Edi Rama Sali Berisha, Prime MinisterLulzim Basha, Minister of Internal Affairs Albanian Republican Guard The 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations (also known as 21 January events) were a series of anti-government protests in cities around Albania following 18 months of political conflict over alleged electoral fraud by the opposition.

On 21 January, a protest in Tirana led to the killings of three demonstrators by the Republican Guard during a rally in front of Prime Minister Sali Berisha office.

[citation needed] The governing coalition wanted a Parliamentary Investigative Committee to examine the election but the Socialist Party objected to the move.

At the beginning of January, the ballot boxes from the June 2009 election were burned, while other electoral materials were sealed for 25 years, making an investigation legally impossible.

[7] On 11 January Ilir Meta, chairman of LSI, was shown putting pressure on one of the government ministers and finalizing a number of economic deals informally.

Furthermore, he forced the Minister to hire two individuals into mid-level government jobs and finally asked for another favor in a deal involving a hydro-electrical power plant.

The large number of police coupled with continuous provocations and rising political tensions during the week preceding the demonstration, were major factors in the development of the protest.

[14] Clashes continued for two hours until police forces and the Republican Guard began firing bullets into the air in an attempt to stave off and scare away the demonstrators.

[16] The Albanian Socialist Party stated that the background and the reasons that caused the escalation of this peaceful protest in Tirana, although similar to the situation in Tunisia, were very different.

[18] The opposition organized simultaneous demonstrations in four cities: Tirana, Vlora, Korça and Lezha, though no provocations or signs of violence were reported.

[19] Sali Berisha stated on 21 January that the three protesters who died during the opposition rally were killed by other demonstrators in an attempt to create victims and ultimately start a coup d'état against his government.

Berisha ultimately stated that he would counter the effects of the purported coup d'état by hiring Lady Gaga to perform in Albania during the summer.

The diplomatic community called for the opposition to cancel their peaceful protest in order to preserve the status quo and avoid any possibility of violent clashes.