The 2019 Albanian protests was massive demonstrations and violent protests led by the opposition, who staged massive rallies in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

between February-June, calling for the cancellation of the

2019 Albanian local elections 2019 Albanian local elections were a set of elections in Albania held on 30 June 2019. Voters were asked to elect mayors, municipal council members, municipal unit mayors and municipal unit members. These were the second local elections in Alb ...

, fresh elections, resignation of prime minister

Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama, 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairm ...

and his entire cabinet and the installation of a new technocrat government.

Background

Albania has been plagued by civil unrest since the

2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations The 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations (also known as 21 January events) were a series of anti-government protests in cities around Albania following 18 months of political conflict over alleged electoral fraud by the opposition. A video sur ...

and the

2017 Albanian opposition protest The 2017 Albanian opposition protests were a series of anti-government protests, largely in Tirana, which centered around poverty, corruption, the illicit drug situation in Albania, fear of electoral fraud in the parliamentary elections, and alleg ...

. Massive protests erupted after allegations that prime minister

had most of his votes rigged, and corruption, organised crime in the government triggered almost daily protest actions. After the leaks, thousands took to the streets and waved the Albanian flag and posters denouncing Rama.

Revolution

Despite heavy police presence and brutality during previous uprisings, the protesters came in their hundreds of thousands, demonstrating and calling for the resignation of the government in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. Protesters attacked the prime minister's residence and was met with

Tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

. Opposition protesters clashed with riot police during the next couple of days of anti-government street rallies. Rioting played a major role during the movement, violence had flared during weekly marches. Marches, rallies, picketing, rioting and protest movement, demonstrations, general strike actions and unrest would have turned into a conflict, but it managed to prevent that. Violent protests and opposition rallies erupted in March. Countrywide protests turned violent as police quelled stone-throwing protesters who attempted to strip parliament and demanded democratic reforms and better conditions, calling and chanting for the resignation of the government of

and new elections, led by opposition leader Lulzim Basha between March 21-March 28. However, episodes of nonviolent rallies occurred in

, where thousands then tens of thousands of protesters participated in nonviolent protests, with police presence scarce. Looting, labour strikes and peaceful protest became an unprecedented national protest movement and protests become increasingly popular. Widespread protests and popular demonstrations however turned violent again as protesters used stones, banners, projectiles, gates, labour protests urged the government to resign in Shkodra and

Vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

was on the rise. Symbols and human chains was linked as a way of nonviolence, however, it is broken up by Water cannon. In Late-May and June, violent protests occurred during political chaos and rallies, marches turned into increasingly violent protests characterised by crackdown and violence. Police and the army fired

Rubber bullets Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of baton round. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Altho ...

and Water cannon at every protest calling for the resignation of the government. Crowds with Phonelights and candles marched in downtown streets in

for the first week of July, the last week of protest actions in 2019. Disputed protests and protesters called for the resignation of the government was increasing, while the opposition chanted ouster slogans. In July, popular protests ended with violence and clashes. Street battles occurred when protesters threw

Petrol bombs A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...

and hurled broken bricks at police, who responded with

, Water cannon, Stun grenade,

and

Flash grenade A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a less-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, they produce a blinding flash of light and an extremely lou ...

. Demonstrators threw bottles and flared slogans during the scuffles. One of the demonstrator's main demands was fresh elections and the cancellation of the

, the elections was scheduled for June 30 but was annulled and cancelled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albanian protests, 2019 2019 in Albania Protests in Albania 2019 protests Labor disputes in Albania

Background

Revolution

See also

References