“The biggest popular mobilization of recent decades” / Italian media: Albanians have shed their fear, Rama is no longer seen as untouchable

“Il Fatto Quotidiano” has dedicated a lengthy article to the anti-government protest in Albania, which has entered its 39th day.

According to the outlet, this is the biggest popular mobilization the country has seen in recent decades, while its greatest achievement, in its view, has been the disappearance of fear.

Attention has also been given to the “hybrid war” that, according to the Italian media, has been waged by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has tried to portray the protest as a product of Iran or Russia.

The article also addresses police violence against protesters, as well as the lack of response from institutions.

The full article:

The biggest popular mobilization Albania has seen in recent decades is still continuing, spreading rapidly on social media while facing ongoing attempts at delegitimization.

“The most important achievement of the protest is what the organizers describe as the killing of fear. Albanians no longer see the power of Prime Minister Edi Rama as untouchable. This shift in the collective psychology may be the most significant consequence of this movement.”

For investigative journalist Xhesika Tollia, who for more than a month has been following the Flamingo Revolution demonstrations on the ground for the investigative portal “Shteg,” this is the moment marking a turning point in the biggest popular mobilization of recent decades in Albania. According to her, beyond the political demands, the way citizens perceive power has changed.

The same conviction also drove Endrin Hysa, 37, an Italian of Albanian origin. He has lived in Italy for years, but as soon as the protests began he decided to join the diaspora and return to Albania to take part in the demonstrations.

“Omerta (the silence imposed by fear) has always been one of the greatest problems of this people. For entire decades Albanians lived cut off from the world under communism. After its fall, many people became accustomed to passively accepting a deeply corrupt politics,” the 37-year-old says.

He also recalls some scenes from his childhood: “When I was a child, I lived in Durrës and we all knew that that high-rise building had been built by the mafia, or that bar, or the one next to it. For us, the presence of organized crime was something normal,” Endrini explains.

He goes on to add: “For this reason I always thought Albania would never change, as long as this collective silence continued. When I saw on Instagram thousands of people taking to the streets, I realized that something extraordinary was happening. For the first time I saw Albanians freeing themselves from fear. And I had to be here.”

His case also highlights another characteristic of the Flamingo Revolution: its ability to spread more through social media than through traditional media.

“This is a non-traditional protest,” Tollia explains. “It relies heavily on social media and uses forms of communication typical of younger generations. Anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection can post a video that may go viral within a few hours.”

That is precisely why, she stresses, the movement has never depended on coverage by traditional media, either nationally or internationally.

“The protest spread through social media algorithms. And for this reason Prime Minister Rama has repeatedly described the algorithm as the ‘culprit.’”

The Albanian journalist says that at first the prime minister tried to impose his own narrative: “At first he tried to downplay the protests. Then, when it became clear that they represented a political reality that could no longer be ignored, he began looking for elements to discredit them.”

According to her, Rama initially spoke of a “hybrid war.”

“He claimed that the movement was influenced by Russian or Iranian interests. When these explanations found no support in public opinion, he began singling out individual protesters, publishing their names and photographs on his social media channels.”

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the squares has become more tense.

In recent days there have been clashes and several arrests. Nevertheless, one of the chants heard most often remains: “The police are with us.”

“The use of force cannot be justified by the fact that some protesters threw flour or eggs at MPs’ vehicles,” Tollia says.

“So far there has been no institutional response to the violence that some detainees have reported. We have seen people already subdued and lying on the ground being beaten with rubber batons.”

According to Tollia, these episodes of violence have quickly been incorporated into the government’s narrative.

“It was to be expected that these episodes would be exploited to reinforce the government’s narrative. And that is exactly what is happening. Some communication experts believe that the Socialist Party is following a coordinated strategy of message discipline and political spin.”

Nevertheless, according to the journalist, the clashes have not caused support for the protest to decline.

“The national demonstration on July 4, which brought thousands of people into the streets, showed that the protest continues to mobilize citizens just as much as it did on the first day. Images of parents bringing their children to protests and letting them sit on the asphalt drawing are the clearest proof that the majority of participants are not seeking violence. They continue to support the movement with the same enthusiasm as at the beginning.”

The demands of the thousands of protesters remain unchanged: profound political change and the resignation of Edi Rama, who for the moment has no intention of leaving office.

“I cannot say whether Rama will resign or not,” Tollia concludes.

“He himself has repeated several times that this possibility is not part of his plans. What I can say is that this protest will carry a considerable political cost for him.”