The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, called on young people to protest today against the closure of the TikTok platform.
He described the closure of Tik Tok as censorship and therefore asked young people to leave everything out of respect for free speech and protest tomorrow at 7:00 PM.
"Let's protest against censorship. Edi Rama censors TikTok, the currently most modern tool, based entirely on intolerance towards it, all Albanian schoolchildren, students, high school students and other young people will have TikTok on their phones on the 12th. This act will be severely punished for the megacrime of gigantic masses. Let's leave everything in respect of free speech, let's protest tomorrow at 7:00 PM in 'Skënderbej' Square in Tirana, all young people. You knights of its protection, let's all gather in support of them", said Berisha.
The government's decision was immediately attacked by the opposition as an act of censorship ahead of the May 11 parliamentary elections.
In his reaction at the time, Berisha said that " at the height of the electoral campaign, Albania's drug lord, Toto Rino or El Chapo, announced his narco-government's decision to ban TikTok for 12 months. This act of censorship is a genuine act of fanaticism, intolerance, fear and terror of free thought and expression," Berisha said in a statement to the media.
Protest against Tik Tok, hundreds of officers on the ground
The protest called by the opposition for this afternoon against the closure of Tik Tok has put the Police on alert.
The permit requested from the police by the organizers of the rally is for 2 hours, starting from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
The DP has announced that citizens will gather on the "Martyrs of the Nation" boulevard, in front of the prime minister's office.
From the start of the protest until its end, the Traffic Police will block all roads connecting to the "Martyrs of the Nation" boulevard, and there will be diversions on some of them.
There will be around 1,200 troops on the ground. RENEA forces will also be on standby, should their intervention be necessary.
Meanwhile, Republican Guard personnel will take charge of institutions of special importance. As in any protest, all personnel will be equipped with gas masks.
High-resolution cameras will be installed along the boulevard to identify violent protesters.
The tasks left by police leaders to their subordinates are to avoid being provoked by protesters, as well as to keep under surveillance those persons who have committed acts of violence in previous protests.