Mirela Ruko, an activist from the Movement for the University (Lëvizja për Universitetin), has doused Minister of Education Lindita Nikolla in tomato sauce during a conference held today in the context of the International Day of Students in the “Pyramid,” the former mausoleum of Enver Hoxha.
The Movement for the University is a left-wing action group that has been consistently criticizing the university reform that has left many recent high school graduates for months in uncertainty. In September, the Movement for the University was one of the main engines behind the large student protests against the new higher education law.
In a declaration for the media posted on Facebook after the action, the Movement for the University claimed that the new law for higher education is clientelist and destroyed public education in Albania, funneling public funds to private universities:
The activists of the Movement for the University performed a symbolic action again Minister of Education Lindita Nikolla. […] Today, thousands of high school graduates are still without a major and there are still unfilled vacancies in the public university. The registration scheme for students has openly favored private universities that are the clients of the government.
Ruko was arrested and escorted to Commissariat Nr. 1 in Tirana. A group of activists has gathered in front of the police station, but they have as of the publication of this article not received any word about Mirela Ruko.
Previously, activists of the Movement for the University had attacked Prime Minister Edi Rama with eggs, when visiting the university.
Update: Mirela Ruko was released from police custody around 04:00 in the morning.
