Lawmakers in Albania’s parliament clashed on Thursday as opposition members of parliament attempted to disrupt a session, while the assembly continued voting on legislation amid tensions in the country.
The clashes broke out after parliamentary leadership rejected opposition demands to debate ten days of student demonstrations that have gripped the capital Tirana.
Opposition MPs held up photographs of students injured by police during previous protests and blocked the parliamentary podium, while the assembly pressed ahead with voting on legislation amid the chaos.
Outside parliament, large crowds of students gathered at the building’s entrances as the protests entered their tenth consecutive day.
For nearly two weeks now, demonstrators have clashed repeatedly with police in the city centre, hurling rocks, flares, firebombs and fireworks. Officers have responded with batons, water cannons and tear gas.
What the students want
High school and university students are demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and an end to corruption in the education system.
They have since joined a broader anti-government movement calling for the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama. Rama has however vowed to resist.
“A wave of stones, an attempt to overthrow the government and change those in power through the imposition of violence, something that will never be allowed to happen, in any form or for any reason,” he said after meeting teachers and school representatives on Tuesday.
The Albanian prime minister argued that legitimate grievances were being exploited by those deliberately inciting violence.
The student protests follow months of demonstrations organised by the Flamingo movement, which emerged in opposition to a major luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern Adriatic coast linked to an investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Interestingly, Albania is not alone. Governments across Europe are facing street pressure over rising fuel costs, deteriorating public services, underfunded schools and a deepening housing crisis.
France and Italy have seen similar protests, while tent camps have sprung up in Spain and Portugal over unaffordable housing. Demonstrations were also planned in Greece this week.
Additional sources • AP