The student protest this time unfolded with a calmer opening outside the Prime Minister’s Office, but institutional tension remained visible: the ministries were once again shielded with metal protection, while according to media reports police escorted around 80 people overnight and took their mobile phones.
Peaceful gathering outside the Prime Minister’s Office
Students and lecturers gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in a peaceful protest, unlike the dynamics of previous days.
As a sign of rejecting the invitation to talks, they tore up sheets bearing the word “dialogue” that Prime Minister Edi Rama had left on several chairs near the building.
March toward the ministry block
After remaining outside the Prime Minister’s Office, the protesters left and marched toward the ministry block.
The movement showed that the political and symbolic confrontation is not shifting only around the students’ demands, but also around the way the government is trying to manage the crisis in public.
Ministries once again protected with metal
Metal protection was again installed on the doors and windows of the ministry buildings on this day as well.
According to the version reported from the ground, the measure was taken to prevent stones from being thrown and Molotov cocktails from getting through, following episodes in recent days. The image of fortified institutions, however, underscores more the administration’s fear than the normality the government seeks to project.
Escorts and phone confiscations
According to television reports, police overnight escorted around 80 people who had taken part in the previous day’s protest.
According to the same reports, the escorted individuals also had their mobile phones confiscated. Up to this stage, no further public explanation has been given about the full basis for these actions against protest participants.
The latest developments once again place the emphasis on the strained relationship between the protest and the state response.
On one side there is the call for “dialogue,” while on the other there are fortified buildings, mass escorts and the confiscation of personal devices — a contrast that raises serious questions about how this wave of public dissent is being handled.