Student protests in Albania leave 272 injured
What began as a protest over tuition is now a movement against the government of Edi Rama, who refuses to resign and blames a "foreign hand."
Albanian students have been in the streets of Tirana for more than a week demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, and the government is not yielding. A few hundred young people gathered outside the Education Ministry on Oct. 13, and since then the protests have spread to Shkodër, Vlorë, Lushnjë, Elbasan, Durrës and Korçë.
The anger stems from tuition and rents, run-down universities, unemployment and corruption. Albania, a western Balkan country that is a candidate to join the European Union, has been governed by Rama since 2013.
On Oct. 17, police used rubber bullets for the first time since the demonstrations began. They have also used water cannon and tear gas outside the Education Ministry, while protesters throw stones and Molotov cocktails and burn barricades.
The official figures come from different sources and do not fully match:
- Injured: The Health Ministry counted, as of Oct. 18, 272 since Tuesday, Oct. 13, 169 of them police officers.
- Detained: 167 in five days, according to national police chief Skender Hita, who also cited 132 injured officers.
- Officers suspended: seven, for possible excesses.
Rama ruled out resigning. Speaking to heads of educational institutions on Oct. 20, he said the movement is now a coordinated effort against the state and against Albania's integration into the European Union, a goal the country has set for 2030. He blamed the unrest on a "foreign hand" without presenting evidence, and unveiled another package of criminal and administrative penalties.
He then released a video showing a "Dialogue" sign and 12 red chairs at the entrance to his office. Jesmina Sengla, a student and spokesperson for the movement, rejected the offer. "In your dreams," she replied, and said the invitation is not sincere. Political analyst Mentor Nazarko says Rama's legitimacy "has melted."
Adding to the discontent is the so-called "Flamingo Revolution," born in May to oppose a luxury resort complex in the south of the country linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law.
