Albania’s EU Future Hangs by a Thread

EU Envoy Miroslav Lajcak has warned Albania’s key political players in Tirana that if they don’t calm the situation following Friday’s deadly riots, the country’s EU perspective will be compromised.

Besar Likmeta

Tirana Lajcak said that he had asked both the ruling Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the opposition headed by Tirana mayor Edi Rama, to take a series of steps in order to avoid further violence and lower tensions.

“I made clear that the EU future for Albania depends very much on whether or not the political leaders choose to do what we asked them to do and do it now,” he said during a press conference.

Lajcak said that both parties share responsibility for preventing any further violence and bloodshed, allowing the proper functioning of state institutions, and respecting state bodies, because no one is above law.

Lajcak also underlined the need to bring those responsible for the carnage to justice and avoid any actions that could further increase the level of confrontation, in order to bring Albania back on the European track.

“This can only be achieved if the government and the opposition do their part,” he added.

Lajcak, who was dispatched to Tirana by EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Catherine Ashton, met on Wednesday with President Bamir Topi and Prime Minister Sali Berisha, as well as Socialist opposition leader Edi Rama.

He arrived in the Albanian capital as government and opposition leaders continue to trade blame for the violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces on January 21 that left three people dead and seven wounded from gunfire.

The fighting broke out on Friday when several hundred protesters attacked the police barricade set up to protect the prime minister’s office, using sticks, stones and Molotov cocktails, and police responded with tear gas, a water cannon and later with live ammunition fire to disperse the crowd.

The group of violent protesters threw rocks and set several cars on fire as they clashed with police. Another group of protesters, estimated at 20,000 people, demonstrated non-violently on Tirana's main boulevard.

Berisha’s ruling Democratic Party and the Socialist opposition, headed by Tirana mayor Edi Rama, have been locked in a power struggle since the end of the June 2009 parliamentary elections.

The Socialists allege that Berisha stole the elections through voter fraud, while the ruling majority rejects the accusations as baseless and maintains that the polls were the best the country has ever held.

Friday's anti-government protests were called by the opposition following the publication of video which allegedly shows two government ministers discussing corrupt deals.