Albania's Rama Defies Calls to Quit as Student Protests Enter Third Day

Thousands of student-led protesters fought running battles with riot police in Albania’s capital for a third straight day on Thursday. Prime Minister Edi Rama rejected calls to resign.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at crowds that smashed windows and hurled rocks in Tirana. Streets were littered with burned-out garbage bins, shattered bus stops and broken traffic lights. Some protesters set a kiosk on fire, built barricades and raided a bank. Parliament cancelled its session as the violence flared nearby.

The protesters blame Rama’s government for corruption, the high cost of education and a deal to sell off parts of Albania’s southern coastline for a luxury resort development. The project is backed by an investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. The demonstrators say a summer of largely peaceful protests over the deal went unheard.

The movement calls itself the flamingo movement, after the pink birds that live by the thousands in a nature reserve on Sazan Island, where the development is planned. On Thursday, high school students joined the marches, which brought central Tirana to a standstill under chants of “Rama Resign!” One protest organizer said demonstrators would be back in the square every day.

Wednesday was the worst day so far. Albania’s Health Ministry said hospitals in Tirana treated 89 people that day, including 61 police officers. Police said 65 people were arrested on suspicion of attacking officers, institutions and public and private property. Four officers and two protesters were still hospitalized on Thursday.

Rama answered in a written statement to Reuters. “My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward,” he said. “The alternative would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership.”

His government denies corruption. Rama said he would be ready to discuss the rising cost of education. He drew a line at the violence: “Attacking institutions, destroying public property and threatening public safety have nothing to do with the legitimate demands of students.” Earlier he posted a video from a burnt-out office at the College of Europe campus in Tirana, his first public comments since the protests began, and said those behind the damage would face the law.

The protests are the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who won a fourth term last year with EU membership at the center of his campaign.