Smoke Bombs in Parliament Over Budget Opposition... Not Korea but This European Country

Balkan Peninsula Albania Opposition Lawmakers
Clash During Budget Bill Obstruction Process

In the small Balkan country of Albania, opposition lawmakers disrupted the budget approval process by setting off smoke bombs in the parliament.

According to the British daily The Guardian on the 20th (local time), opposition Democratic Party lawmakers began stacking chairs in the center of the parliament after the parliamentary security blocked access to Prime Minister Edi Rama of the ruling Socialist Party. They then set off smoke bombs in three colors: red, yellow, and purple. At one point, a fire broke out on a desk by an opposition lawmaker, but fortunately, it was extinguished by nearby lawmakers.

This incident occurred during the process of blocking next year's budget approval. Despite the commotion, the budget for the next year submitted by the Rama cabinet passed the first vote in less than five minutes.

On the 20th (local time), the parliament in Tirana, the capital of Albania, was thrown into chaos with fire and smoke bombs set off by opposition Democratic Party lawmakers. The opposition lawmakers caused a commotion by setting off smoke bombs and even lighting fires in the parliament during the process of blocking the approval of next year's budget. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Sali Berisha, a former prime minister considered the de facto leader of the opposition, accused the Rama cabinet of trying to silence the opposition voices in the parliament. Berisha raised his voice, saying, "Our goal is to create a pluralistic parliament."

Berisha, who also served as the first president after the post-communist era, is currently indicted along with his son-in-law on charges of exerting undue pressure during the privatization of land while serving as prime minister from 2005 to 2009. However, Berisha denies all charges, calling them political persecution.

Later, Prime Minister Rama posted on his X (formerly Twitter), criticizing, "They have brought the language and manners of the streets into politics." Rama, who came to power in 2013, secured a third term by winning the 2021 general election.

On the 20th (local time), a member of parliament in the Albanian capital Tirana set off a smoke bomb, filling the assembly hall with smoke. On this day, opposition Democratic Party members stacked chairs in the center of the parliament and set off smoke bombs in three different colors around them after the parliamentary security blocked access to Prime Minister Edi Rama of the ruling Socialist Party.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Albania, located on the Balkan Peninsula between Greece and Italy, is a small country with a land area of about 29,000 square kilometers?roughly the combined size of Gangwon-do and Gyeonggi-do provinces in South Korea?and a population of 2.87 million. It was a communist state but transitioned to a market economy with democratization in the early 1990s. However, as of 2020, its per capita income was $5,215 (about 6.53 million KRW), making it one of the poorest countries in Europe.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.