Prime Minister Edi Rama has said that the recent protests in Albania may be influenced by foreign factors. According to him, two days ago a drone carrying explosives was neutralized after it was suspected of being intended to strike the Prime Minister’s Office and set fire to its inner courtyard. Rama stressed that such a plan could not have been conceived by young people or students and described it as the work of a foreign hand.
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Commenting on the situation for “Bota sot,” Albanian political analyst Ilir Vata said the demonstrations reflect dissatisfaction that has built up in society. According to him, young people are bearing the main burden of the problems inherited from the old political establishment.
Vata questioned the way the protests were organized and financed, but stressed that citizens’ demands should be examined from a social and political perspective, regardless of where the support for them comes from.
He recalled that the protest began mainly in Tirana, initially with flamingos for Zvërnec, and that students later joined. According to him, episodes of violence were recorded during the first five days, as well as on the sixth day.
The analyst described the situation as a clash of generations between young people and Albania’s old political establishment, which, he said, has held the country’s future hostage for 35 years. He said Albania had been left in transition and continued to have a low economic and social level of development.
Vata argued that the protests were necessary because of the problems existing in the country. He also said the prime minister’s claim of foreign influence may have some basis, citing the emergence of neo-Marxist movements in Europe, in France, Belgium, Italy and Germany, but particularly in Albania.
According to him, the country lies between the past and the future and has not yet fully broken away from dictatorship. Vata warned that young people’s dissatisfaction could drive them toward fatalism and a new form of communism.
Another concern he raised was the lack of clear leadership for the protest. Vata asked who was leading it, whether it was truly organized by young people and whether non-governmental organizations of Marxist origin might be behind it. He mentioned Soros as a possible source of influence.
The analyst did not rule out foreign assistance either, saying that factors hostile to Albania, Kosovo and the region may be seeking to hinder the integration of Albania, Montenegro and neighboring countries into the European Union or their inclusion in the Atlantic Alliance. In this context, he mentioned possible Russian and Chinese influence, as well as the activities of Albania’s enemies.
Nevertheless, Vata stressed that it was the prime minister’s duty to listen to the protesters. According to him, institutions should respond to concerns about education, meritocracy, the economy, the press and freedom of expression by reaching out to students and young people.
He called for restraint from the prime minister and state institutions, since, in his assessment, Albania is a semi-democratic country. Vata said political leaders, particularly the prime minister, who bears the primary responsibility for the future of Albanians, should not even raise the idea of foreign organization of the protests as a hypothesis.
Vata said he believed the protests had external influence and were sponsored. He claimed that millions of euros had been invested in the square, while materials such as stickers, a pelican and banners cost millions of lek. According to him, someone had to finance these expenses, while the lack of clear leadership left room for doubt about who was pushing the protesters to act against Albania and its relations with other countries.
The analyst explained that he had initially supported the protest, but had recently become more critical because of the violence. He stressed that citizens had the right to protest, but demonstrations should be peaceful and must not turn into attempts to burn Albania or create the impression that the country was returning to 1997.
According to Vata, an escalation of the situation could damage Albania’s international credibility and endanger citizens’ lives, especially when institutions and businesses are attacked. He described Rama’s claim of foreign influence as credible, given that the protest had no clear leadership and that the prime minister was informed about the situation.
Vata concluded that political parties and institutions should show restraint so that the protests could take place peacefully, the protesters could be heard and their demands could be resolved.
