By Fatos Bytyci
TIRANA, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Sunday rejected calls to step down and said street protests, which continued for a sixth day, were a threat not to his government but to Albania’s hopes of joining the European Union.
Student-led demonstrations, fuelled by anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have engulfed central Tirana and spread to other cities in the past week.
Demonstrators demanding Rama’s resignation have set fire to government buildings as well as banks, smashed shop windows and pulled up paving stones to throw at police.
Violence erupted again on Sunday when thousands gathered outside the Education Ministry and hurled rocks at riot police who responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
The unrest, which followed months of largely peaceful protests over the summer against a luxury coastal development backed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, pose the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and last year won a fourth term in office.
“I am not being challenged, the government is not being challenged, a government majority or a winning party in the elections is not being challenged but a path is being challenged, a mission is being challenged,” Rama said in a live address on Facebook.
“Albanians need to think very clearly: Do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?”
Rama invited students to dialogue as excavators dug up and removed the paving outside his office in central Tirana before protests started on Sunday.
The US embassy in Tirana urged protesters to refrain from violence.
“Violence, rioting, physically injuring others, and the destruction of property are not civic engagement,” it said on X.
Corruption scandals have tarnished Albania’s image over the years and analysts say the country is a hub for gangs seeking to launder money from drugs and weapons trafficking.
However, Rama has said his government is tackling corruption as never before. Along with Montenegro, Albania is currently leading the posse of Balkan countries seeking to join the EU, and is aiming for entry by 2030.
Rama blamed unspecified foreign interests for the protests and for what he said was an attempted drone attack at his office this week.
“God knows what the consequences will be. There are no young people, no students, and no minors who would even think of implementing this plan. This is a foreign hand,” he said.
Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offences during the demonstrations. Scores of police officers and protesters have been injured.
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Christina Fincher)
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