Rama installs stone table after protesters burn his chairs
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Student protesters marking their thirteenth day on the streets of Tirana have burned the chairs set out for them by the prime minister. Edi Rama’s response was to replace the furniture with a stone table and another invitation to talk; he also presented an anti-violence package that would hold anyone breaking the law to account.
The demonstrations against corruption and the government have shifted from the mass gatherings of the first week to a smaller, more volatile presence. Allegations of police brutality are mounting, with reports of officers beating minors and illegally searching students' mobile phones. Mr Rama, meanwhile, has accused the opposition Democratic Party headquarters of becoming a refuge for abusers.
The prime minister has attempted to frame the movement as a form of class warfare, a tactic his critics suggest is a regression to the rhetoric of the country's former dictatorship. For now, the students and the government remain separated by a boulevard and a very heavy table.