Tens of thousands of students have taken to the streets of Tirana, the Albanian capital, setting alight a government building and two banks and hurling stones at police during a protest over rising education costs and corruption.
Police responded with water cannon and teargas to disperse protesters who started a fire at the ministry of education building, overturned bins and smashed the fronts of local businesses. A branch of Raiffeisen Bank near the education ministry also caught fire.
The protests are the most violent outburst yet against Edi Rama, the prime minister, who won a fourth term in office in May last year but has since faced growing discontent at perceived graft surrounding top officials. Protesters also dismiss opposition figures as unpalatable alternatives.
The unrest caps a summer of peaceful protests against Rama, triggered by the proposed development of a luxury resort along Albania’s pristine southern coast backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, which has been caught up in legal disputes.
“This is a revolution. We are tired of peaceful protests. We will not stop until Rama resigns,” said Lora, a student who declined to give her last name as she threw rocks at the police.
Others chanted “resignation” and “police of crime”.
Student organisers said the protest was over conditions at universities, higher education costs, a lack of financial support and employment prospects after graduation.
The unrest is part of a broader wave of student activism sweeping Europe over education and living conditions. In France, high school students have staged weeks of protests and school blockades demanding more teachers and better facilities, arguing that deteriorating school buildings and overcrowded classrooms are undermining education.
Albanian media reported that Wednesday’s protests had spread to universities at Elbasan and Shkodër.
The government condemned the violence.
Albana Koçiu, the deputy prime minister of Albania, said on Facebook: “Protesting is a legitimate right, but it cannot be used as an excuse for violence, city destruction or ugly fighting in the middle of the road. I call on students and every honest citizen who believes in the right to protest: distance yourself from violence and vandalism!”
The police issued a statement calling for calm. “Any person who uses violence, burns or destroys property, or attacks police officers, bears individual responsibility and will face the law, in accordance with the offences committed,” they said.
Meanwhile, the EU, which the Balkan nation aspires to join, voiced concern over what it called the “violent escalation at the protest in Tirana”.
A statement by the EU delegation in Tirana said: “We take note of the allegations of excessive violence by the police against protesters and journalists,”
Calling for a prompt investigation, the delegation encouraged “all sides to de-escalate the tension”.
