Global News Edmonton has reported:

Student-led protests in Tirana continued for a third day Thursday, as demonstrators joined a wider movement against Albania’s government and a luxury tourism development linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Protesters threw rocks at a police cordon outside the Education Ministry, and riot police used tear gas and water cannons. Police detained several demonstrators.

The clashes followed Wednesday’s riots, when protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses. The Health Ministry said 89 people were injured, including 61 police officers. The student groups began protesting for education reforms and have since joined the so-called flamingo movement, which demands the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of widespread corruption and opposes the planned development on Albania’s southern coast.

The project is associated with an investment firm founded by Kushner and is planned for an island with a nature reserve where thousands of flamingos live. The movement took its name from protesters’ signs depicting the pink birds. On Thursday, high school students joined thousands of demonstrators marching through central Tirana, bringing the city to a standstill as they chanted, “Rama Resign!”

“We will be in the square every day,” prominent protest organizer Mateo Yskollari wrote in an online post. “Our response to any attempt to silence us will be to expand the protest, civil mobilization, and disobedience.” The rallies were largely peaceful, but some turned violent when demonstrators faced police cordons. Groups of youths also left the marches to attack government buildings and commercial storefronts.

Rama greeted cleanup crews Thursday and delivered a video message from a college building that had been burned. He accused political opponents of inciting the violence and said he would remain prime minister as Albania pursued membership in the European Union.

“We will all get through these difficult hours together because Albania will continue to climb, because Albania will continue on its path to Europe,” Rama said. “No one can grab Albania by the throat. Anyone who thinks the law does not apply to them is mistaken.”

Rama’s Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive election victory last year. Albania is not scheduled to hold another parliamentary election until 2029. The conservative opposition Democratic Party supported the student protests and called on Rama to appoint a caretaker government to prepare for early elections.

“This movement is not simply a protest against the government,” the party said. “It’s a revolt against a model of government created by Edi Rama that has stolen hope from young people, violated citizens’ trust and is increasingly distancing Albania from its European future.” A European Union delegation in Albania called late Wednesday for authorities to respond proportionately and expressed concern at “the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana.” The report was contributed by Gatopoulos from Athens, Greece.