This was rubbished by Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, on Monday. “Albanian authorities, instead of responding to the legitimate and logical demands of their people, prefer to try to close the matter with these laughable accusations against Iran. Certainly, the Albanian people are too discerning to accept such claims.”
The protest movement, dubbed the ‘flamingo revolution‘ due to the prevalence of the bird at the proposed development site, broke out on April 30 after a section of coastline in Zvernec, near the southern city of Vlora, was fenced off and guarded by private security. The land, once protected until controversial changes to the law in 2024, and nearby Sazan Island are part of a project that will be developed by Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners and other investors into a luxury tourist resort.
Citizens object to land being sold or given to foreign investors without consultation or an environmental impact assessment. The country’s corruption prosecutors have also opened an investigation into the status and ownership of the land.
Baghaei made reference to the nickname, joking: “Perhaps they will say the flamingos were likely Iranian security agents,” before suggesting, without evidence, that the accusation of Iranian involvement was cast to curry favor with Israel, with which Iran is at war.
Meanwhile, the European Commission warned Albania to refrain from actions that would undermine its EU accession path, particularly regarding Chapter 27 on the environment and climate change. It also called for the country to repeal changes to the law on protected areas and strategic investments.
Demonstrations, meanwhile, have continued every night on Tirana’s main boulevard and in multiple other Albanian cities. Citizens are demanding that the project be annulled, that several laws related to investment and development be repealed or amended, and that Rama resign.
Despite the pressure, Rama seems unperturbed. On Monday, he posted a selection of his favorite signs from the protests, followed by a repost of an AI-generated video of himself in a leather mini skirt and a bra top, pretending to be an influencer at the protests.
“Who has made this, good job” he said in the caption, accompanied by laughing emojis.