Albania Moves to Fine Protesters as Student Unrest Hits Day 13
(MENAFN) Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Sunday that Albania will introduce new legal measures targeting protests, as student-led demonstrations over education conditions pressed on in Tirana for a 13th straight day.
The protests began on Oct. 13 and have since drawn in high school students, residents, faculty from several universities and a range of trade unions. Some rallies turned violent.
Demonstrators marched through streets and squares across the capital. They first gathered at the Education Ministry, where some threw stones at the building, then moved on to the prime minister’s office. Tensions with security forces flared there.
Protesters hurled stones at police and public buildings, and officers fired tear gas in response. Some demonstrators were injured in the clashes, during which Molotov cocktails were used on occasion.
Rama again urged dialogue, as he has on previous days, but protesters turned down the appeals. Students said they would keep demonstrating.
The prime minister argued that the law governing demonstrations dates to 2001 and says nothing about digital technology, which has become a fundamental part of modern protest.
His proposed package would compensate businesses harmed by demonstrations, fine participants in violent protests, address calls for violence on social media and amend the Criminal Code.
The new rules would also set fines for organizing unauthorized demonstrations, ignoring orders to disperse, wearing masks at protests and blocking traffic.
The package would further require the removal of social media posts that call for violence and launch legal proceedings against those responsible.
The protests began on Oct. 13 and have since drawn in high school students, residents, faculty from several universities and a range of trade unions. Some rallies turned violent.
Demonstrators marched through streets and squares across the capital. They first gathered at the Education Ministry, where some threw stones at the building, then moved on to the prime minister’s office. Tensions with security forces flared there.
Protesters hurled stones at police and public buildings, and officers fired tear gas in response. Some demonstrators were injured in the clashes, during which Molotov cocktails were used on occasion.
Rama again urged dialogue, as he has on previous days, but protesters turned down the appeals. Students said they would keep demonstrating.
The prime minister argued that the law governing demonstrations dates to 2001 and says nothing about digital technology, which has become a fundamental part of modern protest.
His proposed package would compensate businesses harmed by demonstrations, fine participants in violent protests, address calls for violence on social media and amend the Criminal Code.
The new rules would also set fines for organizing unauthorized demonstrations, ignoring orders to disperse, wearing masks at protests and blocking traffic.
The package would further require the removal of social media posts that call for violence and launch legal proceedings against those responsible.
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