TIRANA – Albania’s opposition marked a day of mourning on Sunday to attend the burials of two of the three people killed in anti-government protests amid heightened tension in the country.
Hundreds of people including opposition leader Edi Rama and other socialist lawmakers gathered in the south of the country to bury 48-year-old Ziver Veizi. Veizi was one of the three people killed when anti-government protesters clashed with police in Tirana on Friday.
“We were there to honour the victims and pay our respects to the families, not to give political speeches or mount a protest,” opposition lawmaker Blendi Klosi told AFP by phone from Gjirokastra, where the burial took place. Rama, the mayor of Tirana, also attended the funeral of a 53-year-old father of two Faik Myrtaj, the last victim to be buried. A fourth man is still in critical condition after being shot during the demonstration, the military hospital in Tirana said.
Despite international appeals for calm both the opposition and the government have announced new rallies. Prime Minister Sali Berisha called his supporters to gather on Wednesday for a rally against violence in Tirana. The opposition said it would continue its anti-government protests once a mourning period for the victims ended. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Friday for the anti-government protest called by the socialist opposition.
The clashes in Tirana marked the first time opposition protests had ended in violence since a political crisis erupted here after disputed a general election in 2009. The government and the opposition are currently entangled in a media war each blaming the other for the deaths. Judicial sources said the warrants were issued for six members of the republican guard who will be investigated over the deaths but police have so far refused to arrest the men.
