Prime Minister Edi Rama raised his tone over the latest protest, claiming that behind it were scenarios for serious escalation, up to a repetition of January 21. The statement was made at a meeting with executives of second-tier banks, where Rama spoke about a “red line,” the responsibility of the police, and what he presented as incitement to violence in the media.
Rama’s claim of “another January 21”
According to the prime minister’s version, the latest protest had, in the background, an attempt to provoke a scenario similar to January 21. Rama said the government had information about even more serious developments and that it had read the situation as a “major test of character.”
In the same appearance, he declared that there had also been information about a drone attack with explosives against the Prime Minister’s Office, a serious claim that he voiced publicly at this meeting. Up to this point, no further public details were presented on the nature of this information.
Message to protesters and the “red line”
Rama said institutions had set a “red line” in the way they would respond in the face of tension. He said that even the hooded individuals at the protest, whom he described as blind and abandoned, remain “the children of this country.”
This language seeks to build a distinction between the substance of the protest and its escalation, but at the same time it shifts the debate to the government’s political reading of the event, rather than the public verification of the claims being raised.
Attack on the media and critics
The prime minister also reserved accusations for media outlets and commentators who, according to him, have incited violence and have not distanced themselves from it. He said he is ready to speak with critics, but not with those who in the media, according to him, feed escalation.
Along the same line, Rama also rejected accusations against the State Police over disproportionate use of force, calling frightening the way some public voices have treated the police intervention.
References to the student protest and the government’s narrative
Rama brought up the 2018 student protest, saying the government had drawn lessons from it and remains ready for cooperation when, according to him, “hysteria gives way to logic.”
He described violent protesters as “small vandals” and criticized the way, according to him, they have been treated by part of public opinion. This is the narrative the government is using to justify its approach to the protest, while the claims of serious scenarios remain to be seen whether they will be accompanied by evidence and institutional transparency.
Rama’s statements take the debate beyond the protest and place the emphasis on security, the police, and the role of the media. But when such strong accusations are raised about destabilization attempts, the burden falls on institutions to back them with facts, not only with political rhetoric.