Violent protests that have left three demonstrators dead erupted last week in the streets of Tirana. Crowds of Socialist Party members gathered outside Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s office on Friday January 21 in response to the most recent in a long list of corruption allegations.
The oppositional party has been boycotting Parliament ever since the 2009 election that gave the ruling Democratic Party a second four-year term by the narrowest margin since Albania toppled communism. Animosity between the groups peaked last week after video surfaced of a premier negotiating business deals with the economy minister.
An estimated 20,000 protestors initially gathered outside Parliament to oppose the newest exposure of corruption and to call for the resignation of those who they believed to be wrongly elected. Police used tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets on the crowd, resulting in the injury of over 46 protestors, in addition to the Government claiming 27 policemen and 81 National Guard members to be injured.
Trust Issues
This rebellion reopens a fresh wound for the country: in 1997 over two thirds of the population was duped into a large-scale government-run ponzi scheme that was marketed as a progressive venture into free market economics. This scam actually raised considerable capital for clan-based organized crime groups in the region, in addition to facilitating the transfer of arms between Albania and Russia—home to the only organized crime network in the world more powerful than Albania’s. After the scheme was exposed, the country broke out into a state of anarchy that lasted until an Italian-led UN intervention five months later.
Because the public memory of this catastrophic time in their history remains so strong, many Albanians continue to keep their government at arm’s length, making revolt a perpetual possibility. Albanian politician Edi Rama emphasizes the lingering existence of a people vs. government polarization in Albanian discourse: “We shall continue our struggle in a determined way, because the way out is clear—either a free Albania for all, or keep the people subdued under the boot of barbaric power”
This Time It’s Different
Whereas the conflict in 1997 indiscriminately involved nearly everyone in the country, it is now comprised of two discernable ideologies and for the most part confined to the arena of politics. However, the question on all Albanians’ minds continues to be whether or not these disputes will eventually escalate into something as similarly devastating as the 1997 collapse. To what degree the government continues to be manipulated by organized crime groups is another unknown variable that has significant influence on the resolution of the current conflict.
Economic Repercussions
Bankers Petroleum LTD, a company that explores for reserves and produces oil in Eastern Europe, reported they were down 4% the day after the protests broke out. They consider this to represent a loss of trust with their investors, which they attribute to the country’s conspicuous instability. Whether or not this lapse in investment trust is temporary remains to be seen, but with the current European economic situation being as bleak as it is, the region cannot afford any regression. Doug Urch, chief financial officer for Bankers, reiterates the point: “The country remains one of the poorest in Europe and the royalties from Bankers oil operations are an important source of revenue for the government—regardless of who is in power. Nonetheless, we believe the stock could experience some weakness until the political situation stabilizes."
The direct correlation between a failing economy and social collapse was already illustrated to Albania in 1997, with similar consequences from this crisis being unlikely but not completely out of the question.
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Deadly Demonstrations Shake Albania
January 26, 2011
Violent protests that have left three demonstrators dead erupted last week in the streets of Tirana. Crowds of Socialist Party members gathered outside Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s office on Friday January 21 in response to the most recent in a long list of corruption allegations.
The oppositional party has been boycotting Parliament ever since the 2009 election that gave the ruling Democratic Party a second four-year term by the narrowest margin since Albania toppled communism. Animosity between the groups peaked last week after video surfaced of a premier negotiating business deals with the economy minister.
An estimated 20,000 protestors initially gathered outside Parliament to oppose the newest exposure of corruption and to call for the resignation of those who they believed to be wrongly elected. Police used tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets on the crowd, resulting in the injury of over 46 protestors, in addition to the Government claiming 27 policemen and 81 National Guard members to be injured.
Trust Issues
This rebellion reopens a fresh wound for the country: in 1997 over two thirds of the population was duped into a large-scale government-run ponzi scheme that was marketed as a progressive venture into free market economics. This scam actually raised considerable capital for clan-based organized crime groups in the region, in addition to facilitating the transfer of arms between Albania and Russia—home to the only organized crime network in the world more powerful than Albania’s. After the scheme was exposed, the country broke out into a state of anarchy that lasted until an Italian-led UN intervention five months later.
Because the public memory of this catastrophic time in their history remains so strong, many Albanians continue to keep their government at arm’s length, making revolt a perpetual possibility. Albanian politician Edi Rama emphasizes the lingering existence of a people vs. government polarization in Albanian discourse: “We shall continue our struggle in a determined way, because the way out is clear—either a free Albania for all, or keep the people subdued under the boot of barbaric power”
This Time It’s Different
Whereas the conflict in 1997 indiscriminately involved nearly everyone in the country, it is now comprised of two discernable ideologies and for the most part confined to the arena of politics. However, the question on all Albanians’ minds continues to be whether or not these disputes will eventually escalate into something as similarly devastating as the 1997 collapse. To what degree the government continues to be manipulated by organized crime groups is another unknown variable that has significant influence on the resolution of the current conflict.
Economic Repercussions
Bankers Petroleum LTD, a company that explores for reserves and produces oil in Eastern Europe, reported they were down 4% the day after the protests broke out. They consider this to represent a loss of trust with their investors, which they attribute to the country’s conspicuous instability. Whether or not this lapse in investment trust is temporary remains to be seen, but with the current European economic situation being as bleak as it is, the region cannot afford any regression. Doug Urch, chief financial officer for Bankers, reiterates the point: “The country remains one of the poorest in Europe and the royalties from Bankers oil operations are an important source of revenue for the government—regardless of who is in power. Nonetheless, we believe the stock could experience some weakness until the political situation stabilizes."
The direct correlation between a failing economy and social collapse was already illustrated to Albania in 1997, with similar consequences from this crisis being unlikely but not completely out of the question.
