(6 Feb 1997) Albanian/Nat
Up to 30-thousand Albanians took to the streets in Vlora on Wednesday, angry at losing their life savings in collapsed investment schemes.
The Pyramid Investment schemes started collapsing last month - triggering the country's worst crisis since the communists were ousted six years ago.
Locals gathered in the town's main square after an investment fund announced it would not pay investors back as previously promised.
In the southern port-city of Vlora, 30-thousand Albanians angry at having their life savings wiped out, took to the streets for the second day of protests.
Wednesday's protest began after the Gjallica investment fund, based in Vlora, announced it would not pay investors as it had promised when it shut down several weeks ago.
Police presence was low key despite Wednesday's violent clashes between authorities and protesters.
Marchers converged on Vlora's main square and the nearby government district building, chanting and shouting abuse at the Albanian government and President Sali Berisha.
Many Albanians blame Berisha's government, believing he either profited from the schemes or should have warned people of their risks.
SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
"I gave money to Gjallica and they took my life away - the little money I had, I put into their funds and I have nothing to live off now, I am starving."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox-pop
Protesters shouted "Down with Berisha!" and "You villain, you made people poor! We want our money back!" They also sang patriotic songs extolling Albanian heroes with such lines as "Either freedom or death!"
The protests and political turmoil started weeks ago, when the investment schemes started to collapse.
Hundreds of thousands of Albania's 3.2 million people, for decades the poorest in Europe, invested their life savings in the funds.
The schemes offered extremely high interest rates, with the first investors paid from the deposits of later investors.
They eventually failed when no new investors were brought in.
Three other get-rich-quick schemes also have failed or had their assets seized by the government over the past week.
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