Miroslav Lajcak said after meeting local leaders he was still
concerned about the risk of escalation of the tense situation, and
also urged poltiicians to let prosecutors calm to investigate the Jan. 21 tragedy.
TIRANA, Feb. 3 A European Union envoy on Thursday called on the Albanian opposition to hold peaceful demonstrations and urged the local leaders bear responsibility for the country’s future.
Miroslav Lajcak has also asked Albanian political parties and the
government to let alone the prosecutors investigate the “tragedy” of Jan. 21 in which three people were shot dead and more than 150 protesters and security officers were injured at a rally staged by the Socialist opposition.
“We urge citizens of Albania to behave calmly and responsibly and not to let these demonstrations be turned to provocations, let alone into violence,” said Lajcak at a news conference after meeting with Albanian President Bamir Topi, Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Socialist leader Edi Rama in his second trip to Tirana.
“We have still reasons to be very concerned about the situation in Albania. There is still a risk of the escalation of the situation,”
said Lajcak, adding that “we are not here to mediate, we are here to help.”
Opposition Socialist Party has planned protests in capital Tirana and three other cities on Friday.
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.
Lajcak also urged the political parties to let the prosecutors
investigate the deadly riot last month. 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, started from the governing Democrats, illegal.
“The parliamentary committee can complement but cannot substitute the proper investigative institutions,” Lajcak said.
He also said that Europe had made it clear to the government “that the independence of the media should be guaranteed and journalists must have all the space to do their profession and to inform objectively.”
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.
Lajcak said that Albanian leaders should also focus on 12
recommendations the European Commission made in last year’s report on the country.
