London: 35 police officers injured and not one rioter dead. Why in Albania peaceful protests turn deadly?

Not Just News       by Alfred Kola

The violent riots that have erupted in London in the last three days have left behind a wave of destruction and insecurity. 35 police officers are reported to have been injured in the skirmishes with the angry groups of youths who pelted them with stones and other objects. Police say they were confronted with baseball bats and bars in close combat. The unrest was sparked by a fatal police shooting, where Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four, was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday in Tottenham. London is in flames and smoke, with shattered windows, looted stores and burning buildings. Despite being faced with angry crowds who hailed them with hard objects and 35 officers wounded, police never used excessive force and, of course, never even thought of using firearms to push back the crowd or stop the looting and burning.

The violence has been going on for days now, but there is no casualty reported. And if we just go back in time, on January 21, 2011, in another European capital, 4 protesters were shot dead by police forces, in a protest that was a Ghandi-like movement, compared to the unrest in London. That capital is Tirana, Albania, and the protest was announced, police was prepared and the motive was noble: against the smothering corruption, poverty and unemployment. Yet, four of them didn’t go back home alive.

In light of this contrast, I would so much like to ask just one question to the British Ambassador , Her Excellency, Ms Fiona McIlwham: Please, tell Albanians why?