Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama claimed Wednesday that violent student protests in Tirana were orchestrated by a broad coalition of domestic and foreign actors.
Speaking to bank executives at the Bank of Albania, Rama blamed an array of culprits—including Antifa, organized crime, opposition parties, university professors, media outlets, and foreign powers stirring religious hatred.
Describing a nation under siege, Rama warned that the unrest threatened to spread "with flames and stones" across Albania, largely ignoring student grievances to focus on what he called an attempt to hold the capital hostage.
The enemies, as Rama listed them
Antifa: He linked the violence to unrest in other European capitals, which he blamed on Antifa, "an anarchist neo-communist movement." He noted that the US President had declared it a terrorist organization.
Radicalized youth: He described radicalized young people who call for anyone they see as evil to be jailed and exiled, "as in medieval times or the post-war period." He said they wanted to impose their view of the world on others with stones, fire and threats.
Organized crime: He said petty criminals from Tirana's neighborhoods and suburbs were mobilized with money from organized crime.
Opposition parties: He said other "political subjects" sponsored the violence alongside organized crime, paying "under the table" for young men from outlying neighborhoods whom he described as disoriented, and for minors, to throw stones. He did not name them.
Foreign powers: He said foreign forces gave the violence "extraordinary" support, which he called proven, because they wanted to destabilize Albania and Europe. He did not name these actors or explain how the support worked. He also spoke of "malign interference" linked to Albania's international position.
People stirring religious hatred: He said there was "a diabolical attempt" to stir up religious hatred and antisemitism. He tied this to Albania's friendship with Israel, insisting that Albania is just as much a friend of Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He did not say who was behind the effort.
Professors: He blamed "so-called" university professors, whom he called a small minority of their colleagues. He said they back the violence and refuse to distance themselves from it, and that they are "standard-bearers of an opposition party" before they are teachers. He said they were joined by people with no connection to the university.
Television: He said Albanian broadcasters "glorify" violence and attack the state by attacking the police. In Italy, he said, the people behind such violence are called "little vandals", while in Albania they are treated as "heroes of a pseudo-student movement".
He said the government had intelligence about plans to provoke "another 21 January", the 2011 opposition protest in which four people were killed. The aim, he said, was to push the police into using disproportionate force.
He said the authorities had stopped a drone attack with explosives aimed at the Prime Minister's office. He gave no details.
Later, Rama described the masked young people in more sympathetic terms. He called them "children of this country," blinded, manipulated and neglected, some perhaps even by their own families.
Rama concedes legitimate grievances
Rama also said that students and others have "legitimate reasons" to protest. He acknowledged that outside the protest zone there is "an Albania with hardships, problems and needs."
He pointed to rising rents in Tirana, which students cannot pay without putting a heavy burden on their parents.
He also spoke of jobs, education, financing for small businesses and housing. He presented these as problems his government will address, without explaining whether they had helped trigger the protests.
His main answer was a housing law his government has sent to parliament. It would pay half the rent for eligible students, offer interest-free loans to some young couples and low-interest loans to young professionals.
Rama did not identify the immediate trigger for the protests. Although he acknowledged legitimate grievances, his explanation of the unrest centered on the enemies he accused of exploiting it.
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