Albania Opposition Brings Tirana to Standstill

The rallies, which were held in the cities of Vlora, Lezha, Korca as well as the capital Tirana, were the third wave of protests launched by the opposition in the last three weeks. Police said that no incidents were reported and the protests passed peacefully. In Tirana, the thousands of protesters that showed up brought the city to a standstill. The marchers avoided the area of the capital where government offices are located in a clear effort to avoid confrontations with police.

Today's rallies come two weeks after an initial protest, held on January 21, turned violent when several hundred marchers attacked the police barricade set up to protect the prime minister’s office, using sticks, stones and Molotov cocktails. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons and later with live ammunition fire, leaving three dead and dozens wounded. “The government killed them,” protesters shouted as they walked down Tirana’s streets on Friday. Others called for the resignation of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and lashed out against corruption in his government. Last week's rally in Tirana, held in remembrance of the three victims of the first protest, was peaceful despite rising political tension in the country. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his ruling majority have declared with increasing intensity over the past week that the January 21unrest was part of a failed coup d'état. Berisha has accused the general prosecutor, the president, the secret service, the opposition and the media of being part of a conspiracy to overthrow him. 
The main rally on Friday was held in the city of Vlora, in Southern Albania. Vlora is a symbolic location for Albania's opposition. Riots that began in the city in 1997 due the collapse of a series of pyramid like investment schemes spread throughout Albania and led to the downfall of a previous government of the ruling Democratic Party. Berisha, who was president at the time of the 1997 instability, was forced to resign while Albania descended into anarchy, a blow from which it took the country years to recover.