Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted after the incidents during the protest held on the “Dëshmorët e Kombit” boulevard, where, according to his version, there were attacks on police and damage to public and private property. In a statement posted on Facebook, he also made a more serious claim: that an explosive drone had been discovered with the aim, according to him, of setting fire to the courtyard of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The drone claim and accusations against the organizers
Rama said authorities had discovered an explosive drone near the Prime Minister’s Office, while providing no further public details on the circumstances, the suspected perpetrators, or the evidence supporting this claim.
In the same statement, he accused the protest organizers of aiming to keep people in the streets and presented the situation as part of a broader climate of radicalization.
Distancing the protest from Albanian youth
The head of government insisted that the violence does not represent Albanian youth and claimed that only a small number of students were on the boulevard, influenced, according to him, by extremist ideas.
He spoke of a “fire group” and of stones pulled up from the boulevard that, according to him, were used against police, describing them as tools that can also become deadly.
Banks, property and Rama’s political comparisons
In his reaction, Rama also focused on attacks against banks and ATMs, linking them to chaos and to a logic he described as ignorant. He argued that the targets attacked have no connection to the protesters’ claims and that damaging them weighs on public order and property.
The prime minister also drew comparisons with January 21 and with developments in other countries, seeking to place the protest in a broader political and international framework.
Strong claims, few public details
The statement about an explosive drone and the involvement of other factors is among the strongest parts of the head of government’s reaction, but at this stage it was not accompanied by concrete data made public.
Precisely because of the weight of these claims, it remains essential that they be backed by institutional transparency and not remain only at the level of political declarations after a protest marked by tensions.
Rama presented the event as a challenge to the country’s order and political course, saying it was not a personal confrontation with him or with the government. However, beyond the political language, attention remains on the facts that institutions will need to make public regarding the most serious episodes alleged during this protest.