Thousands of people gathered on Saturday at a new anti-government rally in Albania, marking an escalation of tensions that have gripped the country since mid-October. Since then, protesters and police have clashed regularly, resulting in attacks on several government buildings, dozens of detained demonstrators and, according to authorities, more than 300 protesters and police officers injured.
The situation had calmed in recent days, with only sporadic incidents in Tirana, but it escalated again on Saturday. Thousands of people responded to calls from organizers, including students and citizens from across Albania, to take part in the rally. Various groups, such as university professors, artists and opposition parties, had declared their support or participation. Activist Sidorela Vatnikaj described the movement as a “revolution,” stressing that “it is not only a students’ issue, nor only an issue of environmental struggles… It is an issue of the state of rights and the rule of law.”
Immediately after the rally began outside the Ministry of Education, which has become a central point of the protests, a group of demonstrators threw stones at the building, many of whose windows had been broken in previous days. Riot police reacted immediately with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Rosela Mira, a first-year medical student, expressed her motive: “We are here for a reason: we want to stay in our country and not dream of a life somewhere else. I want to have a future here.” Her sister, a high school student, described deteriorating teaching conditions, with 40 students per class and a lack of facilities such as laboratories at her school.
Since the fall of communism in the 1990s, more than 1.5 million people have left this Balkan nation, bringing the current population to 2.3 million. The average salary before taxes is 930 euros per month. Fabiola Nikaj, a third-year law student, stressed: “We have to work several jobs… to help our parents, who receive small pensions.” Slogans such as “No to violence,” “Transparency” and “Democracy in danger” could be read on some of the banners held by high school teachers and university professors, gathered on sidewalks partly stripped of cobblestones, which had been pried up by protesters in previous days. Albania ranks 91st out of 182 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
Anti-government protests began in May, fueled by a luxury hotel project linked to the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, which, according to scientists in July, had already caused irreparable damage to a once-untouched part of the Albanian coast. Anger over the resort’s development has turned into a broader push against corruption, amid continuing demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Rama has blamed “foreign actors” for the violence and accused Russia and Iran of fueling online disinformation. The Socialist prime minister has also called for “dialogue.”
However, the red cushions placed on the ground around an improvised concrete table outside the government seat on Saturday, a symbolic gesture for dialogue, remained empty and were later burned by hundreds of protesters. “Rama in prison” and “Berisha in prison” they chanted on Saturday, blaming the entire political class for the crisis. The prime minister had earlier published photos of about 40 people, identified by their initials, whom he accused of violence, and renewed his call for the resignation of the heads of dozens of public institutions.
Source: France 24 Live News