Albania’s capital has been engulfed in riots and violence as anti-government student protesters burned banks and buildings, calling for the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Edi Rama over alleged corruption.
Tens of thousands of students stormed the streets in the capital Tirana on Wednesday while hundreds of them attacked government buildings, banks, businesses and other sites in Tirana.
They smashed shop windows, set fires and caused damage to at least four government ministry buildings during running battles with riot police that lasted over eight hours.
Angry young demonstrators also dismantled police cordons and erected their own street barricades with burning trash bins.
Police forces, in riot gear and using water cannons and tear gas, tried to hold back and disperse demonstrators who have joined a decentralized social movement known as Flamingo Revolution.
The anti-government movement has staged rallies for months, calling for the resignation of Rama, who won a fourth term in office in elections in May last year, over allegations of widespread corruption.
According to official figures, 23 police officers and six other people received due treatment for injuries, while 35 people were arrested.
Health Minister Klodiana Spahiu, who visited the injured officers in hospital, called the violence “intolerable.”
President Bajram Begaj has already denounced the violence and appealed for calm, stressing, “The constitution and the law must remain the boundaries for everyone, without exception.”
The latest rallies were organized by student groups seeking education reforms. However, the demonstrators have joined the broader anti-government campaign opposed to a luxury coastal project purportedly linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The Flamingo Revolution earned the name after protesters used signs depicting the pink bird, which they say could be threatened by the coastal development.
“Protesting is a legitimate right, but it cannot be used as an excuse for violence, city destruction or ugly fighting in the middle of the road,” Deputy Prime Minister Albana Kociu said on Facebook, adding, “I call on students and every honest citizen who believes in the right to protest: Distance yourself from violence and vandalism!”
Albanian officials have so far given few details about Kushner’s role in the project. This is while Kushner’s wife, Ivanka, has spoken about her family’s involvement in the venture, describing it as an “incredible project.”
The violent rallies cap a summer of peaceful protests against Rama.
“This is a revolution. We are tired of peaceful protests. We will not stop until Rama resigns,” said Lora, a student who threw rocks at the police.
The Balkan country, which is aspiring to join the European Union, has struggled with repeated bouts of instability since the downfall of a harsh communist regime in the early 1990s.
“We express concern on the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana,” the EU delegation in Albania said, adding, “Freedom of assembly and expression are fundamental rights and core European values.”
The delegation called for a proportionate response from authorities following protest organizers’ “allegations of excessive violence by the police against protestors and journalists.”
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