TIRANA, Albania — Tens of thousands took to the streets again Thursday for the 12th consecutive day of protests in a movement initially sparked by a controversial luxury resort project linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, that has since evolved into a broader public outcry against corruption and the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
“I really think we need a big change right now because our country doesn’t feel like it’s protecting us or serving its own people,” protester Estela Ujka told MS NOW.
The demonstrations began over plans to develop on Albania’s protected Vjosa-Narta lagoon and the nearby island of Sazan, a pristine former military base off the country’s southern coast. Environmental activists say the projects threaten sensitive ecosystems, including one of the Mediterranean’s largest flamingo habitats. As a result, the protests have been dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution.”
“The problem is that these kinds of projects are somehow welcomed by our government, which is basically paid by us to protect these areas,” said environmental activist Melitjan Nezaj. “These are protected natural areas, and they should remain that way.”
But demonstrators told MS NOW that the protest movement has broadened to include wider environmental concerns; they view the Kushner-linked development as another example of corruption in a country long-plagued by graft allegations. Some accuse Rama of attempting to strengthen ties with the Trump administration through the high-profile investment.
“This is an unprecedented event in Albanian history,” said Redi Muçi, an MP from the opposition Movement Together party. “So many young people and members of the middle class have come out to protest — not just because of an environmental catastrophe or because land is being taken away from local communities, but because of corruption.”
Muçi said the international attention generated by Kushner’s involvement helped amplify public anger but was not the root cause of the movement.
“It is only the last drop that made the glass overflow. These frustrations have been building for a very long time,” he said. “What makes this movement so significant is that it wasn’t organized in advance. It emerged spontaneously. People of different ideologies and backgrounds have come together because they feel something is fundamentally wrong.”
MS NOW traveled to Sazan Island — Albania’s only island — located roughly a half-hour boat ride from the mainland. One of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean, it remains largely untouched, with crystal-clear waters, dense vegetation and scattered concrete bunkers left behind from its decades as a restricted military zone.
“Greeks have 6,000 islands and treat them like they have one,” former Albanian Navy Lieutenant Commander Artur Meçollari told MS NOW. “We have one island and we’re treating it like we have 6,000.”
