TIRANA, April 8 – Citizens coming from both Tirana and Kukes protested in front of the government’s headquarters on Saturday, carrying slogans reading “Arrest Me Too” — urging freedom for all those arrested in an earlier protest over a new toll on the highway to Kukes.
The protest was organized on social media without political backing, marking the latest in a trend of such civil society protests that target both the government and the political class.
Protesters were asking for the release of 11 arrested people from last weekend’s Kalimash protest that had hundreds opposing the country’s first-ever toll road in the Nation Highway ranging from €5-€22.5 depending on the vehicle.
After a series of protests that lasted throughout the week amid tensions and clashes between police forces and civilians, Prime Minister Edi Rama said during last Thursday’s parliamentary session the tax had been rushed and that it will not be imposed until a solution is found for the region’s inhabitants — the country’s poorest region.
Despite this, the 11 people are still in jail, being prosecuted among a number of people arrested for destroying property by putting the collection boxes on fire and clashing with police.
Saturday’s protesters also called for “good governance” in addition to calling for the arrested protesters to be released — lower taxes on roads and services, less police interference and arrests and lower structural “arrogance” toward the country’s extremely poor social class.
One of the protest’s organizers, Adriatik Lapaj, said living costs in Albania are being artificially raised by irrational taxes and tariffs that are disproportionate to poverty and unemployment.
The protests in front of police headquarters in both Tirana and Kukes have been ongoing during the last week and were also joined by civil society and human rights representatives, all asking for the release of the arrested protesters.
The police arrested 23 people during the Nation Highway protest that became violent, while ten more people are still being wanted.
The court session for the 23 arrested people developed in Tirana amid tensions, as hundred of police forces surrounded the area around Tirana’s Court and suspended traffic, while opposition MPs were initially kept from entering the court session, happening behind closed doors.
It was later communicated that 11 out of the 23 arrested would be kept in jail while awaiting trial, while 12 others were set free.
