"Political" Protest

The feud between the Democrats and their Socialist party opposition makes the two parties in the United States look like best friends. Part of the problem is the lack of credible information and a relatively irresponsible press. Both sides are engaged in permanent mudslinging and misinformation.

The rift between parties runs deep. The most recent part of the issue stems from elections in June 2009, which were disputed. The Socialists accuse the Democrats of not counting votes in a Socialist-leaning city that may have secured a Socialist election victory. Ever since then, the Socialist rallying cry has been "open the boxes!" Although the Democrats insist there was no fraud, they refuse to open the boxes.

Fast forward to last week. Ilir Meta, the Deputy Prime Minister, resigned when a video of him discussing corrupt deals within the government surfaced. In the video, he was talking to another politician who was forced to resign last year. Meta maintains that he's done nothing wrong. The Socialists have been using this as a rioting call to force early elections.

Which brings us to today. Peace Corps sent us a text and an email about the opposition rally set for today. There have been rumors flying around that the rally was without a permit and informally organized. Peace Corps asked its volunteers to avoid Tirana as a precaution. Originally scheduled for 4pm, the rally began at 2pm.

I was in Tirana for a teacher training. Needless to say, no one showed up even though 80 teachers were invited. On our way back to the Peace Corps office, we saw streams of people filing towards the center of town. People came in on buses in the morning and assembled at ten different points in the city. And you thought Tirana traffic was bad on a normal day?

It became very clear that I wouldn't be leaving Tirana today. I've never seen so many people gathered and organized like this before. Shortly after the protest started, we began watching it on TV. Protesters began hitting police, then throwing rocks. Police fired tear gas and dispersed people with a water cannon. At this point, we're an hour into it and it's gotten worse. There are now several burning cars; police have thrown rocks back; and people have been bloodied. I don't know what's going to happen with all these amped up people when it's time to go home. According to Gazeta Shqiptare, 3500 police officers were dispersed to take care of the protest. Early reports estimate 20,000 protestors. The US has condemned the extreme political rhetoric from the past few days that has stoked the fire.

But what does this mean?

I think that politics are part of it, but what is more important is the underlying current of violence and aggression in Albanian society. Has democracy been all it's cracked up to be? How well have public servants served the Albanian public? Have they even been legitimately elected? With more and more corruption issues, how can Albania move forward out of its past? The political debate is just a charade. What needs to be addressed is where the anger comes from. Is it lack of prosperity? The lack of hope? The lack of jobs? What causes the frustration that sees 20,000 people gather to shout, fight with police and destroy property?