Albania will allow construction of a resort planned by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on a remote coastal area to proceed despite protests dubbed the Flamingo Revolution and its potential environmental impact, Reuters reports.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of the Albanian capital Tirana and on the country’s southern coast, where the resort is planned, to demand the project be scrapped, saying it will harm protected wetlands home to flamingos, seals and sea turtles. The flamingo has become a symbol of the protests, with protesters carrying inflatable flamingos and banners reading Flamingo Revolution.
Meanwhile, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is unfazed, and Reuters said the developers will wow viewers with their plans in the coming months, and part of the resort will be open to the public before the end of the decade. The prime minister stressed that it is a beautiful project, it will be implemented, and Albania will proudly contribute to Europe. He added that he was elected to drive such things, and was not elected by people who have a different view of the country’s development.
On the evening of June 8,
thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tirana to call for the project to be stopped,
and also criticized Rama’s 13 years in power, saying he has failed to get rid of corruption and basic services are still inaccessible.
Rama came to power in 2013 and is pushing for the country to join the European Union. The Albanian prime minister is particularly proud of the country’s modernization. The resort project that Rama is championing is the brainchild of Kushner and Trump’s daughter Ivanka. Ivanka Trump reportedly fell in love with Albania a few years ago when she visited it by boat. Rama met the Americans at the time, and describes them as nice and humane. The total project is worth about five billion dollars, and the Albanian prime minister said that, like all big dreams, it too has faced resistance.
The protests began in late May, when the construction site was fenced off, and some protesters were injured in clashes with private security. The barbed wire fence has since been removed, and Rama has concluded that its installation was a shameful idea. Rama also stressed that all environmental conditions would be met, and that the European Commission had no reason to doubt the Albanians’ strong commitment to nature.
Read also: Trump’s son-in-law’s resort plans in Albania spark widespread protest
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