09/12/2009
TIRANA, Albania -- Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Tirana on Tuesday (December 8th), marking the 19th anniversary of the fall of communism. Prime Minister Sali Berisha described December 8th as the day "hope was reborn." He invited all Albanians to join the country's "freedom march towards Europe".
Opposition parties, meanwhile, dismissed the celebrations as political theatre, an effort by the government to distract and detract from opposition rallies demanding an investigation into alleged fraud that occurred during general elections six months ago. (BBC, Shekulli, Top Channel, VoA, Ora News, News 24 - 08/12/09)