TIRANA, Albania — Tens of thousands of people 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. The protests have 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,” environmental activist Melitjan Nezaj said. “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 Albanians 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, a member of parliament 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 — Albania’s only island — which is located a roughly 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 Lt. Cmdr. Artur Meçollari told MS NOW. “We have one island and we’re treating it like we have 6,000.”
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Critics also question whether the island is suitable for large-scale tourism development. Meçollari says winds regularly reach 60 to 90 kph, with gusts exceeding 100 kph. He also estimates that 100 to 120 tons of wartime ammunition may still remain underwater around the island, while parts of the land have yet to be fully cleared of unexploded ordnance.
A promotional video for the development, featuring Ivanka Trump praising the project and describing the island’s natural beauty, has angered many Albanians, who felt outsiders were laying claim to a place they view as part of their national heritage.
“It wasn’t so nice having somebody talk about our own land as if it had just been discovered,” Ujka said. “That was one of the things that really triggered people.”
Protesters now hope sustained pressure will eventually force Rama from office.
But the prime minister has shown no signs of backing down. Rama has defended the project, arguing that it will inject billions of dollars into one of Europe’s poorest countries, creating jobs and transforming the country into a premier Mediterranean tourism destination.
“I think he’s making business for his wallet,” protester Xhuljana Çallikup said of Rama. “I don’t think he cares about us at all, or about our economy, or what this will bring to Albania. I think he’s thinking only about himself.”
Ines de La Cuetara is a London-based reporter for MS NOW.