Student protests escalate in Tirana as PM Edi Rama rules out resignation

Tens of thousands of students returned to the streets of Tirana on Thursday (October 15) for a third consecutive day of protests, demanding relief from high education costs and voicing anger at widespread corruption and nepotism.

Clashes turn violent as buildings burn and parliament session is cancelled

The unrest escalated after police used water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators. Burned motorcycles and cars, scorched containers, smashed bus stops and damaged traffic lights littered central Tirana as clashes spread.

In the disturbances, protesters set fire to the Ministry of Education building and two bank branches and threw stones at police. A scheduled parliamentary session was cancelled after some demonstrators broke through the gate of the legislative compound. Reported damage affected at least eight state institutions.

Medical staff at the University Clinical Center "Mother Teresa" treated 23 injured police officers, five protesters and one passerby following the clashes, and police said 35 demonstrators were detained.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, touring the damaged sites, rejected the idea of resigning and said the scenes of destruction were not the work of students. "These ruins are not from the hands of the students. Students represent the future; they are the ones who look forward. Students are welcome here and we are always ready to sit with them to talk, to discuss and to find solutions to the problems that trouble them. This is from the hands that try to destroy Albania every time Albania tries to rise," he said, while stressing his responsibility to address legitimate grievances and to continue steering the country toward EU membership. "My responsibility is to listen, to address legitimate concerns and to lead Albania forward. The other option would be to abandon the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to finish the EU accession negotiations," he added.

The Office of the European Union in Albania issued a condemnation of the escalation of violence and the destruction of public and private property. Protest organisers say their demands include lower costs for study, better university conditions, more financial support for students and improved job prospects after graduation, alongside growing complaints about corruption and the government's conduct.

Opposition leader Sali Berisha called on teachers and professors to join the students and described the demonstrations as a liberation uprising, accusing the prime minister of abuse of power, corruption and impoverishing Albanians. "I call on teachers and university professors to stand by their pupils and students and to remember that the first lesson, the fundamental principle of their mission, is that they must be with them in all circumstances," he said, warning that attempts to intimidate students would have consequences.

Photo: EPA/MALTON DIBRA