The protest launched by students entered its ninth day with the participation of lecturers and citizens, while after several hours without incidents the situation outside the Prime Minister’s Office escalated. In the evening, stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown, while police responded with water.
The gathering began with students and lecturers outside the Prime Minister’s Office
This Wednesday as well, students gathered again in protest, which for days has expanded its base of participants to include citizens and lecturers.
As on the previous day, lecturers joined the gathering and the initial assembly took place outside the Prime Minister’s Office.
The offer for dialogue is again rejected, chairs removed from the square
According to developments reported from the protest, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s call for dialogue was not accepted this time either.
As a sign of opposition, protesters removed and threw away the chairs placed in the square, an action that kept political tension present even though for several hours there were no physical clashes.
Class boycott in several cities, but no incidents during the early hours
In Korçë, classes were boycotted, while in Tirana and also in Korçë there was a partial boycott, with no incidents reported during the first part of the day.
Until around 4:00 p.m., the situation appeared calm and no incidents had been recorded, either by protesters or by police.
After three and a half hours of calm, escalation begins in the evening
At around 6:00 p.m., after nearly three and a half hours of relative calm, the first incidents began outside the Prime Minister’s Office.
Protesters burned a chair and then threw several Molotov cocktails toward the Prime Minister’s Office building. Reported developments also mention stones being thrown, while the police response came with water.
The evening escalation turned the protest from a peaceful gathering into an open confrontation on the boulevard, once again highlighting the crisis of trust between the protesters and the authorities.
At the core of the situation remains the rejection of dialogue under conditions of deep mistrust toward the official approach, while the protest continues to maintain public pressure in central Tirana.