Seventh opposition protest deepens deadlock
Story Highlights
- In his speech Basha stated there can be no elections with Rama or a pact with the "Balkan’s Moduro”, meanwhile promising the Albanians supporting this anti-government rally that he will never betray them.
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TIRANA, Mar. 28 – The opposition’s seventh protest in the course of 40 days began with tensions in front of the parliament, where as in the previous cases hundreds of police forces had surrounded the entire area and all access roads leading to the building, where the weekly parliamentary session was taking place.
Initially, a group of protesters, mostly residents of the Astir area who, since November, have been protesting against the Great Ring project looking to expand the city ring, tried several times to break the line of policemen surrounding the walking road between the interior ministry and the Gallery of Arts.
A similar situation was repeated several times at the parliament’s main entrance, where the main opposition leaders remained among the protesters.
The occasional attempts of a group of protesters to open the way to the building were backed by police.
Small firecrackers and smoke bombs were released by protesters, while short speeches were being held by opposition representatives, former MPs who have abandoned parliament since February, when the opposition resigned its parliamentary mandates altogether, leading the country to deadlock.
Protesters also marched toward the ministry of interior, where they sprayed the outside walls with black spray to condemn the police decision to arrest 14 protesters over the sixth protest last Thursday.
Local media also reported some citizens were left injured from clashing with police forces.
As in the previous protests, head of the Democratic Party Lulzim Basha gathered the protesters at the DP headquarters when the protest ended, where he held the closing speech before singing the national anthem.
In his speech Basha stated there can be no elections with Rama or a pact with the “Balkan’s Moduro” , meanwhile promising the Albanians supporting this anti-government rally that he will never betray them.
“The time of the gang is over. Whoever doesn’t get it, can understand clearly there will be no elections with Rama, no pact with the Balkans’ Moduro. This resistance began to return governance back to every Albanian and will not stop until it becomes a reality. Nobody in this protest is here for the power chair and much less for bargaining, but to end the bargain at the expense of the people,” Basha said.
Basha’s words were not addressed only to opposition supporters, but also to disappointed Socialists: “Betrayed Socialists, lift your head, join the movement of hope.”
The opposition’s demands remains unchanged: the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the establishment of a caretaker government that can lead the country to early elections.
In addition to resigning their parliamentary mandates, the opposition is also heading towards a total boycott of the local elections to be held in June by refusing to hand in their candidates list.
