Rama Blames Antifa as Albanian Protests Hit Day Six
U.S. lawmakers and EU officials warned against heavy-handed policing as students demand the prime minister's resignation.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama blamed the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Antifa for six days of violent street clashes in Tirana on Monday, deflecting from student-led demands for his resignation that have drawn sharp warnings from Washington and Brussels.
Riot police fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons at demonstrators who hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails, according to Reuters. Police said 388 people have been charged with criminal offenses since the unrest began over deteriorating university conditions, chronic unemployment, and entrenched government corruption.
“They are young men and women who have been ideologized and radicalized under the pressure or inspiration of that dark and new force that has emerged in Europe and the United States,” Rama said Monday, according to Reuters. He claimed foreign actors were attempting to derail Albania’s path to European Union membership.
U.S. lawmakers rejected the framing. Republican South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson posted on X that “the Albanian people deserve freedom, rule of law, and institutional accountability,” warning authorities to refrain from violence against protesters. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., and Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, issued similar statements. Self called the demonstrations “a culmination of the people’s distrust of corrupt politicians and fatigue over the total disregard for the rule of law.”
Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital that Rama’s attempt to equate local unrest with broader European protests ignores specific domestic grievances. “European integration is supposed to reinforce democracy, judicial independence, transparent governance, and fundamental freedoms—not provide political protection from public accountability,” Nesho said.
The U.S. embassy in Albania urged restraint, calling on demonstrators to exercise their right to protest peacefully without violent rioting.
The European Commission Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood condemned arson and attacks on state institutions but stressed that any response must remain proportionate and within the law. The commission reminded Albanian authorities that grievances should be handled through constructive dialogue.
Tirana became an official EU candidate country in 2014. A 2025 European Commission report noted progress in judicial reforms and combating organized crime, but the current unrest threatens to stall accession negotiations. The last time Albania faced nationwide upheaval was in 2017, when months of opposition boycotts forced early elections and a temporary power-sharing agreement.
Reuters contributed to this report.
