Tirana Protesters Face Police as Anger Targets Power

On Saturday, October 24, police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets at thousands of demonstrators in Tirana, where anger over corruption and the government’s handling of public life brought protesters back into the streets. The rally began outside the education ministry. Demonstrators threw stones at a building whose windows had been smashed in previous days. The state answered with force.

A protest beyond party lines

The demonstration followed recurring clashes between police and protesters since mid-October. Authorities said protesters had attacked several government buildings, and police had detained dozens of demonstrators. More than 300 protesters and police had suffered injuries. Tensions eased in recent days, then rose again on Saturday.

Organisers called on students and others from around Albania to attend. University professors, artists and opposition parties declared their support or said they would participate. Yet demonstrators said they were distancing themselves from political parties, and signs regularly accused Prime Minister Edi Rama and longtime opposition leader Sali Berisha of corruption. Protesters named both in their chants: “Rama in prison” and “Berisha in prison.”

Activist Sidorela Vatnikaj called the movement a “revolution.” “There is a lot of anger,” she said. “It's not only a matter of students. It's not only a matter of environmental struggles ... It's a matter of the state of rights and state of law.” The demand reaches beyond one ministry or party: protesters are challenging the political order that governs their choices, while refusing to treat the opposition as an automatic alternative.

A future people say they can’t find

Rosela Mira, a first-year medical student, put the stakes plainly: “We are here for one reason: we want to stay in our country and not have to dream of a life elsewhere.” She added, “I want to have a future here.” Her sister, a high school student, described deteriorating learning conditions: 40 pupils in each class, with few facilities such as laboratories.

More than 1.5 million people have left Albania since the fall of Communism in the 1990s. Today, the country’s population is 2.3 million. The average monthly salary before tax is 930 euros ($1,026). Fabiola Nikaj, a third-year university law student, said: “We have to work several jobs... to help our parents, who receive meagre pensions.” Young people described these conditions as they demanded the chance to stay and build a life at home.

High-school teachers and university professors carried banners reading “No violence,” “Transparency” and “Democracy in danger.” Some shops closed ahead of the rally. Signs on their shutters read: “Don't touch. We're with you.”

Dialogue, offered and rejected

The demonstrations began in May, sparked by a luxury hotel project linked to the family of US President Donald Trump. In July, scientists said the project had already caused irreparable damage to a once-pristine stretch of Albania's coast. Anger over the resort grew into a campaign against corruption, with continued demands for Rama to step down. Albania ranked 91st among 182 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

Rama blamed “foreign actors” for the violence and accused Russia and Iran of driving online misinformation. The Socialist prime minister also called for “dialogue.” On Saturday, an improvised concrete table outside government headquarters sat surrounded by red cushions, a symbolic invitation. The seats stayed empty. Later, hundreds of protesters set the cushions on fire.

Rama had published photos of about 40 people, identified by their initials, whom he accused of violence. He also renewed his call for the heads of dozens of public institutions to resign. Meanwhile, demonstrators gathered on pavements partly stripped of cobblestones that protesters had torn up in previous days. The government offered a staged table; the crowd’s answer was clear: empty seats and burning cushions.