TIRANA, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Protesters poured onto the streets of Tirana on Sunday hours after Prime Minister Edi Rama announced new measures to stem a wave of anti-government demonstrations.
On a rainy afternoon, protesters gathered in front of the Education Ministry and then walked to Rama’s office, setting on fire chairs he had placed in front of it as an invitation to a dialogue with the government.
Student-led demonstrations, fuelled by anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have engulfed central Tirana and spread to other cities this month.
Demonstrators demanding Rama’s resignation have set fire to government buildings and banks, smashed shop windows and pulled up paving stones to throw at police.
“I believe that those who demand my resignation are mistaken if they think they can impose it through violence or any other means, but I do not believe that everything they say or demand is wrong,” Rama said in a video address.
The unrest, which followed months of largely peaceful summer protests against a luxury coastal development backed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, poses the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term in office last year.
Earlier on Sunday, Rama introduced new measures to curb violence including fines of 500,000 lek ($6,188) for everyone who participates in a protest that turns violent even if he or she does not commit acts of violence.
($1 = 80.7900 leke)
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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