Doctor Ermal Pashaj has called for unity and solidarity with students, as he urged Prime Minister Edi Rama to step down as the first act of responsibility for the crisis that has swept the country and later the establishment of a transitional government.
From the square before the prime minister, doctor Ermal Pashaj read the joint statement signed by 120 health professionals, which also requires police to ensure the lives and health of citizens, protect public and private property, and avoid using tear gas to the extent that residents, children and the elderly are at risk.
Doctors also demand that no injured person be left without help and that any conviction for police abuse be investigated independently, fully and transparently.
The declaration also calls on diplomatic representatives and international organisations to follow closely into the situation and to seek respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.
Doctor Ermal Pashaj’s statement
We signatories of this declaration, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other employees join the student protest in protecting Albania’s life, dignity and future, our mission to protect life and health, and ease our suffering with responsibility to react when human integrity and dignity are violated. We cannot remain silent in the face of violence against young people and violating their right to peaceful protest.
Quality education, honest opportunities, and the right to build a future in their country are issues that are of all of us. In the conditions created for protecting life, we seek immediate action. This group calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation as a political responsibility for the crisis and its escalation and the creation of a transitional government with technical composition to enable peaceful exit from this situation.
Functioning institutions and restoring civic trust and respecting their will. We condemn the violence practiced against students and those who are committed to providing first aid to the injured.
We call on state police employees to ensure the protection of citizens’ lives and health, as well as the invisibility of public and private property by acting in any case in accordance with the law. We demand that police interventions protect both residents and passersby as well as persons who do not participate in the protest. The widespread use of tear gas in downtown and residential areas can indiscriminately expose citizens at any age, including children and the elderly.
As health professionals, we consider it unacceptable to leave hurt persons without help, especially when they are unconscious and unable to ask for help. We request quick, independent, complete and transparent investigation into any allegations of abuse, including any action or inaction caused by injuries, has jeopardised life or delayed providing health aid.
We call on diplomatic representatives and international organisations to follow closely the developments, maintain clear public attitudes in protecting fundamental rights and freedoms and insist on independent investigations of any kind of violations. Protecting peaceful life and protest requires special attention and continued commitment.
We also urge protesters to maintain the peaceful character of protest, to avoid provocations, and to protect one another, to avoid actions that endanger life or violate its security. The protest of citizens preserves its strength by defending human dignity and the common purpose of this effort.
We call on our colleagues in all health professions as well as citizens to join students. With their presence, voice and solidarity. Our commitment should also ensure the continuation of health services and constant care for anyone who is a patient along with students for life, for Albania’s dignity and future. /a2cn/
