Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday rejected calls to resign as thousands of student-led protesters smashed windows and fought running battles with riot police firing water cannon and tear gas in the capital.
The demonstrators accuse officials of corruption and neglecting education and say they are angry about the sale of parts of Albania’s southern coastline to a luxury resort development backed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Tirana’s streets were littered with burned out garbage bins, shattered bus stops and broken traffic lights. Police fired tear gas, sound grenades and water cannon at rock-hurling protesters who set light to a kiosk, laid barricades and raided a bank.
The protesters are demanding Rama’s resignation, saying no one had listened to their concerns during a summer of largely peaceful protests over the development.
Rama, whose government denies corruption, said he would be ready to discuss the rising cost of education but rejected the calls to resign.
“My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,” he said in a written statement to Reuters. “The alternative would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership.”
The protests, now in their third day, mark the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who won a fourth term last year, with EU membership at the centre of his campaign. Parliament cancelled its session as the violence erupted again nearby.
In the central Skanderbeg Square, police hit fleeing protesters with batons as tourists looked on while in the town of Shkodra, a police commander was badly injured, top-channel TV web site reported.
Local media said protests were also taking place Durres, Elbasan, Kukes and Vlora.
