Student protests in Albania turn violent, Austrian media report calls for Rama’s resignation

For the second consecutive day, Albania saw fierce clashes between police and protesters opposing the government and demanding better study conditions. Hundreds of people, including a large number of students, marched through Tirana on Wednesday toward the offices of Prime Minister Edi Rama and two ministries, calling for him to step down.

During the protest, some participants erected barricades and threw stones and Molotov cocktails. Police responded with tear gas and water cannon. According to AFP reporters, protesters set fire to the Ministry of Education after two of them climbed the building’s wall and threw incendiary devices inside. Thick black smoke was seen pouring from the windows immediately afterward, but firefighters quickly managed to contain the blaze.

The Ministry of Finance was also targeted by protesters, who broke down the entrance doors, with some briefly making their way inside. After being pushed back by police, they headed toward the prime minister’s offices, where they continued throwing stones. Windows were smashed and documents burned at a bank branch, while a building that appeared to be unoccupied also caught fire.

A day earlier, hundreds of people had gathered outside the Ministry of Education to demand Rama’s resignation. Demonstrators attacked the capital’s city hall, set it on fire and damaged other buildings. According to police figures, around ten people were arrested, while the Ministry of Health said six police officers, eight protesters, three journalists and two passersby received medical treatment. Police reported that their officers had faced “unrelenting violence” and that masked individuals had attacked them with stones, fireworks and Molotov cocktails.

In Skanderbeg Square, a protester stood facing a line of police officers carrying shields, while smoke and debris filled the street behind him under the dark night sky.

The wave of anti-government protests in Albania began in late May, initially sparked by plans for a luxury hotel in a protected coastal area. The project is linked to US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, and provoked anger over suspected corruption and a lack of transparency. Students have also spoken out against high university fees and poor conditions at educational institutions.

The European Union delegation in Tirana expressed concern over the “escalation of violence” and called on all sides to exercise restraint. It also called for allegations of excessive police force against demonstrators and journalists to be investigated without delay. Albania, an EU candidate country, had just provisionally closed another negotiating chapter at the start of the week.

Like the other Western Balkan countries, Albania has sought EU membership for years. Montenegro is currently the furthest along in the process, with its government targeting 2028 for full membership. Albania is seen as the second most likely candidate to join and aims to do so by 2030. These two countries, along with Ukraine and Moldova, which only became candidate countries in 2022 following the start of Russian aggression but want to be admitted as soon as possible, are the leading candidates to pave the way. The four other Western Balkan states, apart from Montenegro and Albania, are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.