TIRANA — Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama appealed for calm on Sunday amid escalating violence in protests demanding his resignation, attributing the unrest to foreign influence and extremist elements. The protests, which began in May over environmental concerns related to a luxury development linked to Jared Kushner, have expanded into a broader movement expressing frustration with corruption, living standards, and Mr. Rama’s lengthy tenure.
The demonstrations took a more volatile turn last week when students joined over grievances involving the cost of education and daily expenses. On Thursday, the capital city of Tirana was paralyzed by violent clashes. On Sunday, protesters wearing masks stormed a central police station, setting it ablaze with Molotov cocktails and injuring five officers, according to media reports. Buildings housing the ministries of interior and infrastructure were also set on fire, and the Socialist Party’s headquarters suffered broken windows after being targeted with stones.
While initially driven by a range of demands, students now chiefly call for Mr. Rama’s resignation. The opposition’s main figure, Sali Berisha, has publicly supported this demand, seeking to leverage the unrest for political gain, although protesters have rejected alignment with the opposition, demanding that both Mr. Rama and Mr. Berisha face legal consequences.
In his first detailed public response to the violence, Mr. Rama said students had been “taken hostage” by a small faction of 200 to 300 masked individuals with the intent to provoke chaos and disrupt Albania’s European Union aspirations. Albania is currently a NATO member and pursuing EU accession.
The European Commission condemned the violence on Sunday, including attacks on state institutions and property destruction, emphasizing the importance for candidate countries to address grievances peacefully. The commission also welcomed the Albanian government’s assurance of protecting the right to protest.
Social media circulation of violence in France has inspired some Albanian demonstrators to call for a revolution, reflecting frustration over the inability to achieve political change through peaceful means.
Mr. Rama further claimed that security forces had defused a drone loaded with explosives before it could target the prime minister’s office, attributing the attempt to external actors but not naming any specific parties. He condemned the violence as “blind” while acknowledging the genuine frustrations of young people and students demanding change. However, he accused extremist groups of exploiting the protests to assault government institutions, banks, and businesses.
Mr. Rama drew parallels to similar unrest in European countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium, blaming what he termed “Antifa” militants—whom he described as “lunatics and neo-communists”—for fostering disorder. He expressed confidence Albania could withstand the turmoil better than others due to its experience with widespread unrest in 1997 following the collapse of pyramid schemes.
Having served as prime minister for 13 years and secured a fourth term in office last year, Mr. Rama accused “outside forces” of inflaming tensions through social media disinformation. He singled out Iran and Russia, citing Iran’s hostility toward his government for harboring dissidents and pointing to Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin’s recent support for protesters as evidence of foreign meddling.
The protests continue to challenge Mr. Rama’s leadership as Albania seeks stability during its bid for closer integration with the European Union.