Student protests against poor conditions in Albania’s education system have continued for a third day in the capital, Tirana, as Prime Minister Edi Rama insists he will not resign.
asserted
he → continue → capital
Demonstrators have called on Rama to quit in often violent protests since Tuesday.
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Demonstrators → call → Tuesday
They have set fire to several buildings across the city, including the prime minister’s office, ministry buildings and branches of several banks.
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They → set → banks
Student protest in Albania prompts violent clashes with police
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protest → prompt → police
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Dozens of police officers and protesters have been injured amid attempts to disperse the crowds using water cannon and tear gas.
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Dozens → erupt → cannon
“What you are seeing is the boiling point of months of suppressed grievances,” Albanian journalist Arlis Alikaj told Al Jazeera.
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Alikaj → see → Jazeera
Students have complained for months about the high cost of education and their limited employment prospects after graduation.
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Students → complain → graduation
Afrim Krasniqi, a professor and researcher at the Institute for Political Studies in Tirana, told Al Jazeera that students and young people protested peacefully for nearly three months, “yet their demands were largely ignored, while the government often responded with discrediting campaigns rather than genuine dialogue”.
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government → tell → campaigns
He added that the current escalation reflects “frustration not only with the government itself, but also with the lack of institutional accountability and responsiveness.”
The protests represent one of the most serious waves of public discontent directed at Rama, who won a fourth term last May but has since faced public anger over corruption allegations involving senior officials.
The unrest in Tirana coincides with a broader wave of student protests across Europe.
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unrest → add → Europe
In France, secondary school students have spent weeks protesting and blockading schools, demanding more teachers and better learning facilities.
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students → spend → teachers
They have warned that deteriorating school buildings and overcrowded classrooms are undermining the quality of education.
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buildings → warn → education
Protests against Rama’s government began a few months ago, fuelled by plans to build a luxury resort along Albania’s largely unspoilt southern coast.
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Protests → begin → coast
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son in law, is involved in the project.
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Kushner → involve → project
Local media reported that the protests spread from Tirana to universities in Elbasan and Shkoder on Wednesday.
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protests → report → Wednesday
Albania is among the economies of the Western Balkans seeking to catch up with European living standards.
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Albania → seek → standards
However, the gap with the European Union average remains evident in purchasing power, wages, productivity and the quality of public services.
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gap → remain → services
Despite economic progress, the country continues to face challenges including emigration, regional inequalities and the need for stronger institutions and the rule of law.
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country → continue → law
After Montenegro, Albania stands out as one of the countries that has made the most progress towards full EU membership.
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that → stand → membership
However, behind the optimistic political rhetoric, frustration is growing among citizens over the slow pace of European integration and the lack of tangible improvements in their daily lives.
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frustration → grow → lives
While opposition groups seek to support the demonstrators and capitalise on the moment to strengthen their own position, Alikaj said the protests are being driven by young people and students demanding systemic change.
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protests → seek → change
On Thursday, Rama – who has been PM since 2013 – told Reuters, “As for calls for my resignation, governments change through democratic elections.
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governments → tell → elections
Last year, we had elections, not a revolution.”
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we → have → elections
Sokol Lleshi, a lecturer at the University of New York Tirana specialising in political science and international relations, said social change is more likely to emerge from a broader coalition of different social groups, rather than mass mobilisation limited to university and secondary school students.
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change → specialise → students
“Elite defection from the current ruling political elite could enable the institutional means to channel societal dissatisfaction or resentment into political and policy changes.
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defection → rule → changes
Yet, the current student protest does not seem to replicate the December 2018 mass movement of university students and its effects”, Lleshi said.
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Lleshi → seem → students
The student protests that shook Albania in December 2018 began over rising education costs and forced Rama to dismiss eight ministers as part of a cabinet reshuffle and announce a package of measures known as the “Pact for the University”.
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that → shake → University
But some of the students’ demands remained unmet.
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some → remain → demands
Lleshi drew some more positive conclusions from Albania’s past experience of social unrest.
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Lleshi → draw → unrest
Albanian society is polarised and unequal, “with hollowed intermediary political institutions”, he said, but the legacy of unrest and political confrontation will serve as a “warning to avoid destabilisation”, he said.
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he → hollow → destabilisation
The Aporia
