The Police of Albania has resorted to water cannons and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters who this Saturday have staged new violent clashes in Tirana, the country’s capital. The day has been marked by the throwing of stones, Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnic material against security forces and official buildings, as well as in the vicinity of the Prime Minister’s residence, Edi Rama.
The demonstrations began in front of the Ministry of Education, where students demanded Rama’s resignation, improvements in the education system, and more dignified living conditions. Afterwards, the protest moved to the Boulevard of the Martyrs of the Nation and around the seat of the Executive, the scene of the most serious incidents.
The actions of the officers made it possible to clear the main focus of tension, from the Office of the Prime Minister to the Lana bridge. Once the crowd had been dispersed, the Police reinforced the deployment with more personnel and two additional tanker vehicles to prevent new gatherings and ensure control of the main thoroughfare.
During the disturbances, several participants, some of them hooded, threw blunt objects and incendiary devices against the police cordon. Even so, the security forces maintained the use of water pressure as the priority response to stop the attacks and smother the sources of fire, according to what has been reported by the Albanian public radio-television (RTSH).
DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN PROTESTERS AND THE OPPOSITION
The day has also been marked by tensions between the students and the opposing Democratic Party (PD). Representatives of this formation attempted to integrate into the student march after moving from the seat of the Government to the Ministry of Education, but the young people rejected their participation and demanded that their protest’s independence be respected.
These disturbances are part of a wave of protests that has been ongoing since June and that has been expanding its demands until it has become a movement against corruption, the Government, and the political class. In this context, the students, who joined the mobilizations in October, have on several occasions rejected the Prime Minister’s offers of dialogue, including a digital platform enabled on Friday to channel citizens’ complaints.
The movement, supported by opposition politicians, university professors, artists and other public figures, has left hundreds of injured and numerous shops damaged in the last few weeks, shaping one of the most serious episodes of street violence experienced in the capital in years.
The crisis has also become one of the biggest challenges for Rama in his thirteen years at the head of the Executive, after his Socialist Party won a fourth term in last year's elections. Discontent over corruption and the worsening standard of living coincides with judicial investigations that affect senior political officials, including a former deputy prime minister and former Minister of Energy. Despite this situation, Rama has ruled out resigning and maintains as his objective that Albania join the European Union in 2030, while the country continues accession negotiations.