Thousands of citizens took to the streets for the 14th consecutive day in Tirana, Albania’s capital, on Saturday evening, protesting against a luxury tourism project worth around 4.6 billion dollars (nearly 4 billion euros) that’s planned in a protected coastal area on the Adriatic.
The project, which is linked to an investment vehicle of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US president Donald Trump, involves developing a hotel complex on an abandoned island and the adjacent shoreline, an area of particular ecological importance due to its nearby lagoon and migratory birds, including flamingos.
The now nightly demonstrations have seen protesters gather in the centre of Tirana, blowing whistles and holding cardboard flamingo replicas as they denounce the project for threatening the natural environment and the area’s protected species.
The government maintains that the investment will transform the country’s tourism map and strengthen its path towards the European Union, but environmental organisations and opposition figures warn of serious risks.
Calls to halt the development project have been gradually replaced by overtly political demands, centred on calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation and early elections.
Rama has defended the project, insisting he has no intention of backing down.
Speaking in a recent interview, the long-time socialist prime minister vowed not to “step back” from the development and defended his administration’s environmental record, insisting that the protests were being encouraged by malicious cyber activists overseas.
Despite Rama’s defence, the protests have gathered pace, with supporters in Albanian communities in neighbouring Greece and other European countries also holding rallies.
Members of Albania’s Greek minority are voicing objections over land ownership issues in areas linked to the broader tourism developments, arguing that court cases are still pending over properties that have been transferred to the Albanian state under past expropriations or disputed transactions.