Tirana again saw tensions on the sixth day of the protest launched by students, a movement that is also drawing in other citizens and directly challenging public order in the capital. The latest gathering took place near the Ministry of Education, after which the situation slid into clashes with police and acts of violence against political buildings.
The gathering began near the Ministry of Education
From the start of Sunday’s protest, young people with and without masks gathered near the Ministry of Education, carrying national flags and chanting for the prime minister’s resignation.
In the early hours, there was also a scene different from previous days, when some protesters danced and sang in the middle of the road in front of police officers. The calm, however, did not last long.
A protester tore up a certificate awarded by Besa Shahini
In a moment that drew attention, one of the protesters called on those present not to use violence against the police and at the same time asked the police not to use violence against protesters.
Then, as a sign of revolt, he tore up the certificate he had received as the winner of the History Olympiad from former Education Minister Besa Shahini. The gesture was read as a sign of rejection toward institutions that protesters accuse of irresponsibility and disregard.
Clashes began after a period of calm
After a brief peaceful phase, the protest turned tense. Stones were thrown toward police near the Ministry of Education, escalating the situation on the ground.
According to information reported from the scene, a journalist was injured in the clashes and was taken away by ambulance. Police then pushed protesters toward the city center, and several people were escorted to the police station.
They stopped at the Socialist Party headquarters; windows were broken and the entrance was damaged
The crowd then stopped in front of the headquarters of the Socialist Party, where a stone attack on the building began. The door area was hit and windows were broken.
The incident takes the protest beyond student symbolism and shifts it into a direct confrontation with political premises as well, raising serious questions over control of the situation and how institutions are managing the crisis on the streets.
The sixth day of the protest showed that tensions in Tirana have not only failed to subside, but are entering a harsher phase, with concrete consequences for public safety, media on the ground and institutional buildings.
In the absence of a political solution or a real easing of tensions, the confrontation between protesters and police remains the dominant picture in the capital.