Edi Rama invites dialogue with chairs; protesters demand his resignation

Following seven days of clashes that included attacks on state buildings, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama staged a symbolic gesture by placing chairs with the inscription “Dialogue” in a circle outside the prime-ministerial office. Demonstrators immediately reacted, affixing images they described as evidence of extreme repression and a letter on a chair demanding Rama’s resignation. Earlier, Rama told teachers in Tirana that a violent overthrow would not happen and warned that “foreign hands” were fueling the unrest, calling the protests a “hybrid war.”

At the Polytechnic University, roughly 1,350 professors and university staff signed a petition urging Rama to step down and to install a caretaker cabinet. The European Commission condemned the incidents of violence, praised Albanian authorities’ pledge to protect the right of assembly, and urged constructive dialogue as Albania continues its EU accession process.