Albania protests sparked by Jared Kushner-backed luxury resort plans snowball into anti-corruption movement
Tens of thousands have joined daily rallies as critics accuse Prime Minister Edi Rama of favoring foreign investors over protected coastal habitats.
- Thousands of demonstrators have marched in Tirana for 21 consecutive days, demanding the resignation of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama while protesting a luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
- Anger stems from plans to build the resort in the ecologically sensitive Narta Lagoon, with activists criticizing the government for a lack of transparency regarding the project's impact on protected bird habitats like flamingos.
- Prime Minister Rama defends the $4 billion investment as a job creator, though protesters like Ina Shkurti argue the government prioritizes "oligarch investors," telling The Guardian, "This government no longer represents us."
- Demonstrations have evolved into a wider anti-government movement calling for early elections, while the European Parliament recently urged Albania to halt construction in protected areas, warning that environmental concerns could complicate the country's 2030 EU membership bid.
- While Rama dismisses the protests as "hysteria" and defends the project's environmental standards, Sazan Real Estate Development LLC told CBS News the development's "future will ultimately be determined by Albania and the Albanian people.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Every evening, 7:00 PM, you find protesters in the same square, with the same symbols and the same demands. What is keeping the protest alive in Albania? The resistance of more than 20 days has transformed the "flamingo revolution" into one of the largest civic movements since the fall of the communist system in Albania. Discontents carried over for years are being articulated publicly, refusing to be represented by traditional politics. Three w…
Albanians protest against Trump family-linked resort development
Tirana (Albania): A coastal development project in Albania linked to Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is facing growing opposition from environmental advocates and has triggered daily protests in the capital, Tirana. To the deafening sound of drums, horns and whistles, thousands of demonstrators late Saturday chanted “Rama Leave!” — referring to longtime Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama. A view of the Narta kagoon area, western Albania …
The planned investments in the nature reserve on the Albanian Riviera have been made possible by dubious legislative changes
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