©picture alliance / Anadolu | Olsi Shehu
Protests against the Trump family's plans have been going on for days in Albania. The protest is known as the "flamingo revolution" and does not seem to be subsiding.
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband, will build a luxury resort on an uninhabited Albanian island. Trump's son-in-law wants to build a vacation resort there, on a nature reserve. The entire project will cost about $6 billion (5.16 billion euros). Everything seems to be in place, only a lot of Albanians are not satisfied with Trump's son-in-law's plane and have taken to the streets to protesting against the arrival of the luxury resort off the Albanian coast.
Just last weekend, the protesters marched en masse through the center of the capital Tirana and gathered in front of the government building. There, they demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, since, according to the activists, Rama prioritizes foreign investors over the country's interests.
The son-in-law of the American president wants to turn an uninhabited Albanian island into a luxury resort with as many as 10,000 hotel rooms. However, many protesters fear irreversible damage to a nature reserve that includes flamingos. In turn, the Albanian government emphasizes the opportunities that the Trump family's project creates for the tourism industry.
Biotope of vulnerable species
A large construction project on the Albanian island of Sazan and the coastal area opposite is leading to fierce protests. In particular, the plan for the protected nature reserve on the opposite side of the island is encountering a lot of resistance, because vulnerable species such as the Mediterranean monk seal and the flamingo live there.
The lagoon is an important habitat for migratory birds, including flamingos. In fact, according to environmental organization PPNEA, it is one of the most important biodiversity zones in the Mediterranean.
Unrest increased after the area was cordoned off with fences and barbed wire. Local residents rebelled, and a video showing a protester being dragged away by security guards caused protests to break out in the capital, Tirana, as well. Environmental organizations complained of a total lack of transparency and felt that nature and the population had not been taken into account.
The project is being developed by Jared Kushner's company, which happens to be Donald Trump's son-in-law. He and his partners want to turn Sazan into a luxury resort with about 10,000 hotel rooms. Critics say this does not fit with the character of the area, which so far has remained largely untouched and officially protected. Sazan is strategically located near the city of Vlorë and was long off-limits to visitors, although tourists can now go there.
Corruption?
The controversy also goes beyond conservation, however. Indeed, many protesters suspect that corruption may also be involved, as a law was amended in 2024 allowing building in protected areas. In the same year, this controversial construction project was then announced. Albania's anti-corruption agency SPAK is now investigating both that change in the law and the source of the investments to purchase the area.
Prime Minister sees opportunities in luxury tourism
Prime Minister Edi Rama defends the plan and sees it instead as an opportunity to put Albania on the map as a tourist destination. According to him, nature and development need not be mutually exclusive. He emphasizes that his country needs foreign investment and that luxury tourism can play an important role in this.
Protest continues
Meanwhile, protests continue. Demonstrators are demanding protection of the area, an end to the project and, in some cases, even the resignation of the prime minister. Following harsh confrontations between security guards and activists, arrests have already been made and licenses of security companies have been revoked. The debate over Sazan has thus grown into a broader discussion about nature, power, transparency and the price of tourist development in Albania.
©picture alliance / Anadolu | Olsi Shehu