Tirana Times
TIRANA, April 12 -Albania’s main opposition Socialist party has started a series of rallies across the country that is set to culminate with a big rally in Tirana at the end of the month.
The Socialists have held small protests in many cities, mainly in the south of the country.
Socialist leader Edi Rama called on his party’s supporters to unleash a series of protests asking for the transparency of the June 28 parliamentary elections and also to stop the government from ruining the country’s economy.
Rallies were held in Lushnje, Durres, Vlora and other places. More are to be held this week.
Rama accuses the right-leaning government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of being responsible “for a democratic and economic crisis” that the country finds itself in, adding the protest was the only option left.
“This regime without a future is holding Albania hostage with the weapons of the past,” said Rama.
The wave of protests aims to force early elections after the opposition party has spent the past nine months contesting the results of the June 28 parliamentary poll, which they consider to be marred by fraud.
“Every day a protest in every city and on April 30 we will meet up in Tirana,” Rama said. “United we will bring this regime to the end that it deserves; a regime which everyday gives people less hope and fewer jobs,” he added.
In the last few days Socialist leaders have intensified their public calls for protests against the government, which comes amid a tense political climate fueled by accusations of corruption and personal jibes coming from both sides.
But the country’s political fight seems to have put the European diplomacy also in a test.
The political stalemate in Albania over last year’s parliamentary elections has nervous European Union officials urging both sites, the ruling coalition and the opposition parties, to end the persistent, as they say, “Albanian elections phenomena” since the country left the communist period back in 1992.
This was also seen Monday during Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini’s visit when he was obliged to answer questions whether the political fight was damaging Tirana’s integration efforts not the European Union.
Frattini urged the opposition to take an active part in the parliament’s work as the EU integration process was a responsibility and opportunity for everyone in Albania.
Albania submitted this week its answers to the lengthy European Commission questionnaire. Prime Minister Sali Berisha will meet with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele in Brussels and hand him the document, consisting of 2,284 answers.
Based on those responses, the EC will decide whether Albania meets criteria for EU candidate status.
Albania applied for the candidate status in April last year.
Frattini pledged that Rome would help Tirana to get the candidate status from Brussels until the end of the year
At the same time everyone is turning eyes to the visa liberalization for the country.
Tirana says they have already fulfilled all the requests of the road map. Brussels is expected to give a positive answer, a formal one, like at its summit in Sarajevo in June 2.
But there are voices that the political fight may also damage these prospects.
