Prime Minister Edi Rama appeared alongside the State Police this Monday with a harsh political message following the violent protest in Tirana. In a meeting with police chiefs, he announced a reward of €2,500 for every officer engaged on the ground, warned of pay rises from January 1, and issued financial threats against the families of minors involved in the reported damage.
Bonus for police and pay rises from January
According to the prime minister’s statement, every officer involved in dealing with the protests will receive €2,500, an equal amount for all, with no differentiation based on salary or function.
Rama also said that the new budget will include significant salary increases for the State Police, linking the decision to the situation created on the ground and to the role the government attributes to law enforcement in confronting the protests.
Hard line against violent protesters
In his remarks, Rama insisted that “violence is not negotiated with” and presented the clash as a red line for the state. He drew a distinction between citizens who protest peacefully and those who, according to the official version, attacked the police, institutions, and businesses.
The prime minister used strong language against participants in acts of violence, linking them to vandalism, arson, and damage to public and private property. At the same time, he said he remains open to dialogue with citizens, but not with those who, in his view, use violence as a means of political pressure.
Warning for families of minors and consequences for students
The strongest part of the political message was the warning that the families of minors involved in damage will pay the financial bill if they do not take responsibility for their children. Rama said this burden would follow them “to the end,” signaling a punitive approach even outside the courtroom.
He added that students who, according to the government, took part in violence against the police will not benefit from free education, scholarships, or financial support from the state. The statement comes at a moment of tension, when it remains to be seen how responsibilities will be individually proven and how these measures will be implemented without exceeding legal limits.
Accusations of foreign influence and attacks on the media
Rama went further in his interpretation of the protest, mentioning Russia, Iran, and ANTIFA as part of an influence that, according to him, is also fed on social media. These claims were made politically by the prime minister, but no concrete public evidence was presented in his remarks to support them.
Along the same lines, he also sharply attacked part of the media and commentators, whom he accused of justifying violence and targeting the State Police. The rhetoric used shifted the focus from the concrete management of the protest to the broader political and media confrontation accompanying the events in Tirana.
The prime minister’s statement makes it clear that the government has chosen a hard political and policing line in response to the protest, combining bonuses for officers with warnings of financial and administrative punishment.
It remains essential that any responsibility for the violence, the damage, and the involvement of minors is not treated through political labeling, but is grounded in evidence, legal procedures, and equal standards for all.