For the seventh consecutive day, clashes between protesters and police have continued in Albania. The participants in the demonstrations are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, improved study conditions at universities, and a fight against corruption. The unrest has already injured 295 people, including 186 police officers. The BBC reports, according to UNN.
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According to the publication, during the demonstrations in Albania’s capital, Tirana, protesters attacked a police station and government buildings. Police used water cannons and tear gas, while law enforcement officers from riot-control units pursued protesters through Rinia Park. The protesters took refuge in cafés, where "even the waiters’ eyes were watering from the tear gas."
Among the protesters were "young men and women who have been radicalized by dark forces in Europe and the United States," Rama said.
"Under the trees, volunteers in yellow reflective vests stood at their posts, helping those who had overcome the effects of the poisoning. I watched as a young man argued with a police officer, who then sprayed him in the face with pepper spray at point-blank range," the publication writes.
"Police actions are often chaotic and senseless," said human rights lawyer Gentian Sedjani.
According to available information, he is providing legal assistance to more than 100 people who have been arrested. As the publication writes, one of his clients was a man arrested on his way to a bus stop—something completely unrelated to the protests, he said.
"Those who actually throw things at the police are rarely caught because they run the fastest," Sedjani noted.
"Rama has been in power for 13 years and has been the dominant figure in Albanian politics since the beginning of the century. He has promised EU membership by 2030 and said that only he can make it happen," the publication writes.