Last night, the car of activist and University of Tirana lecturer Arlind Qori was vandalized.
Qori made news of the incident public via a Facebook post, where he also posted a photo of his car’s shattered rear window. In his post he explained that he has received a number of threats against himself since he and an organisation he is part of, started campaigning for the rights of the Bulqiza miners. He added that he believes the attack is politically motivated.
“Last night I noticed that my “luxury” car’s windshield was broken. I very much hope it is just an accident by some neighborhood child, though I am more inclined to think it was some lowlife of Tirana society and politics,” he wrote.
Qori is one of the leaders of the leftist group “Political Organization”, which has organised and participated in several protests since its creation in 2011. Both Qori and other members of the organization are also activists of the Movement for University, through which they seek the reforming of the education system in Albania.
In recent months, the Political Organization has supported the creation and activity of the Bulqiza United Miners’ Union (SMBB). The SMBB has protested working conditions at the Albchrome mines in Bulqiza, owned by businessman Samir Mane. The company has responded to its unionization and demands for better conditions by firing several union leaders.
The Political Organization has also campaigned against Samir Mane’s business activities. They have called for a boycott of his businesses, accused him of being an oligarch linked to the corrupt government of Prime Minister Rama, and have written slogans across Tirana against him. In January, Gresa Hasa another member of the organisation claimed that Mane had sent thugs to intimidate them by loitering outside of their headquarters in Tirana.
The attack on Qori, which he assumed to be political, comes a day after activists from the Political Organization, according to their claim, clashed with Prime Minister Rama yesterday during the graduation ceremony of Medical University students. They responded to Rama’s praise of health and education reforms by interrupting his speech and stating that, in fact, their diplomas were tickets to escape the country. Police detained two activists Enriko Peculaj and Emiljando Kita.
