Albania: six days later...

Albanian police guarding the Prime Minister's Office

Three protesters shot dead, presumably by the police, have been buried. There is a pending investigation as to who shot the protesters. An indication as to who shot them is the "arrest warrants" issued by the Prosecution Office to six police officers. However, the "arrest warrants" are not being executed by the Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, because he believes that the Prosecution Office does not have jurisdiction over the police officers present at the governmental buildings when the protesters were shot.

The clash between institutions is not a new phenomenon in Albania or any other country for that matter, but, when the Prime Minister blatantly violates his constitutional role in non-executing the "arrest warrants", then the rule of law ceases to function.  In this case the judiciary can find the solution, however, in Albania that is not the case.

The judiciary is practically powerless. That is partly due to the corrupt judiciary and partly due to the executive branch's pressure. As a result there has not been a single case where a public official of the upper echelons of government to have been prosecuted and sentenced due to their involvement in alleged corruption scandals such as the building of Durres-Morine motorway, the Gerdec explosion, killing tens of people, and the newest of scandals, that of Ilir Meta, deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister.

It is clear that the rule of law is not functioning. Setting back the aspirations of millions of Albanians to join the European Union for a while.