Revolt against Rama: Students and lecturers boycott classes, protest outside parliament today

Protests against the Rama government continue to mobilize students and lecturers, who began boycotting classes yesterday. Outside the Prime Minister’s Office, protesters again rejected Rama’s invitation to dialogue, breaking the chairs the prime minister had set out as a symbol of that invitation and repeating calls for his resignation. The movement is expected to expand, with doctors and students from the Faculty of Medicine set to join the protest tomorrow.

Today at 9:00, they will protest outside parliament. Lecturers joined demonstrators yesterday for the ninth protest, deciding to boycott classes until Rama leaves office. “Your time is up” and “Resign” were among their chants.

The Universities’ Union announced a teaching boycott at all public universities in solidarity with university and school students who have taken to the streets to demand Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.

The boycott began yesterday and will continue until further notice. As they did yesterday, lecturers will gather every day at 10:00 outside the main building of the Polytechnic University.

Lecturers said the move was a direct response to the unprecedented state violence inflicted on their children. According to them, the violence used by police was unlike anything seen before, with officers violating professional protocols, exposing young people to gas and even entering establishments to inflict arbitrary violence. They urged students not to agree to dialogue, adding that any broad discussion about the future could take place only after the prime minister’s resignation.