People In Albania Are Holding Huge Protests Against Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump Building A Luxury Resort There
Since May, protestors have been using pink flamingos to signal that “Albania is not for sale,” to push back against the project.
Thousands of Albanian protestors are marching to stop their government from allowing Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump from building a massive luxury resort on protected wetlands and calling it a “Flamingo Revolution.”
This Flamingo Revolution or locally known as the Zvërnec protests are calling for protection over the Vjosa Narta lagoon and Sazan Island, which currently is the home for endangered Mediterranean animals and over 1% of the world’s flamingo population.
The Zvërnec area is located at Albania’s southern coast that is currently being bulldozed and cut off from public access by barbed wires and private security guards because of the project.
US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump said that she “discovered” the lands after hiking on a yacht trip with friends, and has spoken of her interest in turning it into a relaxing resort.
Trump’s Son-in-Law Jared Kushner made a deal to start the project in 2024, when the Albanian government took away the island’s civilian use status by overturning Law No. 21/2024, stripping protections from national parks and allowing it to be purchased by Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners.
The project now has strategic investor status which allows developers to bypass environmental laws and privatize the public land of Albanian families.
Since May, protestors have been using pink flamingos to signal that “Albania is not for sale,” to push back against the project.
Protestors are demanding that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his entire government resign immediately for prioritizing foreign billionaires over the national heritage of Albania. They are also calling for the immediate cancellation of the billion-dollar resort deal and the return of the property to local families.
Police have retaliated by shooting water canons at protestors and guards from Major Security were caught on video punching and dragging a resident across the beach in Zvërnec, while the State Police reportedly stood by and didn’t intervene.
Albanian authorities have now revoked the licenses of heads from private security, Major Security and Myrto Security, and also suspended Vlorë Police Director for releasing false information about the violence against protestors, claiming that the official reports initially given to the public about the incident were inaccurate.
Prime Minister Edi Rama is refusing to cancel the project because he believes attracting high-end American investors is the only way to modernize the economy saying that the project is only getting attention because of Trump haters.
"Foreigners are the first priority…because foreigners bring money to the country for Albanians,” Rama said.
Albania’s anti-corruption agency SPAK has officially frozen the bank accounts of developers as they investigate how the land was acquired in the first place as citizens demand exposing corruption from the government.
Prime Minister Edi Rama called the security guards' behavior "disgusting," but is refusing to cancel the deal anyways because he believes that bringing the American investors will help the Albanian economy and can look good for European Union membership.
The violence has also triggered a major fight with Greece because a Greek citizen was injured while protesting for their property rights, according to Greek state broadcaster ERT.
Greece's government expressed "deep concern" and told Albania it must take responsibility if they want to join the European Union, which Albania has been trying to join since 2014.
Protests are still ongoing as citizens fight to protect their environment from a complete collapse of the rule of law.
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Sofia Hou
Sofia Hou
Flavie Chen
