The protesters set fire to tires and pelted stones at the police who surrounded the Parliament building. Two officers were injured during the encounter.
The demonstrations were sparked by a report by Italian public broadcaster RAI that accused the Albanian government of organized crime and corruption. On Thursday, the parliamentary majority led by Rama rejected the opposition’s demand for a debate on the government’s corruption reports.
“Get out of the technocratic government,” urged opposition MP Akron Zekmarkraj. Rama vehemently denied the allegations made in the RAI report.
– Albania is not what it used to be, but those who consider us a Third World country cannot excuse our progress, he said, accusing the report of using Western European stereotypes against the nation of 2.8 million people.
He commented on the RAI material, among others: Albania’s former deputy prime minister, Arben Ahmedaj, accused officials of drug trafficking and money laundering through the state construction department.
After clashes with police, organizers called on protesters to disperse and called for another protest on Monday.
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