The Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu has condemned acts of violence, attacks on state institutions and police, and damage to public property following the student protest outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana.

In a Facebook post, Koçiu described the escalation of the demonstration into violence as deeply troubling, using irony to address claims that protesters had been provoked by paving stones.

“It is sad to see the culture of protest deteriorate into orchestrated violence and, apparently, be seriously ‘provoked’ by sidewalk paving stones,” Koçiu wrote.

She stressed that violence could never be a solution, condemning attacks on public institutions and the State Police, as well as the destruction of public property.

Koçiu also argued that such actions were not an appropriate way for young people to express themselves, accusing political actors of using young protesters to conceal what she described as their own political ineffectiveness.

Her remarks come amid heightened tensions in Tirana, where the student demonstration outside the Ministry of Education has been accompanied by clashes with police and reports of damage to the ministry building and surrounding streets.