A European Union envoy on Wednesday urged Albania's government and the opposition to avoid further tension after last week's deadly anti-government protest.
After holding talks with Albania's president, premier and opposition leader, the envoy of EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Miroslav Lajcak, told reporters that it is not the European
way to solve disputes in a violent manner.
He said that Ashton and the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele were ready to come to help but it was first up to the Albanian leaders to make moves in the right direction.
"I made it clear that the European future for Albania depends very much on whether the political leaders choose to do what we ask them to do, and do it now," Lajcak said.
"But it is now up to you politicians to make the first move in the right direction. They know exactly what we want them to do," Lajcak said, noting that he would leave on Wednesday.
Lajcak reminded the parties of the importance of taking the Balkan nation of 3.2 million people back on the European perspective, underlining "the need to restore calm and full respect for public order and rule of law."
"I reminded your political leaders of their shared responsibility for preventing any further violence and bloodshed, the functioning of state institutions and respecting state institutions. No one is above the state institutions," he said.
Lajcak also said those responsible for the deaths should be brought to justice and avoid any actions that could further widen the gap currently dividing both the political scene and society for fear of increasing the level of confrontation.
The government has confirmed it would not hold a rally planned for Saturday after appeals from the EU and the United States while the opposition said its plans for a rally on Friday to pay homage to the three killed protesters will continue.
U.S. Ambassador Alexander Arvizu regretted that opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama did not cancel the rally despite a 30-minute call from U.S. State Department from Washington.
The United States also said they would send in criminal experts to help Albanian prosecutors in the delicate investigation involving the deadly shooting of three protesters.
The state police, backed by Berisha, have refused to execute arrests for six chiefs of the republican guardsmen whom prosecutors want to detain over the deaths of the protesters.