Mema denies a foreign antifa link to Albania's protests
Bora MemaAlbanian labor organizer and founding member of Levizja Bashke
Labor organizer Bora Mema on the protests in Albania, on Democracy Now!, Oct. 21, 2026.
Excerpt from 27:20 to 28:22 of the Democracy Now! broadcast. DI added its logo in the corner.
Video: Democracy Now!. Excerpt used for news reporting and commentary
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: There is no link between antifa)
Mema denies a foreign antifa link to Albania's protests.
“There is no link between antifa in Europe or U.S. linked to what is happening in Albania.”
Interview
Original video
Where this statement fits
Albania's student-led protests demand Edi Rama's resignation; Rama refuses and blames his opponents for the violence
Student-led protests in Tirana and other Albanian cities turned into daily clashes with police from October 13, 2026, as high school and university students joined the Flamingo movement, which began in May against a luxury resort plan by Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner. Protesters demand that Prime Minister Edi Rama resign over allegations of government corruption, and they want better education and more jobs. Rama has refused to resign, accused his political opponents of encouraging the violence and said the unrest threatens Albania's path to European Union membership. The opposition Democratic Party backs the protests and has called for a caretaker government to prepare early elections.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Democracy Now interviewed Mema about the student protests, police response and Rama's remarks.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Watch the clip from this source at the top of the page.
Original video
About this source
Democracy Now interviews Bora Mema about the Albania protests. At 12:57, she denies a link to antifa groups in Europe or the United States.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Mema addresses Rama's claim of a foreign antifa connection to Albania's protests.
After the quotation
She also argues that the protests oppose authoritarianism and criticizes police repression.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Rama's account of the protests, Mema explicitly denies a connection to antifa groups in Europe or the United States.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseHakorja describes the protests as organized mainly by young people
“So far, what can be said with certainty is that the protests have been organised mainly by young people themselves,”Read statement
Andoni says corruption, inequality and the government's lack of empathy drove the protests
“The protest summarised the entire range of problems that Albania has, and brought them to the doorstep of a government that has crossed lines regarding corruption, inequality, and particularly a lack of empathy for the people.”Read statement
Hasa says the recent escalation must be understood against months of repression of peaceful protesters
“The developments of recent days must be understood against the backdrop of months of repression and structural violence targeting peaceful protesters.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Mema denies a foreign antifa link to Albania's protests
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6596-mema-denies-a-foreign-antifa-link-to-albania
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Mema denies a foreign antifa link to Albania's protests". First published: 2026-10-24. Last updated: 2026-10-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/6596-mema-denies-a-foreign-antifa-link-to-albania