Albanian protests turn violent: What we know

Several young protesters told the BBC that what was going on now was a new phase born of the previous movement.Five months of peaceful protest had been "met with humiliation, ridicule, mockery," complained one young woman called Livia. "That was a clear message from the government that our voice will not be allowed to be heard."Another called Brunela said she was worried about what might happen next: "I am very terrified because the media and the government is reacting, especially now. It was not just my voice, it is the voice of Albanian youth."An overlap between the two sets of protests may well have occurred, even though flamingo leaders have not publicly stated so and no representative of the student movement has come forward.After all, their main concerns relate to corruption, which the prime minister says must be investigated by the justice system. How is the government handling the unrest?Rama has been touring some of the damaged buildings and blaming Sali Berisha for instigating chaos."All of this is the work of the very same hand - the hand that has gripped the Albanian opposition by the throat, the hand that has burned and destroyed Albania more than once, and is now prepared to burn and destroy it again to prevent any progress. It is a blind struggle, fuelled by the most irrational hatred," he said on Friday.