ALBANIA: Mourners attend funeral of one of three protesters shot dead in protest against Prime Minister Sali Berisha's rule

Record ID: 560398

  • Title: ALBANIA: Mourners attend funeral of one of three protesters shot dead in protest against Prime Minister Sali Berisha's rule
  • Date: 23rd January 2011
  • Summary: LAKNAS VILLAGE, TIRANA, ALBANIA (JANUARY 22, 2011) (REUTERS) MOURNERS IN FRONT OF THE PRIME MINISTRY WITH FLOWERS AND CANDLES FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE PROTEST PEOPLE ATTENDING THE CEREMONY OF BURAN DEDA, 40 YEARS OLD, ORIGINALLY FROM THE VILLAGE OF TIRANA PEOPLE LIGHTING CANDLES WOMAN LIGHTING CANDLE PEOPLE GATHERED IN BEFORE THE FUNERAL VILLAGER WALKING ELDERLY MEN WAITING FOR THE FUNERAL FAMILY OF VICTIM ACCEPTING CONDOLENCES IN LAKNAS VILLAGE THE VICTIM'S HOUSE AND THE VILLAGERS AROUND COFFIN MOTHER AND FAMILY CRYING MOTHER KISSING HER DEAD SON MOTHER AND FAMILY CRYING MOTHER CRYING THE LEADER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY EDI RAMA VISITING THE VICTIM'S HOUSE LEADER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY EDI RAMA WITH VILLAGERS AND JOURNALISTS LEADER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTYEDI RAMA WITH THE VICTIM'S FAMILY FAMILY TALKING THE COFFIN TO THE CEMETERY PEOPLE FOLLOWING THE PROCESSION
  • Embargoed: 7th February 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Albania, Albania
  • Country: Albania
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2UJQHOUEZCII6PIL6MU4NRBWF
  • Story Text: Mourners in Albania prepared to bury the dead on Saturday (January 22), a day after three people were shot dead in a protest against Prime Minister Sali Berisha's rule.
    The leader of the Socialist Party, Tirana Mayor Edi Rama, promised more protests and blamed Berisha's government for the deaths.
    Supporters of the Socialists, who refuse to accept the results of a 2009 election and accuse Berisha's government of corruption and vote fraud, pelted his office building with sticks and stones on Friday (January 21), prompting police to respond with tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and stun grenades.
    Three civilians died in the confrontation, one of a gunshot wound to the head and the two others with close-range shots to the chest, in the worst violence in the former communist country since protesters stormed the main government building in 1998 following the death of a lawmaker.
    The Socialists have staged many non-violent protests in central Tirana, including a lengthy hunger strike, since the 2009 election. But some analysts believe its confrontation with the government could escalate unless the West intervenes more robustly than it has so far.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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