TIRANA – Clashes erupted between student protesters and police outside Albania’s Education Ministry on Tuesday, as demonstration over university conditions and social inequality turned violent. Some protesters threw bricks and concrete blocks at the ministry building, while police responded with tear gas and water cannon.
Several protesters were detain, while footage showing police using force against demonstrators circulated on social media. Further details regarding possible injuries and arrests have not yet been confirmed.
Student organisers said their demands concerned conditions at universities, tuition fees, financial support and employment prospects after graduation. Some participants also voiced frustration with social inequality and the government’s policies.
Following the clashes, students announced a boycott of classes on 14 October. In a statement posted on social media, they said the action was intended to draw attention to their demands and press the authorities to respond.
By Wednesday morning, students at Tirana’s University of Medicine had begun boycotting classes and marching towards the Education Ministry. Pupils at the capital’s Partizani high school also joined the boycott.
The student mobilisation is linked to a broader protest movement that has been holding demonstration for months. On 3 October, participants in the movement’s 126th protest march stopped outside the Education Ministry, where students and citizens called for a class boycott and announced the rally for 13 October.
Known as the “Flamingo Revolution”, the movement emerged in response to a luxury tourism project in Zvërnec, a protected coastal area in southern Albania, linked to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Initially driven by environmental concerns, the protests developed into a wider challenge to the government, including demands for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.
