Police in Tirana tonight broke up another mass right-wing opposition demonstration in front of the government headquarters in Tirana, where incidents broke out, with some of the crowd throwing flares and Molotov cocktails and police responding with water cannons.
Thousands of supporters of the veteran politician and former prime minister’s Democratic Party (PD) have been regularly responding to his calls in recent months, gathering in central Tirana to demand the resignation of the socialist prime minister, who has ruled Albania since 2013.
“. He is politically dead,” 81-year-old Berisha told the crowd.
Berisha was forced to interrupt his speech shortly after, when many protesters started throwing Molotov cocktails onto the sidewalk and the facade of the government headquarters.
The police broke up the gathering using tear gas and pressurized water.
Led by Berisha, the protesters then headed towards the parliament, which is a few hundred meters away and where strong police forces were waiting for them.
Corruption and organized crime in Albania
For years, Albanian parties have accused each other of corruption and ties to organized crime. Tensions have been escalating since November after Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Baluku, a close associate of Rama, was prosecuted for corruption and subsequently removed from office by court order.
Many former ministers of Rama’s governments have also been accused in various corruption cases.
Sali Berisha himself allegedly awarded public contracts to his relatives when he was in power, something he categorically denies.
