, the family, and Albania are the defining battles of the Democratic Party's mission.

Speaking at the DP's 35th anniversary, Berisha said that Edi Rama, like Enver Hoxha and "his biological forefathers, executioners of Albanians", has destroyed free elections and Albanians' hope, leading to the depopulation of the country, which he described as a deep social wound for many Albanian families.

"We are fighting today to save the Albanian family, because the law on gender 'deconfiguration' was passed by Edi Rama. We are fighting today to save Albania, because with the current rate of depopulation we risk complete disappearance in the next five decades," Berisha said in his address marking the DP's founding.

"Ladies and gentlemen, 35 years after the Democratic Party was created, in some ways we find ourselves in a situation very similar to the early days, though only figuratively. A coincidence: back then it was Aleksandër Gjoka who welcomed and inspired us, today we have Renis Gjoka.

"Renis, hugs and thank you very much."

"When we were founded, we faced a dictatorship. Today we face another dictatorship, not a communist dictatorship based on Marxist-Leninist ideology and indoctrination, but one based on drugs, theft, and the post-Marxist ideology of the far left.

"Edi Rama, whom we expelled from the Democratic Party in his early hours there, has now founded Europe's first and only narco-state. He holds more power today than Ramiz Alia did in 1991.

"He governs in cooperation with the most dangerous drug cartels in Albania and Latin America.

"Today, after 12 years in power, Albania has lost nearly half its population. The nation has suffered the greatest demographic catastrophe in its history. Edi Rama has plundered Albanians' wealth in amounts greater than all previous regimes and occupations combined.

"Edi Rama, just like Enver Hoxha and 'his biological forefathers,' executioners of Albanians, has killed free elections and Albanians' hope.

"He has replaced them with electoral force, as confirmed by the latest OSCE-ODIHR report. In every respect, Albania today is suffering under a second genuine dictatorship, with arrests and imprisonment of political opponents, media control, impoverishment, and the expulsion of Albanians from their homeland. And something more, my friends:

"If we were founded for core values, for political pluralism, for freedom and human dignity, for the family, for Albania's integration into the EU and NATO, for the national interest, then the reasons we fight today are even more fundamental. We fight to save democracy, because we no longer have elections.

"We fight to save the Albanian family, because the so-called gender 'deconfiguration' law was passed by Edi Rama. We fight to save Albania, because with the current rate of depopulation we risk total disappearance within five decades.

"Democracy, the family, and Albania are the battles of our lives and our mission. These three are the call to arms for every Democrat today. Never in our lives have we had a mission as important as this. Never has Albania's fate depended on a party the way it depends on us today.

"My friends, we will win."