Tirana Times
TIRANA, May 10 – More than 20 lawmakers and some 180 supporters of the opposition Socialist party continue their almost two-week hunger strike without achieving any results as of this article’s print date.
They have camped beneath Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s office since April 30 in a hunger strike that has now resulted in health problems for at least 20 of them. Meanwhile hundreds and some times thousands of supporters gathered every day near the strike site.
The opposition calls for complete transparency in last year’s elections. Opposition leader Edi Rama said the protests will not stop until the objective is achieved.
The Socialists also decided to boycott the parliament’s plenary session in solidarity with protesters claiming last year’s election was rigged. The opposition’s call for a partial recount of votes cast in general elections in June has been rejected by Berisha.
The Socialists hold 65 seats in the 140-member parliament. Berisha and his allies hold 75.
The Albanian government says they are doing everything to find a way out of the country’s unprecedented political crisis, which sees the opposition boycotting parliament and prevents Tirana from advancing towards EU membership.
Strikers present requests
On Monday Socialist MP Fatmir Xhafaj read a list of request to end the hunger strike.
He accused the Democratic Party’s government of “degrading the legislative power, arbitrary conduct and weakening of the judicial power. The demands include:
ՠTransparency for the June 28 parliamentary elections, starting with opening of the ballot boxes not to change the results but to conclude on the accountability and responsible persons.
ՠTransparency of the functioning of the parliament in order to make the constitutional accountability of the government, through an equilibrium of the majority and the opposition at the commissions and the parliamentary delegations, limiting the immunity in cases of alleged corruption and achieving consensus on important laws on justice.
ՠTransparency of the figures on economy and giving an end to the disinformation with deformed figures not reflecting the country’s economy.
ՠTransparency in functioning of the National Council on Radio and Television for impartial media coverage.
ՠTransparency in selecting the candidacies for the members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court based on their moral and professional credits and trying to achieve consensus on important draft laws.
ՠTransparency in the investigation on the death of the late Socialist lawmaker Fatmir Xhindi killed last year before the elections.
Berisha wants health care for hunger strikers
Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Monday harshly accused his political rival Edi Rama for not allowing official doctors to take care of the hunger strikers. He also said that the doctors working there were breaking humanity’s laws as they are personally linked to the patients and the political outcome in the care they provide every day.
That was the last move from Berisha who has insisted during the last days that the strike is a useless effort, more used as a personal tool for Edi Rama.
The same tone also comes from his deputy, Foreign Minister Ilir Meta, whose Socialist Movement for Integration, once an ally of the Socialists, won five seats in the June 2009 elections and became a coalition partner of the Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
Albania’s opposition Socialist Party, which controls nearly half the seats in parliament, boycotted the assembly for months, holding up the passage of laws including many that are needed to align the country with EU legislation.
They returned to the legislature in late February. But they refuse to take part in parliamentary activities as their demand for a recount of the vote has been rejected by the assembly, dominated by Berisha’s coalition. The government’s position is that there should be a strong legal case for a recount, not just accusations.
“So, we have made clear that it is very important for them to address the Constitutional Court and if the Constitutional Court gives a positive interpretation for their request, then we will respect this request,” Meta told EurActiv.
He said the government had agreed that the opposition should be able to address the Venice Commission, a specialized Council of Europe body created to provide new democracies with constitutional assistance after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The opposition had in his words raised “concerns, but not facts” regarding fraud in the last elections, he said, adding that the government wants their claims to be investigated professionally and legally by the Prosecutor’s Office.
The government has said they would financially assist the Prosecutor’s Office in setting up a task force of 100 prosecutors to investigate all the fraud claims.
Albanian deadlock reaches the European Parliament
The European Parliament failed to bring Albania’s political parties together last week for dialogue aimed at ending the country’s political crisis.
The EU-Albania Parliamentary Committee was unable to adopt a regular resolution as it had happened in previous meetings.
The head of the Balkan delegation Eduard Kukan said “the political stalemate was evident here at the European Parliament … I am disappointed, since for the first time a meeting of such nature ends in this situation.”
Romanian EP member Victor Bostinaru said the situation sets a bad precedent. “It is alarming that the EP that does not meet readiness from the sides in Albania to work together for the European future of the country. We here co-operate, while our Albanian colleagues don’t,” said Bostinaru.
While the EPP, the parliament’s center-right wing, supporting Berisha, issued a statement on the political crisis in Albania stating its concern over the political situation came after the democratic elections held last June 2009.
They said it was regrettable to see the approach of the opposition party and asked it to fully respect Albania constitution and the rule of law. It also insisted that such a political dialogue between the majority and the opposition has to be conducted within the Albanian parliament.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele again urged Albania’s main political parties to resolve the matter, warning that the stalemate over the election threatens the country’s bid for EU candidate status.
Topi finding mediation difficult
President Bamir Topi, who made his first attempt to resolve the crisis in February, insists that Albania’s laws give him no power to resolve or force the political groupings to talk to each-other. He also said that he could not mediate again only a formal round table unless that had to achieve some tangible results.
Topi expressed his readiness for an institutional dialogue, offering his office for the efforts. He also hinted Monday that he continues to work behind the scenes, likely in cooperation with the international community.
“It is a necessity when talking on dialogue that the political parties, the majority and the opposition sit at the negotiating table,” he said.
The president said that the political conflict should come to an end but insisted that is up to the political parties to achieve. He can only assist them in negotiations.
Last week Topi held a series of meetings with EU and US ambassadors to Tirana and with Foreign Minister Ilir Meta to discuss the political crisis.
“The parties discussed the current political situation, especially in relation to the hunger strike of the opposition and its supporters,” read a statement from the president’s office after a meeting with Spanish Ambassador Manuel Montobio and EC Delegation head Helmut Lohan.
“The need to restart political dialogue was underlined, which is a necessary and important step in efforts to overcome the situation,” the statement added.
Earlier in the day the president held meetings with US Ambassador John Withers and Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta to discuss the opposition’s hunger strike.
