At the meeting with farmers in Berat, Sali Berisha spoke at length about the debate on dissent within the Democratic Party, emphasizing that the party is “100% open to dissent.” But, according to him, a clear distinction must be made between dissent and a different stance.
Berisha said that every democrat can freely express his opinion in party forums without any consequences. However, according to him, the situation changes when the opinion is accompanied by actions that favor political opponents.
To illustrate this, he referred directly to the case of Ervin Salianji. Berisha said that before he was released from prison, Salianji had gone to his office to ask his opinion on whether he should sign a document guaranteeing that he would not kill Fatmir Xhafa. According to Berisha, he had advised him not to sign it, because such an action would imply an admission of guilt.
Afterwards, Berisha said that while he himself publicly attacked Ergys Agas as “one of the blackest figures,” Salianji, according to him, had lunch with him. He also added that he had received complaints from Democrats in Elbasan who claimed that Salianji was using Suel Çela’s name to line up supporters.
According to Berisha, at this point it was no longer a question of having a different opinion, but of having a different stance. And for this reason, he said, Salianji was "self-excluded" from the Democratic Party.
