Albania’s Students Demand the Fall of Rama and an End to Corruption

In a meeting with the heads of educational institutions on Tuesday, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the ongoing student protests that began as an expression of public discontent, had turned into an organised attempt to destabilise the country and hinder the EU integration process. He warned that he will respond to the protests with a new package of penal and administrative sanctions.

After the meeting, he published a video on Facebook that showed him placing a sign with the word “Dialogue” and 12 red chairs at the entrance to the Prime Minister's Office, indicating an offer to talk.

Jesmina Senga, a student involved in the protests, responded with the comment: “In your dreams.”

According to Senga, "Rama never meant his request to engage in dialogue. His invitation is not sincere. He is responding to the pressure of the international community to ask the protesters for dialogue and to present himself as willing to change.”