Clashes broke out this evening in , between police and opposition protesters who accuse the socialist prime minister of corruption and demand his resignation, an AFP journalist said.
Several thousand people had gathered outside the seat of government in the center of the Albanian capital, responding to a call by opposition leader and former prime minister Sali Berisha, head of the right-wing Democratic Party.
Berisha called on Albanians to “unite to overthrow this government” and replace it with a government of technocrats with a mandate to prepare “free and fair elections”.
How did the episodes start?
After the speeches, some of those gathered threw Molotov cocktails at the police, who responded with tear gas and pressurized water to disperse the crowd.
Fresh clashes broke out when groups of protesters marched towards parliament and attempted to break through the police cordon, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails, with police again responding with tear gas.
At least ten officers were slightly injured, police said.
According to Berisha, 25 protesters were arrested. “This is the last kilometer before the end of Edi Rama’s regime,” he told supporters outside his party’s headquarters after the rally, vowing to “keep up the fight.”
What is the situation in Albania?
Political parties in Albania, both right and left, accuse each other of corruption and links to organized crime. Berisha himself is suspected of awarding public contracts to his close associates, something he categorically denies.
In November, a court suspended the deputy prime minister and a close ally of Rama’s over her involvement in public procurement. Belinda Baluku, who was also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, denied the charges while the Prime Minister described the court decision as a “brutal interference in the independence of the executive”. The Constitutional Court, to which the government appealed, temporarily reinstated Baluku in December, pending a final decision.
A parliamentary committee will on Wednesday consider a request by anti-corruption prosecutors to lift her immunity, which could lead to her arrest.
Tirana Mayor Erion Veliai and former Albanian President Ilir Meta were recently arrested on charges of corruption and money laundering.
