Thousands of people have gathered again this Monday in the streets of Albania for the fourteenth consecutive day to protest against the Government and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. The mobilizations, which have been ongoing for two weeks, are mainly driven by student groups and opposition parties.
In Tirana, the capital, clashes with the Police have occurred again, which has used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the larger groups. Despite this, the participants have reiterated that "they are not going to back down" and have continued with their demands in the city center.
The organizers, who have already gained support from various professional sectors, including part of the teaching staff, have called for a large protest at 14:00 hours (local time) in front of the Ministry of Education to maintain pressure, according to information released by the newspaper "Gazeta Shqiptare".
Among their main demands are the reduction of university fees and an increase in public spending allocated to education, as well as complaints about corruption in the educational system. Although the protesters show a frontal rejection of Rama, they also criticize the opposition leader and former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, chanting slogans like "Rama to prison; Berisha to prison".
The protests are part of the so-called Revolution of the Flamingos, a movement that, although now focused on educational demands, also opposes a real estate project on the Adriatic coast in which the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, is involved.
Rama has publicly defended the security forces' measures and has attacked the media, which he accuses of "glorifying and relativizing" the clashes between protesters and the Police. He has reiterated his willingness to dialogue with the students but has warned that "there will be consequences" for those who "resort to violence" in the context of these mobilizations, which have so far left hundreds of detainees.