Albania’s PM dismisses calls to resign as student protests spread

Prime Minister Edi Rama condemns ‘chaos’ as protests continue for a third day in the capital and spread to other cities.

A photograph taken from inside a vandalised shop shows protesters during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana on Thursday [AFP]

Albania’s prime minister has dismissed calls for his resignation as thousands of protesters clash with riot police in the capital for the third day in a row, leaving government buildings damaged.

“My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,” Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a written statement to the Reuters news agency, following protester demands for him to resign.

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“The alternative would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate ‌to complete negotiations on European Union membership,” Rama added on Thursday.

This comes as riot police used water cannons and tear gas against crowds of protesters in the capital, Tirana. Demonstrators have accused officials of corruption and neglecting education, ⁠expressing anger about the sale of parts of Albania’s southern coastline to a luxury resort development backed by United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Tirana’s streets were littered with burnt-out rubbish bins, shattered bus stops and broken traffic lights. In the capital’s central Skanderbeg Square, police hit fleeing protesters with batons as tourists looked on.

Thursday’s protests also spread to several smaller cities as students joined university boycotts.

Rama, whose government denies corruption, said he would be ready to discuss rising education costs but rejected the calls to resign.

“Perhaps some forces, at home and abroad, do not want Albania to succeed as a forerunner for EU membership. But I will not allow violence to derail Albania’s European future,” Rama said in his statement to Reuters.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has denied allegations of government corruption [File: Leon Neal/Getty Images]

‘Everyone will certainly pay’

Rama earlier posted a video on his Facebook page showing him touring the burnt-out remains of an office at a university campus in Tirana.

“Until yesterday, this was the office of the College of Europe, the school of a united Europe,” he said in the video, his first public comments since the protests began.

“Everyone is responsible before the law, and everyone who has had a hand in this chaos will certainly pay.”

The prime minister was due to meet his party’s parliamentary group early on Thursday, when protesters circulated an “ultimatum” demanding his resignation by 1pm (11:00 GMT).

But even before the deadline passed, protesters had already begun clashing with police, building makeshift barriers and setting fire to bins.

‘Our prime minister is the meaning of the word corruption’

A student who gave her name as Kiara told Reuters the cost of living, poor job prospects and alleged corruption were the main issues for protesters.

“Our prime minister is the meaning of the word corruption. You can only find work in your field if you know a guy who knows a guy,” she said, her face covered by a mask, like many on the streets on Thursday.

Police detain a protester during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana on Thursday [AFP]

The protesters demanded Rama’s resignation, saying no one had listened to their concerns during a summer of largely peaceful protests over the luxury resort development linked to Kushner .

Police said 65 people were arrested during Wednesday’s protests, suspected of “attacking police officers, institutions, public and private property”.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that hospitals in Tirana treated 89 people on Wednesday, including 61 police officers.

Four officers and two protesters remained hospitalised, with a demonstrator and two officers expected to undergo surgery.

“Attacking institutions, destroying public property and threatening public safety have nothing to do with the legitimate demands of students,” Rama said.

总理埃迪·拉马谴责首都发生的“混乱”局面，抗议活动已持续第三天，并蔓延至其他城市。

一张从一家被破坏的商店内部拍摄的照片显示，周四在地拉那市中心举行的反政府示威活动中，抗议者们正在示威。[法新社]

阿尔巴尼亚总理驳斥了要求他辞职的呼声。此前，数千名抗议者连续第三天在首都与防暴警察发生冲突，导致政府大楼受损。

“我的职责是倾听民众的诉求，解决合理的担忧，并带领阿尔巴尼亚继续前进，”总理埃迪·拉马在向路透社发表的书面声明中表示。此前，抗议者要求他辞职。

清单1/3：库什纳支持的阿尔巴尼亚度假村出售土地，涉嫌伪造地契

“火烈鸟革命”针对与库什纳有关联的度假村进入第100天，这是该运动的第三份名单。

列表 3/3：抗议者与警方在阿尔巴尼亚就与特朗普有关的项目发生冲突

拉马周四补充说：“另一种选择是对阿尔巴尼亚人民的背叛，他们给了我强大的授权来完成加入欧盟的谈判。”

此前，防暴警察在首都地拉那动用了高压水枪和催泪瓦斯驱散示威人群。示威者指责官员腐败、忽视教育，并对阿尔巴尼亚南部部分海岸线被出售给由美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳支持的豪华度假村开发项目表示愤怒。

地拉那的街道上到处都是烧毁的垃圾桶、被砸碎的公交车站和损坏的交通信号灯。在首都中心的斯坎德培广场，警察用警棍殴打逃跑的抗议者，游客们在一旁围观。

周四的抗议活动也蔓延到几个较小的城市，学生们加入了大学罢课的行列。

拉马领导的政府否认存在腐败问题，他表示愿意讨论不断上涨的教育成本，但拒绝了辞职的呼吁。

拉马在接受路透社采访时表示：“或许国内外的一些势力不希望阿尔巴尼亚成为加入欧盟的先行者。但我绝不允许暴力破坏阿尔巴尼亚的欧洲未来。”

阿尔巴尼亚总理埃迪·拉马否认了有关政府腐败的指控。[图片：Leon Neal/Getty Images]

“每个人都必将付出代价”

拉马早些时候在他的 Facebook 页面上发布了一段视频，视频中他正在参观地拉那一所大学校园内被烧毁的办公室遗址。

“直到昨天，这里还是欧洲学院的办公地点，是欧洲团结的学校，”他在视频中说道，这是自抗议活动开始以来他首次公开表态。

“法律面前人人平等，所有参与制造这场混乱的人都必将付出代价。”

首相原定于周四早些时候与他所在政党的议会党团会面，但抗议者散发了一份“最后通牒”，要求他在下午 1 点（格林尼治标准时间 11:00）之前辞职。

但即便在最后期限到来之前，抗议者就已经开始与警方发生冲突，他们搭建临时路障并焚烧垃圾桶。

“我们的总理就是腐败一词的化身。”

一位名叫基娅拉的学生告诉路透社，生活成本高、就业前景差以及涉嫌腐败是抗议者的主要问题。

“我们的总理就是腐败的化身。你只有认识人，才能在你的领域找到工作，”她说道，脸上戴着口罩，就像周四街上许多人一样。

周四，在首都地拉那市中心举行的反政府示威活动中，警方拘留了一名抗议者。[法新社]

抗议者要求拉马辞职，称在夏季针对与库什纳有关的豪华度假村开发项目举行的大部分为和平的抗议活动中，没有人听取他们的诉求。

警方称，周三的抗议活动中有 65 人被捕，他们涉嫌“袭击警察、机构、公共和私人财产”。

卫生部在一份声明中表示，地拉那的医院周三收治了 89 人，其中包括 61 名警察。

四名警员和两名抗议者仍在医院接受治疗，其中一名示威者和两名警员预计将接受手术。

拉玛说：“攻击学校、破坏公共财产和威胁公共安全与学生的合理诉求毫无关系。”