00:00For over two months now, Edona Haklai has been outside the office of Albania's Prime
00:04Minister Edi Rama every day.
00:06She and other members of the Albania Becomes Movement protest 24-7, no matter what the
00:12weather.
00:13At least I'm like 20 hours a day or 12 to 20 hours a day here.
00:20I've been even sleeping here but in the last month it was very difficult to sleep without
00:26having something to be protected by.
00:29The police do not allow the protesters to have tents or use tarpaulin, but this has not
00:34deterred the 27-year-old who continues her fight against alleged government corruption.
00:40Every time that our Prime Minister comes here in the office we keep calling him, Edi Rama
00:47you are a thief, and we are telling him every day in front of his office that he is a
00:53thief
00:53and he needs to stop what he has been doing with Albanians.
00:58Edona Haklai used to work as a journalist, but reporting from the sidelines was no longer
01:03enough for her.
01:04She now organizes demonstrations against a government she believes is driven by oligarchy and abuse
01:10of power.
01:11Edi Rama has become the main target of the Albania Becomes Movement.
01:15Its chairman accuses the Prime Minister of systematic corruption.
01:20We are here as a reaction against corruption and we are here to involve our society against
01:30corruption.
01:32From 2024 to 2025 Albania dropped 11 places in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions
01:38Index and now ranks 91st out of 182 countries.
01:43After slight improvements in previous years, corruption has apparently increased again.
01:47Albania's Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime suspended Deputy Prime Minister
01:52Belinda Beluku late last year over alleged corruption in public procurement.
01:57Rama continues to support her publicly.
01:59For the Opposition Democratic Party, this is proof of corruption within the government.
02:04It has responded by calling for protests.
02:06The Opposition Democratic Party also faces corruption allegations.
02:35Fierce verbal attacks between the political camps are common.
02:39What makes the current protests different is their scale.
02:43Thousands attended a rally on February 10th.
02:47We just want our eyes to be put in front of their interests.
02:52It should happen that the government should fall and we should be able to vote freely without
03:00the fear to lose our jobs.
03:05International election observers have in the past reported pressure on public employees
03:09to vote for Eddie Rama's party.
03:11In recent months, Democratic Party protests have repeatedly turned violent, including the
03:16one on February 10th.
03:17Demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails and the police responded with water cannons and tear gas.
03:22At least 16 officers were injured and 13 people arrested.
03:26The political climate in Albania is becoming increasingly tense.
03:30For Edona Haklai, however, this is no reason to be afraid.
03:34When you have hope and when you believe in what you are doing,
03:38and when you believe that you are doing the right thing for your citizens,
03:41then you are not scared and you don't allow yourself to be tired, to be scared.
03:49You just push yourself to do the right thing for what you believe in.
03:52Yet despite the protests and violence, resignation or calling a snap election does not seem to
03:58be on the cards for Prime Minister Eddie Rama.
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