Prime Minister Edi Rama described the young protesters as linked to extremism and foreign services, while promising a 2,500 euro reward for police forces during a meeting on Monday. His statements come at a time when the State Police is facing accusations of disproportionate use of force against protesters.
Without presenting concrete evidence, the Prime Minister claimed that behind the mobilization of young people are foreign services, such as Russia and Iran, or the ANTIFA movement declared a terrorist organization by President Trump.
Over the past seven days, footage and evidence of the use of force by police, as well as by unidentified civilians, have raised concerns about the treatment of protesters, including those who do not appear to be using violence.
But the prime minister justified this type of intervention and warned that no one in the square will be spared, regardless of whether they are protesting peacefully.
"Anyone who is in a violent demonstration is a target of the state police. There is no, no, "I was there with my hands in my pockets. No, I was there with my hands in my eyes watching the police killing," you are there because you are with him. Because if you are not with him, you are not there," he said, among other things.
He also warned of financial and administrative consequences for protesters, stating that the families of minors will be forced to pay for damages caused during the protests and that students will lose scholarships, financial support, and benefits from free education.
The language used by the prime minister in front of the police on the 6th day of violent unrest in the capital was widely perceived as forceful language and an incitement to further clashes, while the country is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in decades.
Writer Fatos Lubonja, a former political prisoner of the communist dictatorship, compared the prime minister's statements to those of the infamous dictator Enver Hoxha.
"It is a speech where open threats to anyone who dares to protest, even peacefully, are justified with manipulations and lies that seek to present the protest with the language used by Enver Hoxha as the work of an external and internal enemy," Lubonja told BIRN.
"It reminded us of Enver Hoxha's words; we took power with blood, we will leave it with blood, which in his case could turn into; we held power with crimes, and we will leave it with crimes," he added.
According to Lubonja, encouraging the police with speeches and rewards to continue violently suppressing this protest clearly shows that we are heading towards a police state.
Rama's statements came at a time when civil society, educators, and international actors were calling for a reduction in tensions and an end to violence.
Anthropology researcher Nebi Bardhoshi warned that the prime minister's rhetoric risks deepening social conflict.
"This risks leading the country into a clash, into a social abyss if citizens do not create a moral and social barricade," Nebi Bardhoshi, an anthropologist researcher, commented to BIRN, who considered Rama's language to be inciting violence since the beginning of the peaceful protests.
By profiling protesters as sponsored by enemies of Albania, according to him, the conditions are created for the state to intervene violently.
"We are now at the peak of this language. The portrayal of protesters as agents, terrorists, indictees, etc. is constructed in such a way as to legitimize police violence at every level, up to brutality, as has already happened," Bardhoshi emphasized.
Asked by BIRN about the legal basis for the warnings against protesters and the risk that the prime minister's statements could escalate violence, the Prime Minister's press office said they should be read in the context of violent acts and not the right to protest.
"Prime Minister Edi Rama's statement should be read in its full context. It does not refer to the exercise of the right to protest, but to acts of violence against police officers, citizens, and public and private property," the press office said in a response to the article, adding that "police intervention is not related to participation in the protest, but to guaranteeing public safety and preventing violent actions, always in accordance with the law and the principle of proportionality."
Regarding the warnings to the parents of young people protesting in the square, the Prime Minister's Office referred to the articles of the civil code and said that "the Prime Minister's warnings about financial and administrative consequences for persons involved in violence do not imply the imposition of collective sanctions or the avoidance of legal procedures."/ BIRN
