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Student protesters attack government buildings in Albania
Confirmed
In Short: Student protesters in Albania clashed with police in Tirana, setting government buildings on fire and throwing rocks.
Student protesters in Albania clashed with police in Tirana, setting government buildings on fire and throwing rocks, as tensions escalated over allegations of corruption and poor educational conditions.
The protests, which began outside the ministry of education on Tuesday, have expanded to include broader societal dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
According to Afrim Krasniqi, a professor at the Institute for Political Studies in Tirana, students and young people protested peacefully for nearly three months, but their demands were largely ignored by the government.
Lleshi, a lecturer at the University of New York Tirana, said that social change is more likely to emerge from a coalition of different social groups rather than mass mobilization limited to university and secondary school students.
The protests were sparked by a luxury tourism project linked to Jared Kushner, which has fueled anger over alleged corruption and a lack of transparency from Rama's government.
One demonstrator, Enida Bimi, told Reuters that the protest is not just for the students but for all the people of Albania.
Rama, who has been prime minister since 2013, told Reuters that governments change through democratic elections, not revolutions.
The protests have also drawn international attention, with an EU delegation expressing concern over the escalation of violence in Tirana.
Health Minister Klodiana Spahiu visited injured officers in the hospital and called the violence 'intolerable.'
President Bajram Begaj condemned the violence and appealed for calm, emphasizing that the constitution and the law must remain the boundaries for everyone.
The protests have continued for three consecutive days, with protesters vowing to remain in the square every day.
The demonstrations have joined the broader 'Flamingo' movement, which is demanding Rama's resignation over allegations of widespread corruption and opposing a major luxury tourism development planned for Albania's southern coast.
What's confirmed
- Student protesters in Albania clashed with police in Tirana, setting government buildings on fire and throwing rocks, as tensions escalated over allegations of corruption and poor educational conditions.
- The protests, which began outside the ministry of education on Tuesday, have expanded to include broader societal dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
- According to Afrim Krasniqi, a professor at the Institute for Political Studies in Tirana, students and young people protested peacefully for nearly three months, but their demands were largely ignored by the government.
- Lleshi, a lecturer at the University of New York Tirana, said that social change is more likely to emerge from a coalition of different social groups rather than mass mobilization limited to university and secondary school students.
- The protests were sparked by a luxury tourism project linked to Jared Kushner, which has fueled anger over alleged corruption and a lack of transparency from Rama's government.
- One demonstrator, Enida Bimi, told Reuters that the protest is not just for the students but for all the people of Albania.
- Rama, who has been prime minister since 2013, told Reuters that governments change through democratic elections, not revolutions.
- The protests have also drawn international attention, with an EU delegation expressing concern over the escalation of violence in Tirana.
- President Bajram Begaj condemned the violence and appealed for calm, emphasizing that the constitution and the law must remain the boundaries for everyone.
- The protests have continued for three consecutive days, with protesters vowing to remain in the square every day.
- The demonstrations have joined the broader 'Flamingo' movement, which is demanding Rama's resignation over allegations of widespread corruption and opposing a major luxury tourism development planned for Albania's southern coast.
What's still developing
- “Elite defection from the current ruling political elite could enable the institutional means to channel societal dissatisfaction or resentment into political and policy changes. Yet, the current student protest does not seem to replicate the December 2018 mass movement of university students and its effects”, Lleshi said.
- Albanian society is polarised and unequal, “with hollowed intermediary political institutions”, he said, but the legacy of unrest and political confrontation will serve as a “warning to avoid destabilisation”, he said.
- They have warned that deteriorating school buildings and overcrowded classrooms are undermining the quality of education.
- The protests were sparked by a luxury tourism project linked to Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, which fuelled anger over alleged corruption and a lack of transparency from Rama's government. 'Flamingo Revolution' takes off as thousands demand Albanian PM's resignation Kushner-backed luxury resort plan sparks protests in Albania Bus hits train stopped on French side of Channel Tunnel, with 19 injured Trump calls off livestream of Fort Hood attacker's execution by firing squad Trans people should use hospital spaces according to biological sex, NHS England says My son wants to try protein powders - I asked experts how safe it was Wales has an education crisis.
- "Setting fire to an institution is not a peaceful protest. It is an act that endangers peoples lives", said economy minister Delina Ibrahimaj, responding to a video appearing to show protesters throwing rocks at the finance ministry building.
- Dozens of protesters wearing gas masks and balaclavas were seen throwing rocks and firecrackers through the education ministry's gates Riot police have clashed with the protesters, using tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.
- Wednesday saw part of the education ministry's building set on fire, while the prime minister's office, finance and interior ministry, and several surrounding businesses were also attacked.
- Rioters in Tirana, Albania, identified in various reports as student protesters, attempted to set various government buildings and luxury developments on fire in the capital on Tuesday, prompting police to deploy water cannons and tear gas to subdue a mob estimated to be in the thousands.
- The student protesters, according to interviews with participants in the unrest, are rebelling against what they consider out-of-control corruption in the government of socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has been in office for 13 years and won his fourth term in office in December in an election observers said showed irregularities.
- “My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,” Rama said.
- The Tirana Times described the nation’s capital as “resembling a war zone” on Wednesday, as protesters used bricks, rocks, and other projectiles to destroy luxury buildings, as well as set some government sites on fire.
- “We will be in the square every day,” protest organizer Mateo Yskollari said in an online post, adding that attempts to silence the movement would lead to expanded protests and civil disobedience.