Albania: Fire at Education Ministry as student protests escalate
Third day of clashes in Tirana: students throw stones, police use tear gas and water cannon. Sixteen people have been arrested and six police officers injured.
Archive image · Photo: Eriona Çami - European Commission / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Student protests in Tirana have turned violent. On Tuesday, demonstrators threw bricks and concrete blocks at the Education Ministry, and police used tear gas and water cannon. Overnight, protesters broke into the building and set a fire inside, according to police. On Wednesday, the third day of protests, hundreds of students again pelted the ministry with stones and built barricades from torn-out fencing.
According to police on Wednesday, 16 people were arrested and 49 face criminal proceedings. Six police officers and at least one journalist were injured, and shop windows were smashed. Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu wrote on Facebook: "Violence has not been, is not, and will never be a solution."
The students are demanding better conditions at universities, lower study costs, financial support and job prospects. The protests are part of the so-called "Flamingo Revolution": for four months there have been daily demonstrations in Tirana. The movement initially opposed a luxury resort project in a protected area in southern Albania linked to Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and demands the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over alleged corruption.