Demonstrators paralyzed traffic in the center of the capital.
Albanian opposition MPs and their supporters blocked the streets in the center of the capital Tirana for several hours on Tuesday. They accuse the government of corruption and demand that the country be led by an official government until next year’s parliamentary elections, reports TASR according to the AP agency.
Hundreds of opposition supporters blocked traffic on Tirana’s main thoroughfares, accusing incumbent Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialists of corruption, rigging previous elections and usurping the powers of the judiciary.
Supporters of the Albanian opposition from some other cities also took part in the protest, and some got into sporadic clashes with riot police. Protesters at many places chanted slogans such as: “Rama, leave!”
Police intervention
Hundreds of police officers were deployed to protect government buildings, facilitate traffic or maintain public order. They deployed water cannons against the protesters to keep them at a safe distance from the town hall. In at least one case, they also deployed tear gas.
The conservative Democratic Party (PD) and other opposition sympathizers also protested the detention of PD leader Sali Berisha and ex-president Ilir Metu in connection with separate corruption cases. They claim that the charges against them are fabricated.
“The revolt and civil disobedience of the Albanians cannot be stopped,” declared Democratic Party Secretary Flamur Noka, who leads the party externally while Berisha is under house arrest.
Parliamentary elections will be held in Albania in the spring of next year. According to polls, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialists should win them – also because the opposition is fragmented, writes AP.
