Riot police fired tear gas, stun grenades and a water cannon at masked young people hurling rocks outside the Education Ministry in central Tirana on Saturday, as thousands of young Albanians gathered on the fifth day of a growing student-led movement demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation over corruption and a lack of jobs, Reuters reported.
The demonstrations are spreading across Albania. In the capital this week, protesters have smashed windows, set government buildings alight and clashed with police.
Police figures showed that 500 protesters had been detained so far, 330 of whom were released. Some 120 police officers and 45 protesters were registered as injured, although many injuries among protesters are likely to have gone unrecorded.
The unrest is emerging as the biggest threat to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term in elections last year.
It follows months of largely peaceful protests triggered by plans for a luxury resort on Albania’s pristine southern coastline, backed by investors including Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. Villagers told Reuters in July that their land had been wrongfully sold for the development. Reuters later reported that the man who sold the land was wanted by prosecutors on suspicion of drug trafficking, accusations his lawyer denied. Reuters found no evidence of wrongdoing by Kushner, who is not directly involved in the villagers’ dispute.
Rama’s administration has been dogged by corruption scandals, and analysts say Albania is a hub for gangs seeking to launder money from drug and weapons trafficking, complicating its efforts to join the EU. Along with Montenegro, Albania is leading the accession process among Balkan countries.
Rama, who denies wrongdoing, told Reuters this week that he would not step down. On Saturday, he said on Facebook that his government respected the students and would protect their right to protest.
“My responsibility is even clearer during these difficult times … to protect our citizens, guarantee justice, and move Albania forward — together with this governing majority, which holds a very clear mandate: to see Albania in the European Union by 2030,” he said.
Albania’s unrest coincides with growing street protests elsewhere in the EU. In France, high-school students have been protesting for weeks to demand more teachers and better facilities, a campaign that looks to be spreading to other population groups. Spain this month experienced broad protests against high rents and a lack of housing, which prompted the government to call a snap election.
