Day 16, citizens demand the resignation of Prime Minister Rama

Protests against Edi Rama's government are continuing in Tirana. For the 16th day in a row, hundreds of citizens have gathered in the Albanian capital, demanding transparency and opposing tourism projects for the protected areas of Sazan and Zvërnec.

For the 16th day in a row, protesters have gathered in the center of Tirana, repeating their demands against the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

As in previous days, the rally began at 'Skënderbej' Square, then continued with a march towards the Prime Minister's Office and the main streets of the capital.

During the rally, dozens of citizens took the floor, repeating the demands and positions expressed in previous protests.

According to the media, protests in Albania are continuing even after the events of the previous night, when the march of protesters towards Rinas Airport was interrupted by the police, who blocked their advance a few kilometers from the airport.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, through a status on the "X" platform, declared that only two are the real beneficiaries of the citizen protest: the Government and the Socialist Party.

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"If there are any real beneficiaries from this protest, they are only two: the Albanian Government, which will definitely learn the lessons it needs from the honest part of the protest, by properly addressing the legitimate concerns of that part, and the Socialist Party, which, when the fog clears, will severely disappoint all its opponents, emerging bigger and stronger at the center of Albania's political scene," Rama said.

Rama also responded via social media to a protester who emphasized that protest in a democracy is not measured by whether or not the government likes it, but by the right of citizens to oppose decisions they consider unjust or harmful to the public interest.

In his reaction, Rama singled out the protester from the rest of the public debate, saying that he "does not curse, does not accuse, and does not rave online," while adding that he respects the ethics he has shown in expressing his positions.

The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, in a statement to the media where he was asked about the calls being made in the protest: "Rama in prison, Berisha in prison" stated that young people should not be influenced by the slogans.

"Therefore, I warmly greet those hundreds of thousands of citizens and young people, who are in fact liberating this country from the ugliest dictatorship, in some aspects even more harmful than that of totalitarianism, because this has driven out 1 million 300-400 thousand Albanians in 10 years. And this is a terrible damage, which will require at least a minimum of 40 years in a normal course to be compensated. And for this, Edi Rama... this is a real genocide. Real genocide, according to the UN convention, and Edi Rama deserves to be tried for genocide", said Berisha.

The protests in Tirana began after opposition to tourism development projects in the protected areas of Sazan and Zvërnec, but over the days they have expanded into broader demands for transparency, institutional accountability, and opposition to the policies of the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

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The issue of tourism projects in Sazan and Zvërnec has been widely covered by international media, while environmental groups and civil society organizations have expressed concerns about the potential impact on protected areas and the lack of transparency in the project development procedures.