Albania celebrated National Youth Day this Wednesday, December 8, to commemorate the 1990 students’ protests that contributed to the fall of the Communist regime.
On December 8, 1990, university students gathered in front of the University of Tirana—then named after the country’s notorious dictator, Enver Hoxha—demanding that the political system be reformed. While the protests started in Tirana, they spread like wildfire across the country, leading the First Secretary of the Albanian Labour Party, Ramiz Alia, to call the country’s first multi-party elections in March 1991.
Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama refrained from mentioning the holiday’s origins. Rather, he dedicated the day to Albania’s youth and held a conference to celebrate Tirana’s upcoming tenure as 2022 European Youth Capital.
Lulzim Basha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party (PD), commemorated the event at a meeting with members of his party. He said that while Communism was a thing of the past, some if its ideas remained, and Albanians must fight back against “cults of personality.”
A few kilometers away, historic PD leader, Sali Berisha visited the memorial of Azem Hajdari, a key figure of the student protests and member of the PD who was assassinated in Tirana in 1998. Berisha was a founding member of the PD which emerged from the student protests and was Albania’s first opposition party.
This National Youth Day finds the PD divided, as Basha and Berisha are headed for a leadership clash. In September, Basha removed Berisha from the PD’s parliamentary group after this latter was barred entry from the U.S. on allegations of corruption. Berisha retaliated by going on a national tour to challenge Basha’s leadership.
Recently, Berisha called a meeting of the National Assembly of the PD on December 11 in an attempt to topple Basha. The current PD leadership has stated they will not recognize the assembly, calling it illegal. They have called another assembly one week later to vote on the party’s political direction.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Tirana also commemorated the occasion on social media, writing that on December 8, “we honor the courageous students who 31 years ago protested fearlessly against one of the most cruel regimes of Europe.”
https://twitter.com/USEmbassyTirana/status/1468495334691287044
