(ANSA-AP) - TIRANA, 05 APR - The opposition has blocked
Albania's four main highway junctions in an anti-government
protest accusing it of links to organized crime and of
increasing both taxes and poverty.
The conservative Democratic Party-led opposition boycotted
Thursday's parliamentary session to launch a "civil
disobedience" campaign through blocking the country's main roads
and calling on the people not to pay increased taxes. Hundreds
of opposition supporters gathered at the four junctions across
the country, blocking the traffic and calling for Prime Minister
Edi Rama's resignation. Police said they considered the
gatherings as illegal after receiving no request to hold them.
The Democrats suffered a landslide loss in last year's vote,
securing only 43 seats in the 140-seat parliament. Albania, a
NATO member since 2009, was granted EU candidate status in 2014
and hopes to launch negotiations this year. (ANSA-AP).
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