The opposition protest was accompanied by clashes with the police, but the ensuing debate was not about the reasons for the protest or political responsibilities. It focused on a much more technical detail: the type of spray used against the protesters.
The police published a photo of a spray can, explaining that this is the tool used in interventions against crowds. But the opposition's reaction came immediately. Sali Berisha stated that what the police presented as evidence does not match the can seen in the hands of the officers on the ground.
According to him, a careful observation of the photo shows that the mechanism of the spray being released into the policeman's hand is typical of the spray used to blind bears, and not the standard canisters that the police claim to use for crowd control.
Berisha called this a “low public deception” and accused the police of trying to hide the use of a prohibited tool against people. According to him, the use of bear spray against protesters constitutes an act with serious consequences and in violation of international conventions.
So, while protests usually end with debates about politics, this time the scene shifted to an almost laboratory analysis of a spray can: one side says it's standard police tool, the other side that it's "bear blinder."
In the end, it remains to be seen whether the history of the protest will be remembered for its political demands… or for a long debate over the mechanism of a spray.
