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Albanian justice minister after Supreme Court fire: “Violence is not protest”
On the fifth day of anti-government protests in Albania, a fire from a business next to the Supreme Court spread to the court’s offices and demonstrators set fire to the entrance of a building housing Bank of Albania offices. Justice Minister Toni Gogu said independent institutions, not the government, had been targeted.
Two of Albania’s independent state institutions came under attack in Tirana on Saturday evening, the fifth day of anti-government protests. According to Albanian news portal CNA, a fire broke out on the first floor of a business adjoining the Supreme Court building and, because of its intensity, spread to the court’s offices.
Later, public broadcaster RTSH reported, demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at the former Hotel Dajti, where Bank of Albania offices are located, and set the building’s entrance on fire. Before that, police had used four water cannon vehicles to push protesters off the boulevard outside the government building, and they dispersed to different parts of the city.
“Violence is not protest”
Justice Minister Toni Gogu pointed out that neither the court nor the central bank is subordinate to the government. “Two independent institutions. Neither is a government office. Both serve the country and its citizens,” he said.
“Whoever sets fire to a court strikes not the government but citizens’ right to justice,” the minister continued, adding: “Protest is a right. Violence is not protest.” Gogu thanked the firefighters and expressed his solidarity with the Supreme Court’s judges and staff.
The footage released by Al Jazeera was filmed near the court building: flames engulf a structure and a car in front of it.
Firefighters put out the fire. It is not yet known how badly the court’s offices and documents were damaged. According to RTSH, a business and several cars nearby also burned.
Day six: police station attacked
The protests continued for a sixth straight day on Sunday. Around noon, hundreds of people gathered outside the Education Ministry, where the demonstrations began on Oct. 13, shouting “Rama, resign.” Police deployed water cannon and tear gas, after which clashes engulfed the center of the capital.
Demonstrators attacked a police station with Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnics. Police official Albert Nushi said officers and detainees held at the station had been put in danger: “An attack on a police station is not a protest.”
Health Ministry: 272 injured
According to the Albanian Health Ministry’s figures on Sunday morning, 65 people were injured on Saturday, including 37 police officers, and 12 were hospitalized. Of the 272 people injured since the protests began on Tuesday, 169 are police officers. The ministry later said 28 people were injured in Sunday’s clashes, including 19 police officers, four protesters, four passersby and a journalist. Police reported 167 people detained over the week and criminal proceedings against 388.
Rama: No resignation
Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has led the government since 2013, again ruled out resigning in a video address of more than an hour on Sunday and called the protests “the work of an outside hand.” His official visit to Vienna and a meeting with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, scheduled for Monday, were canceled by the Albanian side, Austria’s federal press service said.
The European Commission condemned the violence in Tirana and other cities and called for the authorities’ response to “remain proportionate” and for discontent to be resolved through “constructive dialogue.” The U.S. Embassy in Tirana urged “restraint and calm on all sides.”
The student protests began outside the Education Ministry on Oct. 13. Young people oppose high tuition fees, poor conditions at universities, unemployment and corruption, and say they do not want to leave the country in search of a better life.
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