Students lead demands for Prime Minister Rama to quit in Tirana; police report 167 arrests and 132 officers injured.
Anti-government protests in Tirana, Albania's capital, turned violent for a fifth straight day on Saturday, October 17. Al Jazeera and AFP reported that demonstrators demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama clashed with police near his office and in the city center. Taiwan's Liberty Times also carried the story.
광고 문의 · 300×250The protests were started by high school and university students. Their grievances include high tuition, poor educational facilities, limited job prospects and allegations of government corruption. The Socialist Party has governed since 2013, and Rama, in his fourth term, has refused to step down.
Clashes and the police response
Protesters threw stones, petrol bombs and fireworks at police, set cars and rubbish bins alight and built burning barricades. Police used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges. At the start of the day's march, protesters burned a suitcase and threw it into the Education Ministry courtyard to signal they did not intend to emigrate. Local media said a post office was damaged and roads blocked by burning barricades in the port city of Durres.
National police chief Skender Hita confirmed that rubber bullets were used for the first time since the protests began, saying they were used on a limited basis. He said 167 people had been arrested and 132 officers injured over five days. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said nine protesters and four police officers received treatment on Saturday.
Seven officers were suspended pending investigation into allegations that they exceeded their authority. Rama visited damaged businesses, promised to listen to students and protect their right to protest, and warned against further destruction. He blamed his conservative opponents for encouraging the violence; the opposition's response was not confirmed.
Earlier, months of rallies by the Flamingo movement targeted a luxury tourism development on Albania's southern coast, reportedly linked to an investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The movement later added Rama's resignation to its demands over corruption allegations, and the student protests appear to have joined that wave.