Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tirana on Saturday to protest against a planned luxury resort project in Zvernec linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Footage filmed on Saturday shows participants chanting and carrying banners with messages such as ‘Albania is not for sale,’ ‘Sazan not for sale’, as well as flamingo signs and cut-outs.
“Let them look carefully at Albania today and understand that this is not just a group of young people, nor simply citizens who have had enough. This is Albania preparing to deliver the final blow,” said one of the protesters.
Citizens from across Albania including large numbers of young people, assembled in the capital to voice their opposition to corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and his government.
“Thirty-six years after communism, denial of rights, mockery of our freedoms, lies told straight to our faces, and yet look at how dignified the anger of the Albanian people still is,” said another protester.
Demonstrators demand the cancellation of the Zvernec resort project, the repeal of laws related to strategic investments and protected areas, and the withdrawal of the so-called ‘Mountain Package’, an initiative encouraging individuals to return home and invest in rural areas and the reversal of amendments affecting Albania’s cultural heritage legislation.
Rama has defended the project on social media, presenting it as part of Albania’s broader development vision and criticised protests.
In 2024, Kushner, a real estate investor and Trump administration envoy to Ukraine and Gaza, unveiled plans for his firm, Affinity Partners, to build a large luxury resort on Sazan Island in southern Albania and the nearby Zvernec coast, potentially including up to 10,000 hotel rooms.
According to media reports, the proposed project is located within a formerly protected ecosystem that hosts flamingos, over 200 migratory bird species, Mediterranean monk seals and nesting sea turtles.
Protest groups condemned the plan, accusing the government of selling off national assets and endangering the environment. Rama argued it would create local jobs and help transform Albania into a major tourist destination.
Source: Viory
