Albania opposition to hold anti-government protest for Gerdec tragedy

TIRANA, Sep 16 – Albanian opposition Socialist Party announced a protest in capital Tirana Friday to protest against the government blaming it for the March 15 blast in Gerdec which killed 26 people and also after the mysterious death of an Albanian businessman considered as a main witness in the arms trafficking row.
Socialist leader Edi Rama said that Prime Minister Sali Berisha should listen to the “voice of not only of those that we represent but of all Albanians that seek a country where people who respect the law should feel safe.”
the blast in Gerdec ammunition disposal factory March 15 killed 26 persons, injured 300 others and also damaged or destroyed some 5,500 buildings in the area.
A defense ministry official and two managers of the private company disposing ammunition are under arrest charged of mass murder.
Former defense minister Fatmir Mediu was lifted his parliamentary immunity and has been questioned but not yet charged.
Businessman Kosta Trebicka, found dead last Friday, was considered an important witness in a corruption scandal of alleged weapons traffic.
Trebicka told the New York Times newspaper of a tapped phone talk accusing Albanian officials of murky deals with a Miami-based Pentagon contractor, AEY Inc.
The firm had its $298 million contract with the United States military to supply the Afghan army revoked amid claims by the newspaper that it supplied ammunition that was decades old.
It is alleged that the Tirana government and AEY used a third company, Cyprus-based Evdin Ltd, a company subcontracted by Albania’s trading giant, MEICO, to coordinate the deal between the Albanian military and the US company.