Albania: Rama threatens protesters with 500,000 lek fines
The fine is to apply to anyone taking part in a protest that turns violent, even if they were not violent themselves. Protests in Tirana are continuing.
Archive image · Photo: Vyolltsa / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced new measures against violence at protests on Sunday. Anyone taking part in a demonstration that turns violent will face a fine of 500,000 lek (about $6,200), even if they commit no violent acts themselves, Reuters reported. "I believe that those who demand my resignation are mistaken," Rama said in a video address. At the same time he conceded: "I do not believe that everything they say or demand is wrong."
Protests nonetheless continued on Sunday. Demonstrators marched from the education ministry to Rama's office and burned chairs he had placed outside as an invitation to dialogue. In the course of the protests, demonstrators have set fire to government buildings and banks, smashed shop windows and threw paving stones at police.
The student-led protests have spread this month from central Tirana to other cities. They are directed against alleged corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards. Rama has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term last year; Reuters described the protests as the biggest challenge yet to his rule.