Violent protests in Albania continue against Prime Minister Edi Rama

Protests in Albania, a Balkan country, continued through almost all of last week and grew increasingly violent. Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has been in power for 13 years. The events are drawing little international attention, as the world's focus is on social unrest in several European countries, France foremost among them.

A commentary in the Latvian newspaper Diena notes that protests, often violent ones, are almost an integral part of everyday politics in Albania. They attract wider notice only when a change of government becomes credible or when the authorities are toppled. Outside the country, the instability is usually explained by corruption, nepotism, weak public administration, a struggle by citizens against authoritarian tendencies, or hostile foreign interference.

Two Albanias

The commentary's author argues that these factors do exist in Albania but are not the main cause. In his view, the biggest problem is the presence of two groups of similar size: the Gegs of the northern mountains and the Tosks of the southern lowlands. They differ widely in culture and language, and they share grievances and historical wrongs. One of the best remembered is the bloody repression of the Gegs, targeting their traditional culture and way of life, carried out by the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, who was a Tosk.

The author also points out that a clear majority of ethnic Albanians living outside Albania's borders are Gegs.

A divided political scene

According to the commentary, the country's main political forces are always either a Geg party or a Tosk party, and power is held either only by Tosks, as at present, or only by Gegs. The author concludes that protests in central Tirana and instability will remain part of daily life until Albania builds a system of governance and political dialogue that balances the interests of both groups. He adds that nothing points to movement in that direction.