 They were established in many regions of the country in order to usurp the functions of the Albanian state.However, they were most influential in the south, where early in the crisis the local Salvation Committees merged to form the National Salvation Committee and demanded the removal of President Sali Berisha.Many committees were based on local organisations for the Socialist Party of Albania and saw themselves as protectors of democracy against authoritarian one-man rule, but the contemporary Albanian government viewed them as similar to Communist-era local party organisations and therefore a potential threat of returning to Communist rule.