Albanians take to the streets to demonstrate against the government and rising cost of fuel and food

housands of people took to the streets of the Albanian capital Tirana yesterday to demonstrate against Edi Rama’s Socialist government.

Rallied by Sali Berisha, the head of the opposition, they gathered outside Mr Rama’s office to protest against alleged government corruption and the rising cost of fuel and food.

In a speech to the crowd, Mr Berisha said that Mr Rama was to blame for the mass departure of young people from Albania – which has left Britain facing waves of illegal immigration.

Demonstrators in Tirana carried a dinghy to protest against Albanians being turned into ‘raft people’.  They blame the Government for the mass departure of young people from Albania© Provided by Daily

Supporters of the opposition party attend an anti-government protest in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama's office in Tirana, Albania yesterday, November 12© Provided by Daily Mail

The former prime minister and head of the Democratic Party claimed the world now ‘sees us as raft people’ after an estimated 12,000 Albanians crossed the Channel in small boats this year. ‘Albanians today are a people of rafts,’ he declared, ‘because someone – and this someone is Edi Rama – robbed them of their vote, turned their freedoms into an illusion, into a fictitious vote, only so he could stay in power.’

Earlier this month Mr Rama accused the British Government of discriminating against Albanians to distract from its ‘policy failures’.

As they marched through Tirana, protesters carried a rubber dinghy bearing British and Albanian flags to ‘express their concern about the mass exodus’ of young people, according to the journalist and activist Isa Myzyraj.

Up to 1,200 police officers, many in full riot gear, were deployed to control the swelling crowds, claimed local reports. Even so, some demonstrators broke through police cordons to kick and throw paint at the door of the prime minister’s office. 

Earlier this month Mr Rama accused the British Government of discriminating against Albanians to distract from its ‘policy failures’. Mr Rama is pictured at the Peace Forum in Paris on Friday, November 11© Provided by Daily Mail

Reference: Daily Mail: Sam Merriman For The Mail On Sunday