Thousands of young Albanians gathered on Saturday in front of the Ministry of Education, in downtown Tirana, on the fifth day of a student movement that is gaining momentum against the Government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The protest escalated into violence when a group of masked youths threw stones at riot police, who responded with stun grenades, tear gas and water cannons.
Today's protest was called as a comprehensive national rally, where in addition to students and high school students, citizens and various representatives from the diaspora were also expected to participate.
Protests against corruption and the lack of jobs have begun to spread across Albania, but Rama has rejected calls for his resignation.
According to police data, 500 protesters have been detained so far, 330 of whom have been released. Around 120 police officers and 45 protesters have been registered as injured, although it is likely that many cases of protesters' injuries have not been registered.
The Ombudsman, Endrit Shabani, has published preliminary findings of the monitoring conducted during the four days of protests in the country, finding concerns related to detention conditions, the treatment of minors, and allegations of the use of violence against persons deprived of their liberty.
In a statement to the media, Shabani announced that the teams of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture have monitored the situation in police stations no. 1 to no. 6 in Tirana, in the Security Block, in the Trauma Hospital, as well as in the police stations of Korça, Vlora and Shkodra.
According to the Ombudsman, during the last 72 hours, 214 detained persons have been contacted, while confidential interviews have been conducted with arrested, escorted, injured persons, doctors and psychologists.
Shabani also announced that on October 14 and 15 alone, 128 people received treatment at the Trauma Hospital, of which 86 were police officers, 38 protesters and 5 minors.
The Ombudsman condemned all forms of violence that have accompanied the protests of recent days.
"We condemn violence against police officers. We condemn violence against protesters. We condemn damage to public property and private property, including businesses," the statement said.
What are the protesters' demands?
The students say they are protesting against the high costs of education and government corruption, while their main demand is the resignation of the government led by Edi Rama. They have also been joined by high school students. Classes have been boycotted at universities in Tirana and several other cities, as well as at some high schools in the capital.
They say they are also angry about the sale of untouched areas of the Albanian coast for the construction of a luxury tourist complex, supported by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
The unrest poses a challenge for Rama, who won a fourth term last year promising to lead Albania towards European Union membership. He aims for the country to join the EU by 2028.
Earlier on Friday, Rama called for calm and blamed "foreign hands" for the violent unrest that has gripped the country for days. He did not identify them, but said they were trying to hinder his country's efforts to join the European Union.
"These are foreign hands that do not want Albania to be peaceful," he said in a video published on his Facebook page.
Rama insisted that the protests have "nothing to do with the troubles, the problems, the legitimate aspirations of everyone who wants a better life."
"All of this is the same hand, the same hand that has grabbed the Albanian opposition by the throat, and that has burned and destroyed Albania more than once, and that is ready to burn and destroy it again, to prevent it from moving forward," he said./ REL
