Albania – Zharrez Strikers abandon protest as government grants 100% of their demands

TIRANA, Albania | Tirana Echo – The Zharrez Strikers who have been protesting against oil giant Bankers Petroleum have announced the end of their protest in front of the Ministry of Energy following a government decision to offer 100% compensation for their shattered homes.

The Albanian Government has said today the Zharrez families whose homes are out of order will get compensation on the basis of Fier property prices while others will get damage compensation. The money will be distributed 30 days after inspection teams have terminated their evaluation mission in the oil rich area near the region of Fier.

“Within 30 days the working groups will prepare the final list of families with fully destroyed or heavily damaged houses, accompanied by the relevant financial aid which will be granted in 100% coverage of the damage caused and will be payable imediately based on the final lists” – said a statement by the Council of Ministers which decided to compensate the Zharrez families from the state budget.

Several ministries and local authorities have been designated to implement the government order while the Ministry of Interior will oversee the validity of names and families to avoid any abuse of the compensation scheme.

The government decision marks the end of the Zharrez protest which prompted several men to walk for more than 130 km from the village of Zharrëz in the region of Fier to Albania’s capital Tirana afte having already been in a hunger strike against a specific drilling methodology for oil by Bankers Petroleum – called tectonic fluid injection which is known to cause earth tremors in the area. The tremors have cracked the walls of the inhabitants’ homes and caused panic for months, while the Government has to date not taken any concrete measures to establish the truth behind the tremors.

The protesters celebrated the decision in front of the Ministry of Energy and declared the end of their strike and returned home.