At the latest anti-government rally outside parliament in Tirana, several police officers were injured and at least 18 demonstrators were detained.
Fjori Sinoruka
Police clash with protesters outside Albania’s parliament. Photo: Isa Myzyraj.
At least 18 protesters have been detained and nine police officers injured in clashes on Thursday outside Albania’s parliament in Tirana during the latest in a series of anti-government protests that have continued for over a month.
Protesters surrounded the parliament building, seeking to prevent MPs from entering, throwing eggs at their cars and shouting at them: “Give up your mandates” “You don’t represent us”.
Police used pepper spray and water cannon on the protesters who tried to remove the protective fence at the entrance to parliament and detained several of them.
“We are not living in a European country. The police must serve the people. The President of Albania must serve the people. We did not see the President react, either before or now,” one of the protesters told media.
While visiting injured police officers who were receiving medical treatment, Interior Minister Besfort Lamallari accused the protesters of abusing their rights. “No one has the right to abuse the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and demonstration by turning it into blatant violence, involving throwing stones at police officers,” he said.
The Albanian Association of Journalists said many journalists, photographers and cameraman had reported being attacked both by police officers and by protesters.
“Journalists, camera operators, and photojournalists are not parties to the protest. They are on the ground to document events and inform the public. For this reason, their safety must be guaranteed at all times, by state authorities as well as by the organisers and participants of the protests,” it said in a statement.
This was the second clash between protesters and police this week. In the first, on Tuesday, six protesters were temporarily detained.
For the past month, tens of thousands of people have been protesting against planned construction projects in protected areas and against the political elite, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and accusing his government of institutional corruption and lack of transparency.
The protests in Tirana began on May 31, a day after a citizen was assaulted and dragged by private security guards during a demonstration in Zvernec on May 30 against the construction of a luxury project in a protected area, linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
