Albania’s violent protest threat puts EU path in focus
N Prime Minister Edi Rama says violent demonstrations threaten the country’s progress toward European Union membership, not his government. Student-led…
Albania’s bid to join the European Union is facing a test as violent demonstrations spread beyond the capital. Prime Minister Edi Rama said the protests threaten the country’s path toward membership, as students and other demonstrators demand his resignation.
The unrest has hit central Tirana and spread to other cities over the past week. Demonstrators have set fire to government buildings and banks, and thrown paving stones at police, who responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offences during the demonstrations. Scores of police officers and protesters have been injured, according to The Independent.
Rama says EU path is at stake
Rama rejected the idea that the demonstrations were a direct challenge to his government. In a live address on Facebook, he said: “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 urged Albanians to consider the implications for the country’s European aspirations. “Albanians need to think very clearly: Do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?” he said.
The protests are student-led and reflect anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards. Demonstrators are also seeking Rama’s resignation. The unrest follows months of largely peaceful summer protests against a luxury coastal development backed by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Rama said his government was tackling corruption. Albania, along with Montenegro, is currently leading the group of Balkan countries seeking EU membership, and is aiming to join by 2030. The protests put that stated ambition in sharper focus: clashes and allegations of corruption now form part of the story facing a country seeking entry into the bloc.
Foreign interests blamed
Rama blamed unspecified foreign interests for the protests and for what he described as an attempted drone attack at his office this week. He offered no further details in the remarks reported by The Independent.
“There are no young people, no students, and no minors who would even think of implementing this plan. This is a foreign hand,” Rama said, adding: “God knows what the consequences will be.”
Al Jazeera, in earlier reporting, also quoted Rama blaming “foreign hands” for the unrest. It reported that students had marched through Tirana to protest corruption and poor university conditions, while riot police clashed with demonstrators outside the education ministry. The Independent’s later account gives the latest police figure: 388 people charged with criminal offences.
The immediate consequences are visible in the capital, where police and protesters have been injured and buildings have been attacked. Excavators were removing paving outside Rama’s office as another round of protests was expected, according to The Independent. The demonstrations’ spread beyond Tirana adds pressure to a dispute that began around public grievances and has become a violent challenge to the country’s European course.
Source: independent.co.uk
