Albania braced for protests after three killed

ALBANIA IS braced for more anti-government protests this week despite appeals for calm from the European Union and United States after a fatal clash between police and demonstrators.

Three people were shot dead on Friday outside government headquarters as riot police fought with protesters demanding the resignation of prime minister Sali Berisha, whom critics, led by opposition leader Edi Rama, accuse of rigging a 2009 general election and presiding over massive corruption.

About 60 people were wounded and more than 100 arrested in the worst violence to grip Albania in over a decade.

The demonstration began with about 20,000 people taking part, but organisers claim it grew to involve more than 10 times that number. The protest quickly turned violent, with people hurling sticks and stones and police responding with rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades.

Video footage posted on the internet showed two protesters being shot outside the government building, and arrest warrants have been issued for six members of the National Guard, an army unit that protects state institutions and senior officials.

Mr Berisha, who has dominated post-communist Albanian politics, blamed Socialist leader and Tirana mayor Mr Rama for the violence and accused him of fomenting a “Tunisia-style” revolt to unseat him, referring to the recent rioting that ousted the North African country’s president.

“Restoring political dialogue, respect for the institutions of the state and the expression of maturity and balance is of a vital importance for the present and European future of Albania,” Albanian president Bamir Topi and US and EU ambassadors said in a joint statement after a weekend meeting.

They said it was “indispensable that law enforcement institutions co-operate with each other to conduct a transparent, professional and unbiased investigation” into the fatalities, amid fears that the Nato member and EU candidate could spiral out of control if violence recurred in Tirana or spread to other areas.

Mr Rama said protests would resume after the funerals for those killed and announced a protest for this Friday, calling it “an invitation for you, all those who want a one-way street towards an Albania in which everyone feels free and equal before the law”.

Mr Berisha backed a protest against violence planned for Wednesday, and said Mr Rama would be punished for launching an “anti-constitutional putsch” that was supported by “gangs of criminals, bandits, traffickers and terrorists”.