Protestsupdated 2h ago2 min read
Edi Rama Refuses To Resign As Tirana Protests Enter Sixth Day
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Rama refuses to resign as protests in Tirana enter sixth day. Police fired water cannons and tear gas amid violent clashes with protesters.
Rama refuses to quit
Prime Minister Edi Rama refused to resign as violent anti-government protests entered their sixth day in Tirana, with Albanian police firing water cannon and tear gas on Sunday. Hundreds of protesters gathered again at noon in front of the education ministry chanting “Rama, resign,” and police dispersal efforts scattered crowds across the city center as clashes escalated. Protesters set ablaze litter bins, smashed windows including at the headquarters of the governing Socialist party, and set fire to a police station and the entrance of the interior ministry.
“Prime Minister Rama rejected demonstrators’ demands that he resign.”
Albert Nushi, from the police public security department, said on Sunday evening that a police station in Tirana was attacked with Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnic devices that endangered both officers and people held in custody. Rama ruled out resigning in a video broadcast lasting more than an hour, saying the protests were the “work of an outside hand.”
Injuries and competing claims
The ministry of Health told AFP that 16 police officers were injured on Sunday, including 14 when protesters attacked the police station, and the ministry also said 28 people were injured on Sunday. Albert Nushi urged protesters to stay away from masked individuals behind the violence and “assemble in a peaceful manner,” while he framed the police station attack as not being a protest. Rama told a live address on Facebook that “I am not being challenged, the government is not being challenged,” and he argued that a path and a mission were being challenged instead.
The European Commission condemned the use of violence in Tirana and other cities and said the response “must remain proportionate,” while the United States embassy in Tirana urged “restraint and calm on all sides.” Lura Elezi, 38, told AFP she was protesting for “a better life, rule of law and against crime and corruption,” and she said, “I love my country, but my government does not respect us.”
EU path and next pressure
Rama insisted the protests threatened Albania’s ambition of accession to the European Union rather than his government, and he asked, “Do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?” The unrest followed months of anti-government protests initially sparked by a controversial resort development linked to US President Donald Trump’s family, and the current wave grew into a sixth-day standoff in Tirana. The European Commission said in a written statement that “grievances should be handled through constructive dialogue and in a peaceful manner,” while it also welcomed the Albanian authorities’ commitment that the right to protest will be protected.
“Rama is refusing to step down, saying the demonstrations were not a threat to government but rather a threat to Albania's ambition of accession to the European Union.”
In the capital, protesters hurled rocks, Molotov cocktails and firing pyrotechnic devices as police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, and ambulances were seen rushing in and out to pick up the injured. In parallel, police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offenses during the demonstrations, and the unrest left Rama facing mounting pressure while he continued to reject calls to step down.