Explosive damages restaurant after Rama and three other MPs leave

TIRANA, Feb. 15 – An explosive devise on Thursday caused material damage to a restaurant in the Albanian capital only minutes after the opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama and 3 other parliamentarians had left, police said. The explosion occurred at 0100 GMT at pizzeria Te Joni located in front of the Prosecutor General’s office in downtown Tirana, said spokeswoman Laura Totraku. There was no one injured in the restaurant staff, she said, adding the police anti-explosive team and other forces were investigating.
On Sunday Albania holds local government elections in which Rama, who is also the Tirana mayor, runs for a third term. On Sunday, about 2.9 million registered voters in the country of 4.2 million registered citizens will elect officials to local office in some 380 urban and rural communities. Contested by candidates of the governing coalition of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Socialist-led opposition of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, both express confidence they will be victorious.
“That was very shocking. These are nasty acts. I wish it has no links to the electoral campaign,” said Socialist parliamentarian Arta Dade, who had accompanied Rama to the restaurant. Andis Harasani, also an MP present there, appealed to the citizens to help find the perpetrators of the crime. Rama said that he expected a phone call of solidarity from Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Rama also asked for a fast clarification of the incident and hinted of persons with “senior posts and mandates” involved with organized crime.
The U.S. embassy in Tirana also “encourages the proper authorities to investigate the incident fully,” according to a statement.
In a separate incident, the offices of the opposition Socialist Movement for Integration in Fier have been shot at with weapons by some still unidentified persons.