Albania's 'Flamingo Revolution' enters 13th day as anti Kushner protest grows

The Albanian protests against Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner's luxury resort project have reached their 13th consecutive day. The protestors rallied under the slogan “Albania is not for sale,” demonstrating against Edi Rama's government, demanding his resignation and cancellation of the Kushner's luxury. The massively decentralised and grassroots protests continue unabated in the Albanian capital of Tirana and along the Adriatic coast.

“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.”

Environmental activists say that the project threatens the Vjosa-Narta lagoon and the nearby island of Sazan, a sensitive ecosystem which is one of the Mediterranean’s largest flamingo habitats. It is being dubbed as the “Flamingo Revolution” of Albania, with protesters carrying flamingo icons and flags of late Che Guevara to symbolise the struggle against corporate imperialism. Sazan is Albania's only island and has been largely left untouched till now due to being a restricted military zone.

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Demonstrators are calling for the immediate repeal of Law No. 21/2024, passed by parliament in early 2024, which weakened protections to fast-track five-star developments in wildlife reserves. They also accuse the government of land grabbing, ignoring local property ownership and approving non-transparent privatisation in the coastal area of Zvernec. What began as an eco protest has quickly turned into a political crisis in Albania.

Redi Muci, a Member of Parliament from the Albanian opposition Movement Together Party, said that this is an unprecedented event in Albanian history. “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.” He said that Kushner's linked luxury project was “the last drop that made the glass overflow”, as frustration had been building for years.

Despite the corruption probe into the land transfer, Prime Minister Edi Rama has remained defiant, stating that the project will proceed because of its economic benefits. He termed the Flamingo revolution as Iranian hybrid warfare. While the European Commission has warned that the ongoing crisis and environmental backtracking could cost Albania its bid of European Union.