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Albania’s Rama refuses to quit after fire spreads to Supreme Court offices
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama ruled out resigning on Sunday as anti-government protests in Tirana entered their sixth day, a day after a blaze spread from a business next to the Supreme Court into the court’s offices.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama rejected calls to step down on Sunday, as protests against his government in the capital, Tirana, entered their sixth day. In a video address lasting more than an hour, Rama dismissed the unrest as “the work of an outside hand.”
His refusal came after the most destructive night of the protests so far. According to Albanian outlet CNA, a fire that started on Saturday evening, the fifth day of demonstrations, on the first floor of a business beside the Supreme Court building grew so intense that it spread into the court’s offices. Al Jazeera footage from the scene shows flames engulfing a structure and a car near the court.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control, though the extent of the damage to court offices and records was not immediately clear.
Central bank offices targeted
Later that night, protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at the former Hotel Dajti, home to offices of the Bank of Albania, and set the building’s entrance alight, public broadcaster RTSH reported. The attack followed a police operation that used four water cannon trucks to clear the boulevard outside the prime minister’s office.
Justice Minister Toni Gogu condemned the attacks on what he called “two independent institutions,” noting that neither is a government office. “Whoever sets fire to a court does not hit the government, but citizens’ right to justice. Protest is a right. Violence is not protest,” he said.
Sunday: police station attacked
On Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators returned at midday to the Education Ministry, where the movement began on Oct. 13, chanting “Rama, resign.” Police fired water cannon and tear gas as clashes spread through the city center.
Protesters attacked a police station with Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnic devices, putting officers and detainees at risk, police official Albert Nushi said. “An attack on a police station is not a protest,” he added.
Injury toll climbs
Albania’s Health Ministry said Saturday’s violence left 65 people injured, 37 of them police officers, with 12 taken to hospital. According to the ministry’s figures on Sunday morning, 272 people had been hurt since Tuesday, including 169 officers. On Sunday itself, 28 people were injured: 19 police officers, four protesters, four passersby and a journalist.
Police said on Saturday that 167 people had been arrested over the week, while criminal proceedings had been launched against 388.
Vienna visit canceled
Rama had been due to meet Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker in Vienna on Monday, but the Albanian side canceled the official visit, according to Austria’s federal press service.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana urged “restraint and calm on all sides” late on Saturday. The European Commission condemned the use of violence in Tirana and other cities, saying the response “must remain proportionate” and that grievances should be handled through “constructive dialogue.”
Fees, jobs and emigration
The student-led protests are fueled by high tuition fees, poor university conditions, a lack of jobs and allegations of government corruption. Many young protesters say they do not want to be forced to emigrate in search of a better life. Rama, in power since 2013, has said his mandate is to see Albania “in the European Union by 2030.”
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