Skip to main content

Protests

'Zogu i Zi' isn't the only issue in dispute between the government and opposition in an increasingly fractious parliament. The Socialist Party and their allies have also been opposing the government on a raft of other matters (more on these at another time.)

One element of the opposition's strategy has been a partial boycott of parliament and some of its committees. Now, they are proposing to take their opposition onto the streets of Tirana with the Socialist Party announcing a campaign of street protests against the government.

The first is scheduled for tonight - Wednesday 12 July - in Skënderbej Square at 7.oopm. The organisers say they expect between 15 and 20 thousand demonstrators. I hope to be there with my camera and will post some pictures tomorrow.

Many of you may not be aware that 12 July is a traditional day for public parades and marches by supporters of the unionist political cause in Northern Ireland. So it seems rather fitting that on this of all days I get to go to a demonstration right here in Tirana.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yea but be careful; don't dress in orange otherwise Berisha would think the Ukrainian Orange Revolution is coming in Albania ;)
2:57 pm
Anonymous said…
I hope the rain will not follow the same pattern as in the past two days otherwise the opposition doesn't stand a chance of having a protest.
4:21 pm
Anonymous said…
This is a protest against Berisha, not against his actions. I doubt most of the protesters care much about the independence of the institucions etc. Call it a test of strength for the oposition.

Ll.
7:24 pm
Miss Kim said…
Well... from my terrace it just sounded like a concert followed by some ranting. And I doubt there were very many people!
9:47 pm
ITS said…
Albanians are tired of street demonstrations. Most of them only care about the electricity, the water, and the food on the table.

People have understood that nothing good has come from changing govts. It's just the politicans that benefit from it.

It's sickening!
10:01 pm
Anonymous said…
Independence of institutions? Institutions in Albania are who directs them in any given moment, they don't have a personality per se. The presidency is independent, bcause Moisiu is a person with integrity; he was independent during Nano and is independent during Berisha. On the other hand, Sollaku (attorney general) was never independent during Nano - he would have his way with Sollaku any time he wished. Sollaku always leaned left (as his name would suggest) and that's why Berisha wants to bring him down. The independece of inst. is a debate far bigger than what the PS and PD are willing to tackle right now, and neither one of them is really interested in truly independent institutions, they always want to control them when they are in power.
This protest was not about any of the lofty objectives PS has posted in their web site, it's simply about Zogu i zi. PS thinks is enough to warrant fresh elections, most people seem not to think so. Apparently, PS can't stay in opposition for longer than 12 months, they always want to be in power.
11:23 pm
Anonymous said…
I agree with "its" - I get the impression from my friends there that most people are just bothered about electricity, water and the food on the table. The Government in Albania really do need to show a maturity of approach and start acting in the interests of the majority rather than the lucky few. Unless they do this, they will never get any popular respect. It is little wonder that so many young people, particularly in the North, are so desperate to leave Albania.Most Albanians I speak to just seem to have no faith in the politicians. Unless the politicians can bring the people with them, Albania's chances of getting into the EEC are going to be seriously hindered, because the corruption at the top will just continue to act like a cancer throughout Albania. Things don't sound too bad in down town Tirana, but elsewhere, particularly in the North, improvements are hard to see. - By way of example - in a country that so desperately needs a decent modern infrastructure, only a year ago I could send post which could be picked up locally. Mow, post is no longer available for collection locally. - If it hasn't been intercepted and stolen en route, it now must be collected from further afield and this invloves a bus (furgon) journey costing about 2 Euros. For an already poor family, 2 Euros is significant. Such basic infrastructure issues have serious consequences for the possible development and prosperity of Albania. Meanwhile the politicians from ther main parties seem to be squabbling about the technicalities of their existence in a sort of political gameshow. Thank goodness for the maturity of approach shown by foreign non-government organisations and charities. - Without these organisations doing their bits to help, and money being "sent home" from Albanians abroad, the situation for many more Albanians would be even worse.
3:31 am
olli said…
I went for a discreet blue in the end.
12:44 pm
Anonymous said…
Sorry for being thick, but, Alwyn, what is a "descreet blue", please?
12:59 pm
olli said…
Discreet as in understated, subtle, not drawing attention to myself; blue as in the colour of the shirt I wore.
1:17 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Albania and the Perils of the 21st Century

Another article on religion in Albania appeared yesterday. Patrick Poole, writing in the American Thinker , argues that Saudi funding for the construction of mosques and the training of imams is a threat to Albania, since these mosques and imams reflect the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia.
34 comments
Read more

Kamëz Part 3

For those who want a lengthy detailed report into the election there will, undoubtedly, be a range of them to chose from. In the meantime, here are my brief reflections on the last few weeks. At the heart of the problems around this election is the unwarranted influence of political parties on all aspects of the electoral process. Every institution responsible for organising and facilitating the election is under the control of political parties. The Electoral Code itself was heavily revised only days before the original date for the elections and only weeks before the actual date (Law 9676 13 January 2007). It was these revisions, specifically Article 181/2, that created the overly complicated identification requirements that caused so much confusion, and undoubtedly disenfranchised some voters. Let's be clear though: these revisions were not designed to protect the interests of the electorate. They were drafted primarily because the political parties do not trust each other. The ...
27 comments
Read more

Big in Albania

Ask me how much I knew about Albania before coming here and my list would be a short one: Enver Hoxha, bunkers and Sir Norman Wisdom. I have no idea when or how I acquired this extensive body of knowledge, but the association of Norman Wisdom with Albania was by far the most interesting part of it. I remember watching Norman Wisdom's old films on British television. My parents were fans of his wholesome, slapstick comedy, but apparently missed the ideological significance of Pitkin's relationship with Mr Grimsdale. Pitkin, the downtrodden and oppressed representative of the workers, triumphed every time over his capitalist oppressor, Mr Grimsdale - and he got the girl. It took a theorist of Hoxha's insight and profundity to discern this deeper political message. It always seemed tremendously unlikely, yet the story of Sir Norman's fame in Albania has been reported in worthy sources like the BBC , the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph . According to the Guardian, when Wi...
22 comments
Read more