Gerdec rallies divide opposition

TIRANA, March 11 – The opposition has called on all Albanians to join their rally on Sunday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Gerdec blast which killed 26, injured 300 and damaged thousands of homes and businesses only 15 kilometers from capital Tirana.
Naturally the opposition will exploit the pro-Gerdec rally as an anti-government protest.
The ammunitions disposal factory at a former military unit area exploded March 15 in a series of blasts as thousands of tons of shells and other ammunition exploded that were stored to be disposed.
Consequently 28 Defense Ministry officials, including then-minister Fatmir Mediu and Chief of Staff of the Army Luan Hoxha, together with the private company owner and manager, have been accused of abuse of post and some of them also of murder.
The opposition has directly accused Berisha for the incident, a move that has been turned down by the government as a political tool in the fight ahead of the general elections in June 28.
But the upcoming polls also serve as an object of dispute among the opposition leaders.
At least two rallies will be held on Sunday, one from the Socialists and the other from the Socialist Movement for Integration of the former PM Ilir Meta. The two opposition political parties have been fighting each other since last year after the Gerdec blast when the constitution was amended for the new electoral code.
The new code has turned from a partial majority to proportioned by regions, a move that has been said by the SMI to directly influence the smaller political parties.
Consequently the Gerdec rallies will be held separately from the two parties, one at the main Skanderbeg square and the other at Mother Teresa square. One may start in Gerdec at midday when the blast occurred, the other differently. One motto is “don’t forget,” the other “Berisha go.”
The socialists said they will start at midday at the blast crater where they will distribute flowers and then march toward capital Tirana. The SMI will start its rally at 5 p.m.
In all this political fighting one may also see the division or the grouping, coalitions for the next polls. Some smaller parties join the Socialists and the others the SMI.
Despite such political pressure, the Gerdec victims, its inhabitants may look for more than just politics in this country. They want help, attention and more commitment from the authorities.
Some of them have declared they will not join either of the political parties in their rallies declining to listen to politics.
For that reason they have decided to hold their own rally a day earlier.
But that act is also not ‘separated’ too far from politics. They will be supported by the Mjaft! Non-governmental organization that also represents them legally at the judiciary. But one may also think that Mjaft! is the origin, the resource where the G99 political party, now in coalition with the Socialists, comes from.
The European Union earlier this week set 3.1 million Euros for the reconstruction of the Gerdec commune’s infrastructure, building a new road, repairing the water supply network and also building a monitoring laboratory to check the pollution levels.
The EU is not asking for, or supporting any rally. It is doing work.