Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Sunday rejected calls to step down as anti-government protests entered a sixth day, telling Albanians the unrest threatens not his government but the country's drive to join the European Union. Student-led demonstrations over corruption, jobs and education standards have engulfed central Tirana and spread to other cities, with protesters torching government buildings and banks and clashing with riot police.
"Not the EU or this": Rama's defiant address
In a live address on Facebook, Rama insisted his position was never in doubt. "I am not being challenged, the government is not being challenged, a government majority or a winning party in the elections is not being challenged but a path is being challenged, a mission is being challenged," he said, framing the street movement as an attack on Albania's European future rather than on his administration.
"Albanians need to think very clearly: Do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?" he said. As he spoke, excavators were digging up and removing the paving stones outside his office in central Tirana ahead of another expected round of protests. Rama also blamed unspecified foreign interests for the unrest and for what he said was an attempted drone attack on his office this week, adding: "This is a foreign hand."
Six days of unrest in Tirana
The demonstrations, fueled by anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have brought central Tirana to a standstill over the past week. Demonstrators demanding Rama's resignation have set fire to government buildings and banks, smashed shop windows and pulled up paving stones to throw at police, who have responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
Violence erupted again on Sunday when thousands gathered outside the Education Ministry and hurled rocks at riot police. National police chief Skender Hita said 167 people had been arrested over five days of unrest while 132 officers were injured, and that rubber bullets had been deployed "in a limited manner" — the first time since the demonstrations began, according to AFP. Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offences, and seven officers were suspended pending investigations into allegations of excessive force. The US embassy in Tirana urged protesters to refrain from violence, saying on X that "violence, rioting, physically injuring others, and the destruction of property are not civic engagement."
The Kushner-linked resort at the root of the anger
The unrest follows months of largely peaceful protests over the summer against a luxury coastal development backed by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, which have become a symbol of alleged corruption and inequality. The movement — dubbed the "flamingo movement" after protesters carried signs depicting the pink bird — merged with student marches over university conditions and tuition costs, turning into the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term last year.
EU accession hangs in the balance
Alongside Montenegro, Albania is currently leading the group of Balkan countries seeking to join the EU, with Rama aiming for entry by 2030. But corruption scandals have long tarnished the country's image, and the EU's delegation in Tirana has condemned the violent escalation while urging investigations into allegations of excessive police force.
Rama says his government is tackling corruption as never before, and he invited students to dialogue even as the streets around his office were being torn up for barricades. Whether the promise of the EU by 2030 can calm the streets — or whether the unrest itself will derail that timetable — remains the central question of Albania's autumn of protest.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Volatile Reaction (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0