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| Europe |
| Albanian opp protests despite warnings |
| 2011-01-29 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Albanian capital Tirana Friday for a silent protest closely monitored by police, a week after another demonstration turned deadly. The opposition went ahead with the protest in defiance of international appeals and police warnings, insisting it would be a peaceful gathering to honour the three people killed last week. The demonstrators headed by the leadership of the opposition socialists and the families of the victims started their march on the government buildings, passing by the spot where the people were shot, placing flowers at the scene in silence. Organisers said there were 200,000 protesters but AFP journalists put the number at several tens of thousands. Police would give no figure. People poured into the downtown area near the government buildings, bringing traffic in central Tirana to a standstill. In the square in front of the government a stage had been set up and opposition leader Edi Rama, the mayor of the capital, was expected to address the crowds. Pictures of the three fatalities of the last rally were placed on stage with the words 'justice' written on them in Albanian and English. Security was beefed up around Tirana with hundreds of anti-riot police deployed around government buildings alongside units of armed elite officers. The protest was the main item on all Albanian TV channels which repeatedly broadcast an earlier statement by Rama pledging that the rally would be peaceful. 'I want to assure you that it will be peaceful and quiet, there will be flowers and candles,' Rama said late Thursday, urging everybody to resist possible provocation. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 I know and agree with #2 and #3 - thx for input. To me Italy absorbing Albania seems as useful as the Dominican Republic invading its neighbor Haiti. What are the positives to be gained? |
| Posted by: borgboy 2011-01-29 16:26 |
| #3 ...easier picking than Greece. He'd tried that later and had to have the Germans bail him out. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-01-29 08:31 |
| #2 It's opposite Italy, natural avenue for expansion. |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-01-29 04:54 |
| #1 Never did understand what Mussolini/Italy saw in this place. |
| Posted by: borgboy 2011-01-29 02:43 |