Minister of Interior Sander Lleshaj has “irrevocably” resigned after a policeman killed a 25-year-old man on Tuesday in Tirana.
“In the face of the attempt of the authors of January 21, 2011 to seek today a new pretext to sow violence among Albanians based on a tragic and fatal episode, as well as with full awareness that the country needs a different model of political behavior, I decided to resign irrevocably from the post of Minister of Interior of the Republic of Albania,” Lleshaj announced on Facebook.
The killing sparked protests, which are still ongoing tonight.
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced earlier that he was presented with the resignation but didn’t clarify whether it was final.
In a long statement on his social media account, Leshaj made a summary of achievements.
He curiously compared his decision to accept the post with the dire circumstances in which an Albanian patriot and catholic priest, Pater Anton Harapi decided to work in the country’s governance under the Nazi regime in 1943.
Leshaj blamed the opposition for the recent protests, and accused them of using the “unjust killing of a young man” for political gains and for “attacking policemen in a barbaric way”. He reminded the opposition of the killings that occurred under their rule, and of the lack of any resignations, specifically the killing of four protesters in 2011.
