Albania: The Wider Implications of a Political Crisis-Turned Violent

Published: February 7, 2011

A fourth protester has died as a result of a gunshot wound during 21 January protest rallies outside the Albanian Prime Minister’s Office, bringing the death toll to four. At the same time, protesters, led by Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, have vowed to stage another round of demonstrations this Friday, and continue until the government is forced out.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, has reminded Albanian political leaders of their “shared responsibility for preventing any further violence and bloodshed, the functioning of state institutions and respecting state institutions. No one is above the state institutions.”

After meeting with Albanian political figures last week, Lajcak told reporters: “I made it clear that the European future for Albania depends very much on whether the political leaders choose to do what we ask them to do, and do it now. […]“it is now up to your politicians to make the first move in the right direction. They know exactly what we want them to do.”

There are three main questions here that warrant detailed examination: 1) Will the situation continue to gain in intensity and violence? 2) What will this mean for the wider region? 3) How will this affect Albania’s NATO and EU aspirations?

With No Peaceful Solution in Sight and Neither Side Willing to Back Down, the Situation Threatens to Spiral Out of Control

Prime Minister Sali Berisha is not seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis and is treating the situation in the typical style of Albanian politics – score-settling. He is further fomenting the crisis through the creation of a parliamentary committee charged with investigating what he is calling a coup attempt, led by Rama, rather than investigating why it was that National Guards opened fire on protesters armed with rocks and sticks outside the Prime Minister’s Office. Berisha is also directly attacking the General Prosecutor’s Office, which has failed to come out on his side in the crisis by ordering the arrest of six National Guardsmen involved in the 21 January deaths – arrests that the police have refused to carry out..................................more see.....................................http://www.isaintel.com/2011/02/07/albania-the-wider-implications-of-a-political-crisis-turned-violent/: