Forumi i Dialogut Politik

17 October 2026

The Forum’s position on the student protest

Since 13 October, thousands of students and young people have been protesting in Tirana and other cities over conditions in universities, the cost of study and of living, the lack of meritocracy, and corruption. These demands are not new and belong to no party: they are the everyday problems that Forumi i Dialogut Politik describes in its platform “For a normal Albania”.

The Forum supports these demands as legitimate. A country where young people can build a dignified life without looking to emigration is exactly what we call a normal Albania.

We condemn violence and damage to public and private property, whoever is responsible. Violence harms the students and their cause first of all. Equally, we ask the police to act proportionately, and every case of excessive force, including that of the injured 19-year-old, to be investigated independently and transparently.

The government’s answer cannot be public order alone, or accusations of “foreign hands”. Students deserve concrete answers: full autonomy for public universities, an independent audit of their finances, financial support for students who cannot afford the cost of study and of living, and an end to political interference in education.

The Forum invites students to keep raising their voice peacefully, and invites all opposition forces, representatives of the protest and civil society to an open dialogue on the change Albania needs. Governments change by vote, and for the vote to mean something the rules must be equal for everyone.

Forumi i Dialogut Politik

In figures

People detained by day

  • 13 October: arrested; 49 more under investigation

    Source:BIRN Balkan Insight · published

  • 14 October: detained

    Source:AP (ABC News) · published

  • 15 October: detained that evening

    Source:Al Jazeera · published

  • 16 October: arrested; 22 more face criminal proceedings

    Source:AFP (France 24) · published

  • 17 October: No official figure

Cities with protests by day

  • 13 October
    • Tiranë
    1

    Source:BIRN Balkan Insight · published

  • 14 October
    • Tiranë
    • Elbasan
    • Shkodër
    3

    Source:Al Jazeera · published

  • 15 October
    • Tiranë
    • Durrës
    • Shkodër
    • Elbasan
    • Korçë
    5

    Source:Illyria · published

  • 16 October
    • Tiranë
    • Elbasan
    • Shkodër
    • Korçë
    4

    Source:Al Jazeera · published

  • 17 October
    • Tiranë
    • Shkodër
    2

    Source:Euronews Albania · published

Timeline

Times are Tirana time. “Added here” shows when an item went live on this page; each source shows when the outlet published it.

  1. 13 October 2026 · Tuesday

    National protest at the Ministry of Education

    16arrested

    • At 14:00 students gather outside the Ministry of Education, chanting “We want conditions, not empty talk”.

      Sources:Euronews Albania · published Koha Jonë · published

      Added here:

    • Clashes last into the evening: stones and petrol bombs from protesters, tear gas and water cannon from the police.

      Sources:BIRN Balkan Insight · published Reporter.al · published

      Added here:

    • More than eight institutions are attacked, among them the Prime Minister’s Office, the Constitutional Court, the Bank of Albania and three ministries; fires are set in Tirana City Hall and in the Parliament Speaker’s offices.

      Source:OCCRP ·

      Added here:

    • State Police: 16 arrested and 49 under investigation.

      Source:BIRN Balkan Insight · published

      Added here:

  2. 14 October 2026 · Wednesday

    Class boycott, a march from the universities

    35detained

    • Students from the University of Medicine, the Agricultural University, the Polytechnic University and the Law Faculty boycott classes and march to the Ministry of Education; high-school students join them.

      Sources:Euronews Albania · published Al Jazeera · published

      Added here:

    • Ministry of Health: 13 people treated at Tirana hospital, 6 still in care.

      Source:BIRN Balkan Insight · published

      Added here:

    • Four officers and a station’s chief of public order are suspended after a video shows a 19-year-old with a broken leg being carried roughly by police.

      Source:BIRN Balkan Insight · published

      Added here:

    • The EU Delegation voices concern at the violent escalation and asks for a proportionate response; President Begaj appeals for calm.

      Sources:AP (ABC News) · published OCCRP ·

      Added here:

  3. 15 October 2026 · Thursday

    The protest spreads to five cities

    160detained that evening

    • The protest spreads to Durrës, Shkodër, Elbasan and Korçë.

      Source:Illyria · published

      Added here:

    • Prime Minister Rama refuses to resign: “governments change through elections”; he says he is ready to discuss the cost of education.

      Sources:Reuters (US News) · published Al Jazeera · published

      Added here:

    • Police: 160 people detained over acts of violence during the evening.

      Source:Al Jazeera · published

      Added here:

  4. 16 October 2026 · Friday

    Day four: “foreign hands”

    4cities protesting

    • Thousands of young people, many of them medical and high-school students, march again to the Ministry of Education.

      Sources:Euronews Albania · published Al Jazeera · published

      Added here:

    • Rama in a video: “This is not a student phenomenon”, blaming “foreign hands”.

      Source:Al Jazeera · published

      Added here:

    • Protests also in Elbasan, Shkodër and Korçë, where windows are broken and bins set on fire.

      Source:Al Jazeera · published

      Added here:

    • Students, lecturers and pensioners are united by the cost of education and of living, the lack of meritocracy, and corruption.

      Source:Radio Evropa e Lirë · published

      Added here:

    • Police: 10 arrested after Friday’s demonstrations and criminal proceedings against a further 22.

      Source:AFP (France 24) · published

      Added here:

    • Ministry of Health: 25 people, among them 9 police officers, sustained minor injuries during clashes in Tirana, Vlorë and Lezhë.

      Source:AFP (France 24) · published

      Added here:

  5. 17 October 2026 · Saturday

    Day five: a new march

    2cities protesting

    • New tension at the Ministry of Education; several protesters are taken away by ambulance.

      Source:Euronews Albania · published

      Added here:

    • Around 15:00 protesters leave Rruga e Durrësit on a march; a parallel march starts in Shkodër.

      Source:Euronews Albania · published

      Added here:

    • Thousands of young people gather outside the Ministry of Education; a group of masked young people throw rocks at riot police, who respond with stun grenades, tear gas and a water cannon.

      Sources:Reuters (NBC News) · published Radio Evropa e Lirë · published

      Added here:

    • Police: 500 protesters detained so far, 330 of them released; some 120 police officers and 45 protesters registered as injured.

      Sources:Reuters (NBC News) · published Radio Evropa e Lirë · published

      Added here:

    • Ombudsman: 214 detained people contacted in the last 72 hours; on 14 and 15 October the Trauma Hospital treated 128 people, among them 86 police officers, 38 protesters and 5 minors. “We condemn violence against police officers. We condemn violence against protesters.”

      Source:Radio Evropa e Lirë · published

      Added here:

    • According to AFP journalists at the scene, police use rubber bullets for the first time during these protests, alongside water cannon, pepper spray and tear gas.

      Source:AFP (France 24) · published

      Added here:

    • Rama, visiting damaged businesses: the students’ right to protest “must and will be protected”, but he “will not allow anyone to jeopardise the future of this country”.

      Source:AFP (France 24) · published

      Added here:

    • The Albanian Association for Psychotherapy calls for a prompt, independent and transparent investigation of allegations of police violence against young people and minors, and for legal assistance, medical care and psychological support for those affected.

      Source:Reporter.al (BIRN) · published

      Added here:

    • The Director General of the Police confirms the use of rubber bullets, saying the intervention had been "limited and in accordance with procedures"; announces cumulative five-day figures: 167 arrested, 388 under criminal proceedings and 132 police officers injured; seven officers are suspended for disciplinary investigations into exceeding their competences.

      Source:Reporter.al (BIRN) · published

      Added here:

    • The Archbishop of Shkodër-Pult calls on the authorities to listen to civic discontent and take political responsibility for the crisis: "The responsibility of the authorities is not measured by declarations, but by concrete decisions."

      Source:Reporter.al (BIRN) · published

      Added here:

    • US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson expresses concern over the escalation and calls on the Albanian government to refrain from violence against protesters: "The Albanian people deserve freedom, the rule of law, and institutional accountability. The government must refrain from any form of violence against protesters."

      Source:Reporter.al (BIRN) · published

      Added here:

    • Res Publica and other civil society groups send the State Police an open letter documenting 31 alleged cases of police violence during 13-17 October; among them the case of a 21-year-old student who allegedly suffered skull and spinal fractures and a roughly three-hour delay in receiving medical assistance; the organisations call for an investigation into command responsibility, not only that of individual officers.

      Source:Reporter.al (BIRN) · published

      Added here:

    • In the afternoon the protests shift to the Prime Minister's office on the city's main boulevard, where crowds are larger than on previous days; as dusk falls, police special forces arrive to reinforce the riot units.

      Source:BBC News · published

      Added here:

    • The United States Embassy in Tirana calls for peaceful protest and restraint: "Violence, disorder, physical injury of others and destruction of property are not civic engagement. We call on all citizens who choose to demonstrate to exercise their right to protest peacefully, without violent acts. We call on all parties for restraint and calm."

      Sources:Reporter.al (BIRN) · published Euronews Albania · published

      Added here:

    • Rama, in a Saturday-morning social media post, urges Albanians to "not forget that we have achieved extraordinary things"; he blames the Democratic Party and "the sinister agenda of foreign actors, intent on halting our progress" towards EU membership, which he has promised by 2030.

      Source:BBC News · published

      Added here: