Mjaft! Demands National Identity Cards

Mjaft

28 March 2007

On the European Union's 50th anniversary, the Mjaft! Movement activists protested in front of the Albanian Parliament. The activists enclosed themselves in a space circumscribed with barbed wire, which symbolized the barrier between Albania and Europe, and they focused their attention on the lack of national ID cards.

"Although the modernization and verification of the national population registry is one of the Stabilization and Association Agreement's major requirements, the Albanian government has not taken any concrete measures to fulfill this requirement," says Elisa Spiropali, Mjaft! activist.

According to Mjaft!, Albania is ranked as the second poorest country in Europe. The statistics regarding organized crime, corruption and unemployment are devastating as well. Analyzed from this perspective, Albanians, unlike the other 500 million Europeans, have nothing to celebrate.

Focusing on the issue of ID cards, the Mjaft! activists demanded that the Albanian government carry out its promises. "The Albanian government should be very careful when it comes to issuing the ID cards. First, it must accomplish the verification and computerization of the national population register."

During this protest, dozens of Mjaft! activists held banners that stated, "We want Albania to be like Europe," or "Does anyone know how many of us there are?".