For months, Tirana has been gripped by protests of the anti-government “Flamingo” movement, but the events that began on Tuesday of this week marked a new and far more violent escalation.
The clashes were not limited to the capital. Demonstrations spread to the country’s major cities, including Durrës, Shkodra, Lezha and Vlora in the west, Gjirokastra in the south and Korça in the east.
The latest protests initially appeared as a student initiative, with demands directed at the government to ease the high costs of university fees, books and living in general.
Later, high school students also joined the movement, increasing the number of participants. The situation grew tense when masked protesters began throwing stones at police forces, who used water cannons, tear gas and rubber batons. Great outrage was also caused by the image of a young man being taken away by force, while his broken leg dangled painfully. Flames engulfed a floor of the Ministry of Education, as well as other state buildings.
Fierce clashes between protesters and police have been recorded in the center of Tirana.
For about 135 consecutive nights, throughout the summer, citizens gathered in the center of the capital have held photographs of a pink flamingo and have demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is in his fourth term.
The movement began against a mega-tourism project on the Adriatic coast, linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. According to protesters, the flamingo would disappear from an island near Vlora if plans to build a luxury resort were to proceed.
Public discontent has also grown due to increasing corruption accusations against ministers and other senior officials.
One deputy prime minister has left the country, while another has been ordered to resign, as investigations continue.
For nearly five months, Albanians have taken to the streets with flamingo images, demanding Edi Rama’s removal from the government leadership.
But has the “Flamingo” movement entered a more radical phase?
Organizers and protesters insist they do not represent any political force. One of their slogans is “Rama in prison, Berisha in prison.” Edi Rama is the prime minister, while Sali Berisha is the main opposition leader in Albania, as well as a former prime minister and former president.
Previous protests have drawn people of all ages, from young people and parents with their children to grandparents. Some protesters even saw it as their duty to clean the square after the gatherings ended.
However, after months of protests and a summer with extraordinarily high temperatures, participation began to decline, while the government showed no signs of accepting the citizens’ demands.
The current phase appears markedly more violent. Dozens of police officers have been injured and Europe’s attention is focused on developments in Albania, a country considered among the leading candidates for membership in the European Union.
Some young protesters told the BBC that the latest escalation was a new stage created by the previous movement.
“Five months of peaceful protests were met with humiliation, mockery and ridicule,” said a young woman identified as Livia. According to her, the government sent a clear signal that it would not allow their voice to be heard.
Brunela, another protester, expressed concern about future developments. “I am very terrified because the media and the government are reacting, especially now. It was not just my voice, it was the voice of Albanian youth,” she said.
There may have been an overlap between the two waves of protests, although the leaders of the “Flamingo” movement have not publicly acknowledged this and no representative of the student protests has appeared.
At the core, the protesters’ concerns are mainly linked to corruption, which the prime minister insists must be investigated by the justice system.
How is the government reacting to the unrest?
Edi Rama has visited some of the damaged buildings and has accused Sali Berisha of inciting chaos.
“All of this is the work of the same hand – the hand that has seized the Albanian opposition by the throat, the hand that has burned and destroyed Albania more than once, and is now prepared to burn and destroy it again to prevent any progress. It is a blind fight, fueled by the most irrational hatred,” he declared on Friday.
The prime minister has ruled out resignation and has vowed to “listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward.”
The Democratic Party led by Berisha has repeatedly tried to mobilize citizens against Rama. However, the number of its supporters, who have protested for months and in some cases clashed with police, has been significantly lower than the turnout at the recent protests.
For this reason, there are doubts about Berisha’s ability to organize the unrest, even though he may try to benefit politically from the situation.
Meanwhile, some Albanian media have floated the idea that secret services of foreign states could be behind the developments.
Serbia has been accused without evidence, while some commentators have suggested that Belgrade may be concerned by the fact that Albania is often mentioned as the next country that could join the European Union.
Rama also repeated this claim on Friday, without directly naming anyone.
“These are foreign hands that do not want Albania to be at peace… they do not want Albania to be part of the united European family,” the prime minister said. He added: “Do you think it is a coincidence that every time Albania gets another green light… or approaches that great ambition – that historic objective – flames suddenly erupt? It is not a coincidence at all! Nothing that is happening now is a coincidence.”
The post After 135 days of “Flamingo” protests, Tirana is engulfed by clashes with police! BBC: Citizens demand Rama’s removal, prime minister accuses the opposition appeared first on Albeu.com.
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