2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations
| 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations | |||
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 Damage in Tirana after the 21 January 2011 demonstration | |||
| Date | 21 January – 4 February 2011 | ||
| Location | 41°19′16″N 19°49′12″E / 41.321°N 19.820°E | ||
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The 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations were anti-government protests and related political clashes in Albania in January and February 2011. They followed eighteen months of political conflict after the 2009 Albanian parliamentary election and were triggered in part by the publication of a video in which Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta appeared to discuss state contracts and appointments with former economy minister Dritan Prifti.[1] Meta denied wrongdoing but resigned on 14 January 2011, saying that he wanted to fight the allegations.[1]
The main demonstration was held in Tirana on 21 January 2011 by the opposition Socialist Party of Albania and allied parties. It was called to protest alleged corruption, disputed elections, unemployment and poverty. The protest turned violent outside the prime minister's office when some demonstrators clashed with police and the Republican Guard of Albania. Three protesters were shot dead during the demonstration, and a fourth, Aleks Nika, died later from a gunshot wound.[2][3]
The killings produced one of the most serious political crises in post-communist Albania. Prime Minister Sali Berisha described the violence as an attempted coup, while the opposition accused the government of using excessive and unlawful force.[4] Human Rights Watch and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights called for an independent and credible investigation into the deaths and other human-rights violations connected with the protest.[5][6]
Background
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The demonstrations took place after a long period of political conflict between the ruling Democratic Party of Albania and the opposition Socialist Party of Albania. The immediate background was the disputed 2009 Albanian parliamentary election, after which Prime Minister Sali Berisha formed a coalition government with the Socialist Movement for Integration led by Ilir Meta. The Socialist Party alleged electoral fraud and demanded further investigation of contested ballots.[7]
The OSCE/ODIHR final report on the 2009 election stated that the vote marked "tangible progress" in several areas, including voter registration and the legal framework, but also noted that improvements were overshadowed by the politicisation of technical aspects of the process and shortcomings in counting and complaints procedures.[7] The opposition used those problems to justify a prolonged boycott and protest campaign.
The Socialist Party also organised a hunger strike in Tirana in 2010 as part of its campaign for transparency over the election. In January 2011, the Central Election Commission destroyed the ballot papers from the 2009 election after the expiry of the legal period for keeping them, while other election materials remained archived. The opposition criticised the destruction of the ballots, arguing that it made a full investigation of the election impossible.[8]
Ilir Meta corruption video
[edit]On 11 January 2011, the television programme Fiks Fare broadcast a secretly recorded video showing Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta speaking with former economy minister Dritan Prifti about public tenders, appointments and a hydropower concession.[1] The video caused a major political scandal. Meta said that the recording had been manipulated and denied corruption, but resigned as deputy prime minister on 14 January 2011.[1]
The Socialist Party and other opposition parties used the scandal to call for a major anti-government demonstration on 21 January. They argued that the video showed high-level corruption inside the governing coalition and demanded accountability from the Berisha government.
Meta was later tried over the corruption allegations and acquitted by the High Court in January 2012.[9]
Opposition demonstrations
[edit]21 January
[edit]According to police and international media, around 20,000 people attended the 21 January 2011 anti-government demonstration in Tirana, while the opposition claimed a much higher figure.[10] Demonstrators gathered outside the prime minister's office and accused the government of corruption and electoral fraud.
The demonstration turned violent when some protesters clashed with police and tried to break through security lines. Human Rights Watch reported that media footage showed protesters throwing sticks and stones at police, while police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and firearms. Between 60 and 150 policemen, guards and protesters were reported injured, and police made more than 100 arrests.[5]
During the unrest, live ammunition was fired by members of the Republican Guard. Ziver Veizi, Hekuran Deda and Faik Myrtaj were killed during the protest, while Aleks Nika was seriously wounded and later died in a hospital.[3] A television journalist was also wounded by gunfire.[11]
Berisha denied giving an order to shoot protesters and described the demonstration as an attempted coup. The opposition rejected the accusation and said the government had used unjustified lethal force against demonstrators.[4]
28 January
[edit]On 28 January 2011, the opposition organised a non-violent memorial procession in Tirana for the protesters killed on 21 January. Reuters reported that about 100,000 Socialist Party supporters took part in a silent march and placed flowers and candles at the locations where the protesters had been shot.[12]
The memorial march was held despite calls from international actors for restraint and fears that the demonstration could again turn violent. It ended peacefully after about two hours.[12]
4 February
[edit]On 4 February 2011, the opposition organised simultaneous demonstrations in Tirana, Vlorë, Korçë and Lezhë. Unlike the 21 January protest, the demonstrations avoided the prime minister's office in Tirana in order to reduce the risk of renewed violence. No major incidents were reported. The opposition said it would continue weekly demonstrations across Albania.[13]
Coup allegations
[edit]After the 21 January protest, Berisha claimed that the violence was part of an attempted coup d'état against his government. He initially suggested that the protesters had been killed by other demonstrators in order to create victims, but later acknowledged that the Republican Guard had fired the shots.[14]
The prime minister also accused the general prosecutor, President Bamir Topi and intelligence officials of being part of a political conspiracy. Human Rights Watch criticised Berisha's comments, saying that they threatened the independence of the criminal investigation into the deaths.[5]
The opposition and several former officials rejected the coup allegation. Former president Alfred Moisiu and other public figures urged the government not to interfere with the prosecutor's office and other independent institutions.
Investigation and court proceedings
[edit]Albania's general prosecutor Ina Rama issued arrest warrants for members of the Republican Guard after the killings. Berisha called the warrants illegal and ordered the state police not to execute them, although several guards were later arrested or questioned.[5][15]
In 2013, the Court of Appeal convicted former Republican Guard commander Ndrea Prendi and former guard Agim Llupo of manslaughter in connection with the deaths of three protesters. Prendi was sentenced to one year in prison and Llupo to three years. Prosecutors had sought much longer sentences. By the time the case was closed, both men had been released because time spent in detention exceeded their sentences.[16]
The case of Aleks Nika remained unresolved for years. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Nika v. Albania that Albania had violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, both in relation to the use of lethal force and the failure to conduct an effective investigation.[17] In March 2024, Albania's Supreme Court ordered prosecutors to reopen the investigation into Nika's killing and transferred the case to the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organised Crime, known as SPAK.[3]
Reactions
[edit]Domestic
[edit]The Democratic Party and Prime Minister Berisha said that the protest had been violent and politically organised to overthrow the government. Berisha continued to refer to the events as an attempted coup and accused the opposition of responsibility for the escalation.[4]
The Socialist Party said the protesters had gathered to demand an end to corruption and electoral manipulation. Edi Rama said that those killed had protested for a better Albania and accused the government of responsibility for the deaths.[4]
International
[edit]Foreign embassies in Tirana, including the United States and European Union missions, called for calm and urged political leaders to avoid further violence. International actors also called for the opposition to reconsider additional protests because of the risk of renewed clashes.[18]
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights visited Albania in February 2011 and concluded that there was a need for thorough, impartial and credible investigations into the human-rights violations that had occurred on 21 January.[6]
Non-governmental organisations
[edit]Human Rights Watch said that Berisha should not interfere with the criminal investigation into the fatal shootings. It called on all political forces to allow the prosecutor to investigate both the conduct of violent protesters and the actions of police and security forces.[5]
Legacy
[edit]The events of 21 January 2011 remained politically and legally controversial in Albania for more than a decade. The families of the victims and the Socialist Party continued to describe the shootings as state killings, while Berisha and his allies rejected accusations that the government ordered lethal force.[3]
The case also became part of Albania's broader debate over impunity, judicial independence and the use of force by state institutions. The 2023 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights and the 2024 Supreme Court order reopening the Aleks Nika investigation revived public attention to the case and placed it under the jurisdiction of SPAK.[3]
See also
[edit]- 2009 Albanian parliamentary election
- 2017 Albanian opposition protests
- 2019 Albanian opposition protests
- 1997 Albanian civil unrest
- Politics of Albania
- Sali Berisha
- Edi Rama
- Ilir Meta
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Koleka, Benet (14 January 2011). "Albanian deputy PM quits amid corruption allegations". Reuters. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ "Three shot dead at Albania anti-government protest". Reuters. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e Semini, Llazar (12 March 2024). "Albania's Supreme Court orders prosecutors to resume a probe of the 2011 killing of 4 protesters". Associated Press. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d Koleka, Benet (22 January 2011). "Albanian PM, opposition blame each other for deaths". Reuters. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "Albania: Independent Inquiry Needed Into Protester Deaths". Human Rights Watch. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ a b "Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, following his visit to Albania from 13 to 15 February 2011". Council of Europe. 22 February 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ a b "Republic of Albania: Parliamentary Elections, 28 June 2009, OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report" (PDF). OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ "Albania burns ballots from 2009 general elections". Southeast European Times. 10 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ "Court clears Albanian ex-deputy PM of graft". Reuters. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ "Albania – 20,000 Protesters March Against Government – 3 Killed". The New York Times. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- ^ Likmeta, Besar (25 January 2011). "Republican Guard Shot Us, Claims Albanian Journalist". Balkan Insight. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ a b Koleka, Benet (28 January 2011). "Albania opposition calmly honors dead protesters". Reuters. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ "New anti-government protests in Albania". Times Union. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ Likmeta, Besar (27 January 2011). "Albania PM Seeks 'Witnesses' to Prove Coup Conspiracy". Balkan Insight. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ "Albania issues arrest warrants for republican guards". BBC News. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Supreme Court closes controversial case of protest murders". Tirana Times. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ "Nika v. Albania". European Court of Human Rights. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- ^ "Albania opposition holds procession over deaths". Reuters. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2026.