Albanian opposition to hold new anti-government protest, as calls for compromise ignored

By Llazar Semini (CP)

TIRANA, Albania — Albanian opposition parties say they will hold a new protest rally on Friday, ignoring international pressure for compromise in the wake of deadly anti-government demonstrations in the country's capital.

Three opposition supporters were shot dead and more than 150 protesters and security officers were injured in Jan. 21 clashes between demonstrators and police.

The plans for the latest rally were announced Monday, despite a plea by President Bamir Topi in a rare televised address for political rivals to hold compromise talks.

The opposition Socialists are demanding that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha hold early elections over allegation of corruption and vote rigging in the previous 2009 general election.

Berisha has refused the demands and accused the Socialists of trying to stage a coup. He repeated the claims Monday in the latest sign of tension.

"The (attempted) coup d'etat has dealt a strong blow to the main project of the Albanian nation — its integration into Europe," Berisha told a cabinet meeting.

Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries and now a NATO member, is seeking to join the 27-nation European Union, though the tiny Balkan country of 3.2 million suffers from a still-weak administration and widespread corruption.

European and U.S. officials have repeatedly called for restraint from the Socialists and the governing Democrats, and pressed for a compromise to resolve the crisis.

But rival parties remain in dispute over an investigation into the deaths of the three demonstrators during the clashes on Jan. 21.

Opposition lawmakers want the constitutional Court to declare a parliamentary investigation illegal, because they say it violates public officials' right to privacy. Members of the investigation committee have said they will examine telephone records of opposition parliament members, the country's president, its prosecutor general, the head of the secret police and journalists as part of a probe of the clashes.

Last Friday, tens of thousands of pro-opposition supporters attended a peaceful rally to honour the three demonstrators.