Mandel of Europe’s sublime hunger strike is interrupted on the 20th day. Gratitude and greetings to all supporters at home and abroad Democrats celebrate the victory in front of the PD headquarters. Above, Pjetr Arbnori on the last day of the hunger strike

The opposition’s mandate and, in fact, the truly historic and lofty parliamentary day yesterday presented the first bright and triumphant victory of the Albanian opposition against a vile majority in an unusual session. Despite its surprise, this success of the opposition was entirely deserved, if not long overdue. It is enough to remember that its deputies in the chamber represented nearly twice as many voters as those of the majority and that, despite everything, they carried out their mission with dedication and courage. This first vote won by the right, reduced to the opposition, came after an hour and a half of a tense and hysterical session which culminated in Arbnori being taken out of the Assembly hall on a stretcher, after he had handed the floor to deputy Neritan Ceka. As soon as he took the floor, Ceka called the Nano government a “government of the cronies,” setting the tone for the subsequent debate. He pointed out that the government and the parliamentary majority were dragging out Arbnori’s case in the hope of breaking his 29-day hunger strike, but that they were mistaken. “On the contrary,” Ceka said, “the scale this strike is taking is turning it into a major national issue.” As for the risk of reform stagnation and the financial crisis, Ceka said that Prime Minister Nano is the last hole in the flute in the government he leads and added that it would have been more normal for the government to resign. Convinced that Albanians would just stand there dumbfounded, they miscalculated, Ceka said. Accusing Nano of having placed Albania under the rule of traffickers, he said that the government is not governing the country. Convinced that “the time of democratic uprising has come,” Ceka stated that “the removal of the government and of crime from politics is the imperative of the day.” This intervention by Ceka paved the way for the opposition’s decision not to take part in the passage of laws after their colleague was forcibly removed from the chamber. The opposition thus boycotted the session, but without leaving the hall empty. On the contrary, a not inconsiderable number of 250 representatives of intellectuals, journalists, artists and former political prisoners, specially arrived from all over Albania to honor Arbnori on the 20th day of the hunger strike, had taken seats in the gallery. As we would see, it was precisely their voice, articulated with calm and determination, that would have the main impact on the parliament’s hysteria. The majority’s second nervous outburst was provoked by the opposition’s insistence on presenting the motion to place the issue of Arbnori’s grave condition on the agenda. This was opposed by the socialist tally-keepers on the pretext that it should have been done at the conference of chairpersons. The session reached its second peak when Sali Berisha announced that Arbnori had lost consciousness and asked the session chair several times whether he would allow his transfer to the hospital. Berisha declared that the opposition would block parliament, since it would not allow not only the sublime sacrifice of Albania’s Mandela, but also the desecration that the non-existent state of the socialists was inflicting on him. This prompted a harsh reaction from the chair of the session, Sabit Brokaj, who invited the opposition deputies to remove Arbnori from there “if they were concerned about his life.” While Berisha was speaking, socialist deputies shouted “Let him die” at Arbnori. A shocking moment that fully brought to life the unforgettable scenario of yesterday’s parliamentary session. The whole atmosphere after this moment resembled an absurd theater. Berisha overcame the socialists’ obstacles, rushed toward the place where Arbnori was and asked for the hospital stretcher. In the absence of the latter, Arbnori left the hall in the arms of his comrades, fainted but not defeated. Meanwhile, parliament continued its work and, in the absence of the opposition, passed the law “On Firearms” with 85 votes. Almost simultaneously, hundreds of citizens gathered in front of parliament learned of the socialists’ scandal in the chamber and burst out with shouts of “Nano, leave,” “Freedom-Democracy.” A few minutes later they broke through the police cordon and poured into the parliament courtyard. Then the democratic deputies announced to them the decision not to allow the normal conduct of the parliamentary session until the Arbnori issue was resolved. Thus, an hour later, parliamentary work had come to a standstill and the session leaders agreed to vote on the agenda corrected according to the opposition’s request, which demanded that the afternoon session begin with consideration of Arbnori’s health condition and the formation of a verification committee. The opposition’s decision was respected and the afternoon session began with the debate and voting procedure for the parliamentary committee. Arbnori thus won the 20-day hunger-strike challenge, giving the Nano government and the cronies a lesson they are hardly likely to forget. (From 6:00 to 11:20 a.m.) [?]

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