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For days, protesters have hurled rocks, flares, firebombs and
fireworks at police who have used batons, water cannons and tear
gas in clashes in the city center.
Albania is one of a number of European countries experiencing
protests over rising fuel costs, discontent with the state of
schools, declining public services and a housing crisis,
including France and Italy. In Spain and Portugal, tent camps
have sprung up to protest unaffordable housing, while a rally
and a protest were also being planned in Greece on Tuesday
evening and Wednesday.
In Albania, the latest protests follow months of rallies
organized by the so-called Flamingo movement, launched in
opposition to a major luxury tourism development on Albania’s
southern coast linked to an investment firm founded by Jared
Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
“A wave of stones, an attempt to overthrow the government and
change those in power through the imposition of violence —
something that will never be allowed to happen, in any form or
for any reason,” Rama said after a meeting Tuesday with teachers
and representatives of Tirana’s schools.
He argued that legitimate concerns were being hijacked by people
deliberately causing violence during the protests.
“This is a hybrid war that naturally works to the extent that it
does because it is based on real concerns, not fantasies.
Concerns about the cost of living are certainly real. Concerns
about a secure future, housing, and greater opportunities to get
ahead are also real,” Rama said.
The prime minister accused protesters of “hold(ing) the city
under a climate of terror” and said students involved in the
protests “belong to emerging currents of political extremism.”
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