Protesters attack Tirana police station on sixth day; Rama refuses to quit

Protesters attacked a police station in Tirana with Molotov cocktails on the sixth day of anti-government protests in Albania, as Prime Minister Edi Rama refused to resign a night after flames spread to Supreme Court offices.

Anti-government protests in Albania entered their sixth day on Sunday. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at midday outside the Education Ministry in the capital, Tirana, chanting “Rama, resign,” before police dispersed them with water cannon and tear gas and the clashes moved to the city center.

Protesters targeted a police station with Molotov cocktails and fireworks. Police official Albert Nushi said the attack had endangered the lives of officers and of detainees held inside, adding: “An attack on a police station is not a protest.” The Health Ministry said 28 people were injured on Sunday, including 19 police officers, four protesters, four passersby and a journalist.

Saturday night: flames reach the Supreme Court

Sunday’s unrest came after the most violent night since the protests began on Oct. 13. On Saturday evening, the fifth day, a fire broke out on the first floor of a business next to the Supreme Court building and, because of its intensity, spread to the court’s offices, according to Albanian news site CNA. The footage below, broadcast by Al Jazeera, shows flames surrounding a structure and a car near the court.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze; the damage to the court’s offices and files has yet to be assessed. Albanian public broadcaster RTSH reported that on the same night protesters threw Molotov cocktails at the former Hotel Dajti, which houses Bank of Albania offices, and set its entrance on fire.

The Bank of Albania’s headquarters in Tirana

Justice minister: violence is not protest

Justice Minister Toni Gogu stressed that the Supreme Court and the central bank are “two independent institutions,” not government offices. “Whoever burns a court targets not the government but citizens’ right to justice. Protest is a right, violence is not protest,” he said.

Heavy toll since Tuesday

According to the Health Ministry, 65 people, 37 of them police officers, were injured in Saturday’s violence, and 12 were hospitalized. That raised the number of injured since Tuesday to 272, including 169 police officers. Police said 167 people had been detained during the week and criminal proceedings had been opened against 388.

Rama holds on

Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has governed since 2013, rejected calls to resign in a video message of more than an hour on Sunday, saying he saw the protests as “the work of an outside hand.” Austria’s federal press service said the Albanian side had canceled Rama’s official visit to Vienna on Monday, where he was to meet Chancellor Christian Stocker.

International reactions followed. The U.S. Embassy in Tirana called for “restraint and calm on all sides,” while the European Commission condemned the violence, urged a “proportionate” response and called for grievances to be resolved through “constructive dialogue.”

The students leading the movement are protesting against high tuition fees, poor conditions at universities, unemployment and corruption, and say they do not want to be pushed into emigrating. On Saturday, they threw a burning suitcase into the Education Ministry’s courtyard to make that point.

Protesters attack Tirana police station on sixth day; Rama refuses to quit