Lexojeni në shqip: “Duart e huaja”: si përhapet një shpjegim pa prova të publikuara dhe si na shohin nga jashtë?
On 18 October, the Prime Minister says that Russia and Iran are the "foreign hands" behind the protest. The same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry replies: "It is the citizens of your own country who have taken to the streets". Between these two statements, Albanian outlets publish 29 headlines about "foreign hands", more than on any other day.
This article follows how this explanation is born, how it spreads and how it is contested in Albanian headlines, and how foreign institutions and politicians see the protest.
In brief
- From 14 to 21 October, 95 Albanian headlines link the protest to "foreign hands", Russia, Iran, ANTIFA or a "hybrid war".
- Half of them (48) carry the claim through the Prime Minister, ministers or Socialist Party (PS) officials. 21 carry it through commentators and analysts; 20 reject it.
- None of these headlines reports evidence presented in public.
- Western institutions do not use this explanation in their statements. Official Moscow denies it, while the Russian ideologue Aleksandr Dugin voices support for the protests.
What the data show
1. An explanation that changes its name every day
The idea first appears on 14 October, when the Interior Minister speaks of a "scenario of old politics and foreign hands". It becomes major news on 16 October, when the Prime Minister says it: "This blaze is not a student one, but that of foreign hands who do not want us in the EU" (Report TV).
From then on, the explanation stays, but the name of the "hands" changes. The headlines below are our translations.
| Date | What is said | Example headline |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Oct | "Foreign hands", unnamed | "Rama reacts after the student protests: Foreign hands do not want Albania to be calm" (Amfora) |
| 18 Oct | Russia and Iran; a drone | "We neutralised the drone with explosives aimed at the Prime Minister's Office. It is not the hand of students, but a foreign one" (RTSH) |
| 19 Oct | ANTIFA | "They are young people ideologised and radicalised by the spirit of Antifa" (Report TV) |
| 20 Oct | "Hybrid war" | "The protests are part of a hybrid war" (Vizion Plus) |
| 21 Oct | "Foreign forces" and the parties | "Organised crime and the parties sponsor the violence, foreign forces want to destabilise Albania" (Vizion Plus) |
In the headlines, Russia and Iran appear 16 times on 18 October and ANTIFA 16 times on 19 October. The target changes, but the conclusion stays the same: the violence does not come from the students.
2. Who spreads it and who rejects it?
- The government and PS (48 headlines). Almost every outlet reports it, because it is news when the head of government accuses foreign states. Some report it in order to criticise it: Syri writes "Rama continues the propaganda".
- Commentators (21 headlines). 13 of them are on ABC News, mostly on 18 and 19 October. Some are the newsroom's own headlines, not quotes: "Inspiration from Russia, hybrid war from Iran, fire from Berisha"; "Albanian Antifa, structured/ Active on social networks, threatening in messages. Aim: Destabilisation".
- Rebuttals (20 headlines). They come mainly from Sali Berisha (7), from Moscow (3) and from the BIRN analysis "'Foreign hands' as an alibi for avoiding political responsibility", republished by Syri and Balkanweb. A different voice is the analyst on Top Channel who says Russia "may attempt interference in Albania", but "for the protests, do not blame foreign forces".
This creates a problem: the claim comes from the government, and the rejection comes mostly from the opposition. The debate turns into a party clash, and the question that would settle it, "what evidence is there?", is hardly asked in the headlines.
3. The same logic on both sides
The foreign enemy is not only a government argument. On 15 October, Syri writes "Exposed: Padrino hires foreign mercenaries against the students!" ("Padrino" is a nickname used for the Prime Minister). On 16 October, a claim circulates about "Serbian mercenaries arresting protesters". The Police call it "a lie" (TV Klan), Faktoje writes "No basis for foreign police recruited for the protest", and the Prime Minister himself calls it "madness". Later Faktoje tracks new narratives about "Kurti's people" and "Serbian agents", and Syri writes about water cannon trucks "sent by Erdoğan".
So both sides use the same tool: someone foreign is to blame. Only the identity of the foreigner changes.
4. How foreigners speak?
Foreign statesmen, institutions and public figures see the protest differently from this debate. The table summarises the main statements, from the most recent to the oldest.
| Who | Date | What they say |
|---|---|---|
| MEP Michael Gahler (EPP) | 21 Oct | "Citizens are protesting against corruption and the government" |
| UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk | 20 to 21 Oct | Condemns violence at protests in Albania and in Europe; calls for de-escalation and dialogue |
| OSCE/ODIHR | 20 Oct | Unlawful or disproportionate use of force must be avoided; every case must be investigated |
| Ambassadors of the US, the EU and Germany | 20 Oct | Meet President Begaj |
| Bundestag member Knut Abraham | 20 Oct | Citizens demand an end to corruption and to the links between crime and politics |
| Kosovo minister Albulena Haxhiu | 19 Oct | "Arrogance fuelled the protests"; the students' demands must be heard; does not support violence |
| US Senator Gary Peters | 19 Oct | The authorities must not use aggression against peaceful protesters |
| Swiss Embassy | 19 Oct | De-escalation, constructive dialogue, respect for peaceful assembly and media freedom |
| European Parliament | 14 to 19 Oct | Sandro Gozi condemns violence against protesters and calls for an investigation; rapporteur Andreas Schieder: "violence is not the solution"; Rihards Kols criticises tear gas and violence against journalists |
| European Commission | 18 Oct | "Violence has no place in a democratic society"; the response must stay within the law; concerns through dialogue |
| International Democrat Union (IDU) | 18 Oct | Violence against protesters must stop; calls for early elections |
| European Democrats | 14 and 18 Oct | Rama must take political responsibility; "it is not the students who endanger Albania's European future" |
| Russian Foreign Ministry | 18 Oct | Rejects Rama's accusation: "it is the citizens of your own country who have taken to the streets" |
| Aleksandr Dugin, Russian ideologue | 18 Oct | Openly supports the protests: "Albanians are waking up" |
| US Congress members Joe Wilson, Robert Aderholt, Keith Self | 17 to 18 Oct | The government must not use violence and must respect protesters' rights |
| US Embassy | 13 to 18 Oct | Travel warnings, then "violence is not civic engagement" and a call for restraint |
| Israeli Embassy | 16 Oct | Closes temporarily |
| OSCE Presence in Albania | 15 Oct | Calm and dialogue; supports the President's appeal |
| British Embassy | 14 Oct | "The right to protest does not legitimise violence"; police must avoid disproportionate action |
| German Embassy | 14 Oct | Shares the EU Delegation's position |
| EU Delegation | 14 to 15 Oct | De-escalation, freedom of assembly, priority investigation of allegations of police violence |
| Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See | 13 and 17 Oct | Attacked twice; the Foreign Ministry condemns it |
Two patterns stand out. Embassies and executives (EU, OSCE, UN, US, UK, Germany, Switzerland) speak with a balanced voice: they condemn violence, call for dialogue and for investigation of allegations of disproportionate force. Parliamentarians and international party groups (MEPs, members of Congress, the IDU, the European Democrats, a Bundestag member) are more critical of the government; some of them belong to political families that also include PD, such as the EPP and the IDU. None of these statements uses the "foreign hands" explanation.
Regional media also see it differently. In their headlines, the Prime Minister appears in 34% of headlines (Albanian media: 20%) and clashes in 18% (Albanian media: 5%). Kosovo media also link the protest to Kosovo politics; Serbian media place Albania within the wider unrest in Europe.
Why it matters
It changes the question. The questions of the protest are: what do the students want, who used violence, and did the police go too far? "Foreign hands" bring a different question: who is behind them? The more space the second question takes, the less is left for the first.
A repeated accusation looks proven. When the head of government accuses two states and studio commentators repeat it dozens of times without new evidence, the claim gains weight without being verified. Readers see many voices, but no evidence.
It can justify harsher measures. If the protest is part of a "hybrid war", then extraordinary measures can seem more reasonable. In the same days, headlines discuss bonuses for the police, lowering the age of criminal responsibility and a Schengen "blacklist" for protesters.
It has a cost abroad. Accusations against Russia, Iran, Serbia, Kosovo or Turkey can stir diplomatic tension. And Dugin's support creates a paradox: it gives the government's claim an argument, while official Moscow denies any involvement.
Other possible explanations
- Foreign interference is not an empty idea. Albania has been the target of Iranian cyberattacks and cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2022. The EU is also investigating Russian influence on protests in Europe (TV Klan, 21 October). So the question is not whether interference is possible, but what evidence exists in this case.
- The violence is real. Masked groups attacked police officers and buildings. By separating the violence from the students, the government may also aim to protect the students' demand: "The voice of protesting students will be heard with respect, but violence gets nothing" (Balkanweb, 17 October).
- Reporting is not endorsing. Outlets must report when the Prime Minister accuses foreign states. Most of the 48 headlines simply quote him. The problem is not the quote, but the missing follow-up question about evidence.
What the data do not show
- We measure only headlines. An article may ask about evidence even when its headline does not.
- We cannot know whether institutions hold evidence they have not made public. We can only say that the headlines report no published evidence.
- The classification was done by hand, and some headlines sit on the border between categories. Some headlines are republications of the same story in different outlets.
What to watch
- Does the government present evidence of the involvement of Russia, Iran or ANTIFA, for example in Parliament or to prosecutors?
- Do police or prosecution investigations mention any foreign link for the people charged?
- Do the claims about "Serbian mercenaries" and "Kurti's people" keep circulating after the denials?
- Does any Western institution adopt the "foreign hands" explanation in future statements?
How it was measured
We searched 7,285 Albanian headlines for the words "duar të huaja" (foreign hands), "dorë e huaj" (foreign hand), "forca të huaja" (foreign forces), "hibrid", "ANTIFA", Russia, Iran, Putin, Moscow and Dugin, with word boundaries (so that "Tiranë" is not read as "Iran"). We read the headlines one by one, removed world news unrelated to the protest and kept 95 headlines. Each headline was classified by who says it: the government and PS, commentators, rebuttals or other (Dugin, protesters, academics). The foreign statements and the regional data come from the same monitoring. Source: Artivista media monitoring.
