An unclear episode accompanied the protest outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana, where several protesters appeared before cameras with objects that, according to them, are rubber bullets used by police. The police’s official version denies this and says only dispersal devices were used during the intervention to break up the crowd.
Protesters display objects and raise accusations over the intervention
During the protest, some participants showed several objects to cameras that they claim are rubber bullets. According to them, these were used by officers during clashes with the crowd.
In the absence of an independent verification at the scene, the claim remains at the level of statements by protesters, but the episode raises questions about the way police intervened at a public gathering.
Police give a different version
On the other hand, police sources have said these were not rubber bullets. According to the official version, dispersal devices were used during the intervention.
The sharp difference between the two sides leaves open the question of what was actually used on the ground and under what circumstances the intervention to disperse protesters was carried out.
Questions over the transparency of the intervention
When claims of use of force emerge at public protests, the burden of clarification falls on the institutions that acted on the ground. At this stage, there has been no more detailed public explanation to resolve the contradiction between what protesters are showing and what police are claiming.
The clash of versions makes transparency over the means used even more important, especially as this concerns a protest outside a central institution in the capital.
For now, the incident remains between two conflicting narratives: protesters speak of rubber bullets, while police say only dispersal devices were used.
Without a fuller and verifiable clarification, the tension surrounding the protest also shifts to the essential question: what means were actually used against the crowd?