TIRANA: The international community managed to prevent new violence in Albania but the situation remains fragile and a political stalemate unresolved, analysts warned on Saturday.

“The international community has had a decisive role in preventing a confrontation,” analyst Alban Bala said, referring to huge pressure on the opposition ahead of Friday's anti-government protest that ended without incident.

Following clashes at a protest on Jan 21 that left three people dead, the European Union and the United States urged both Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to calm the situation and avoid a further escalation of their long-running political crisis.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton spoke by telephone with the two leaders on Tuesday, while EU Balkans envoy Miroslav Lajcak visited Tirana a day later, pressuring the two sides to look for a peaceful solution.

As a consequence, Berisha cancelled a demonstration by his supporters planned for Saturday, while the opposition rally on Friday turned into a sober homage to the three victims of the previous protest.

Bala said that thanks to the mediation ahead of the Friday rally “the country has not experienced the situation Egypt and Tunisia are facing”. However, Albania's longest-running political crisis, sparked by the June 2009 elections contested by the opposition, is far from resolved, another analyst, Altin Raxhimi, warned.

“The two camps are maintaining an extreme approach to each other without a chance for reconciliation. This is not good for Albania on its path to European integration,” Raxhimi told AFP.

The international community is needed to assist in avoiding a new escalation, he said.

“There is a need for stronger international pressure on the political leaders to be more accountable,” Bala added.

A European diplomat, who asked not to be named, said both Berisha and Rama need to “end the violent rhetoric” that is raising tensions instead of calming the situation down and “does not favour finding a solution”. “The dialogue should be conducted in the parliament and not in the street,” the diplomat said, adding that in this moment “Albanians are their own worst enemies”. In the aftermath of the tense week Albanian media also called for robust international mediation to solve the current political crisis.

“The kettle is boiling,” the Daily Shqip said in an editorial referring to “the epidemic of unemployment and scandalous poverty” gripping Albania.

It makes the people suffer “under a tragic economic situation, which cannot be hidden, cannot be camouflaged and cannot be alienated,” the daily said.

Henri Cili, editor-in-chief of the Mapo daily, also believes that stronger outside mediation could be of help.

“We need strong intervention, likely by a strong international personality of a high level who will talk without equivocation,” Cili told AFP.

The opposition has persistently contested the results of the June 2009 parliamentary elections, claiming that Berisha manipulated the figures and demanding new polls. The prime minister for his part has refused any compromise.

Ever since the 1991 fall of Albania's hardline communist regime, elections in the country have been marred by violence and allegations of fraud.

The current political deadlock has slowed Tirana's path to European Union membership and Brussels has made it clear it is one of the obstacles to progress in this area.

Albania, a Nato member since spring 2009, submitted an application for EU membership almost two years ago, but has not been given formal candidate status yet.—AFP