Ex-premier Sali Berisha calls on Albanians to get armed

Former Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha speaks to the media outside Parliament in Tirana, Albania, Thursday April 21, 2016. Berisha, has called on Albanians to arm themselves because the government is failing to confront crime. Gun ownership is illegal in Albania and calls to break the law could result in a 10-year jail sentence. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina) (The Associated Press)

Former Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha speaks at Parliament in Tirana, Albania, Thursday April 21, 2016. Berisha, has called on Albanians to arm themselves because the government is failing to confront crime. Gun ownership is illegal in Albania and calls to break the law could result in a 10-year jail sentence. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina) (The Associated Press)

TIRANA, Albania – The former prime minister, Sali Berisha, has called on Albanians to arm themselves because the government is failing to confront crime.

Speaking Thursday at the weekly parliamentary session, Berisha accused the government of links to the crime gangs.

Berisha stepped down as prime minister in 2013 after his center-right Democratic Party was defeated in parliamentary elections.

Gun ownership is illegal in Albania and calls to break the law could result in a 10-year jail sentence.

Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri, one of the targets of Berisha's criticism, has informally asked the prosecutor's office to start a case.

Albania's parliamentary debate often becomes heated, with opposing political groups accusing each other of crime links.