Albanian riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of student demonstrators in Tirana on Tuesday. The unrest turned confrontational as protesters hurled concrete blocks and bricks at the Ministry of Education, simultaneously calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. The clash resulted in injuries to at least six police officers and one female journalist, with authorities confirming the arrest of 23 individuals involved in the demonstration.
Organisers indicated that the protest served as a platform to voice grievances regarding university environments, tuition costs, financial instability, and poor employment prospects for graduates. Beyond specific educational concerns, many participants expressed broader frustration with national economic inequality. One attendee, Luljeta Kola, described the movement as a call for a complete systemic overhaul, stating, “What Albania needs is a revolution, a change, a complete overthrow of the system because it can’t go on like this.” She further highlighted a significant social divide between the country’s wealthy and poor populations.
In a statement, police reported that while they initially called for calm, some protesters escalated the conflict by attacking officers with firecrackers, Molotov cocktails, and various hard objects. Deputy Prime Minister Albana Kociu condemned the actions on Facebook, emphasizing that violence is not a viable solution for youth to express their frustrations or influence policy. She characterized the destruction of public property and attacks on state institutions as unacceptable behavior.
This demonstration follows a series of anti-government actions that have persisted in the capital since May. Those protests were initially sparked by a controversial luxury tourism project associated with the family of US President Donald Trump, which has fueled widespread accusations of corruption and a lack of official transparency. Students participating in Tuesday’s rally aligned themselves with these broader anti-government sentiments, noting that their demands for reform remain unmet. Organisers emphasized that the youth have legitimate questions and significant reasons to be heard, urging officials not to ignore their grievances under the pretense that the problems do not exist. Tuition fees and a lack of support for young people, students echoed those demands but told local media that Tuesday’s rally also aimed to decry university conditions.
