TIRANA, Albania — Artur Meçollari, a retired Albanian Navy commander and military analyst, has warned Prime Minister Edi Rama against using the armed forces to intimidate protesters, following the circulation of a video showing military vehicles moving near central Tirana.
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“Edi Rama. Do not attempt to use the military,” Meçollari wrote.
He questioned why the military vehicles had travelled through the capital rather than using the city’s outer ring road, suggesting that their movement could have been intended to test the situation amid the continuing demonstrations.
“Yesterday, Edi Rama, in cooperation with your political generals, staged a provocation with some empty military vehicles that moved around Tirana. They could have travelled along the Greater Ring Road. But no, they passed through Tirana because the situation had to be tested,” Meçollari wrote.
His comments raise questions about the role of the armed forces during a period of heightened political tension in Albania. However, the purpose of the vehicles’ movement and whether it was connected to the protests have not been independently established from the information available.
Meçollari Raises Constitutional Concerns
In his statement, the retired commander argued that the military should not be deployed to maintain public order without the constitutional procedures required for such intervention.
“The army takes to the streets to restore public order only by a decision of Parliament and after a state of emergency has been declared,” he wrote.
Meçollari further argued that any military presence near demonstrations could be perceived as a provocation and that using the armed forces to support the State Police or participate directly in an operation against protesters would violate the Constitution.
He described such a scenario as a “coup d’état,” a serious allegation that reflects his interpretation of the potential consequences of military intervention.
What Does Albania’s Constitution Say?
Albania’s Constitution establishes specific conditions for deploying the armed forces to restore public order.
Article 173 provides that, when there is a threat to the constitutional order or public security, Parliament may declare a state of emergency at the request of the Council of Ministers. Under Article 173(2), once a state of emergency has been declared, Parliament may call on the armed forces to intervene if the police are unable to restore order.
The constitutional provision therefore establishes a legal framework for military intervention in such circumstances. It does not, by itself, establish that the movement of military vehicles through Tirana constitutes an unlawful act or that a constitutional violation has occurred in this particular case.
No evidence presented in Meçollari’s post, as described above, independently establishes that the vehicles were deployed to control the demonstrations or that an order had been issued to involve the armed forces in policing them.
The distinction is important: the presence of military vehicles in a city, their proximity to a protest and an operational deployment against demonstrators are not necessarily the same thing.
Warning Comes Amid Escalating Protests in Tirana
Meçollari’s intervention comes amid escalating demonstrations in the Albanian capital. On October 14, 2026, protests involving students and other government critics turned violent, with clashes between demonstrators and riot police, according to the Associated Press. The protests have involved demands for education reforms and broader opposition to the government.
Reuters reported on October 15 that Prime Minister Edi Rama had rejected calls to resign as demonstrations intensified. The unrest has added to political tensions in the country.
Against this backdrop, Meçollari’s warning focuses on a central democratic question: the limits of the military’s role in domestic political unrest.
The armed forces and the police have distinct responsibilities, and any decision to deploy soldiers to restore public order must be assessed against the applicable constitutional and legal framework.
For now, Meçollari’s Facebook post expresses concern over the movement of military vehicles and warns the government against using the armed forces against protesters. Whether the vehicles’ movement was routine, operationally necessary or related to the demonstrations remains a separate question requiring confirmation from the relevant authorities.