Thousands protest in Tirana for 12th day against Jared Kushner luxury resort, demand PM Edi Rama resign

The project and its backers

Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump are pursuing a luxury resort development along Albania’s southern Adriatic coast, including a complex on the uninhabited island of Sazan and parts of the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape near Zvernec. The couple have described the vision as an eco-resort designed by “some of the greatest living architects,” and Ivanka Trump recently spoke of “five miles of waterfront” with “beautiful white sand beaches.” Cost estimates in reports range from €4 billion to $4.6 billion. No formal planning permission or environmental impact assessment has been submitted, and no public consultation has taken place.

Widespread protests

Every evening for nearly two weeks, thousands of Albanians have gathered in Tirana’s Skanderbeg Square and marched to the prime minister’s office, chanting “Albania is not for sale” and demanding Edi Rama’s resignation. Many carry pink flamingo models, a symbol of the birds whose habitat is at stake. Thursday’s rally marked the 12th consecutive day of protests, described by organisers as the largest yet.

The problem is not that they are trying to build a resort, the problem is the lack of transparency and accountability towards the population.

Demonstrations have also erupted in other cities and among the Albanian diaspora.

Prime minister’s response

Edi Rama, who has led Albania for 13 years, insists the investment is a $4 billion opportunity that will boost tourism and help the country’s EU accession bid. He told supporters at a Socialist Party anniversary rally that “Albania has never been for sale” and characterised the protests as part of a “political and ideological war” instigated from abroad.

There is nothing to fear, since there is no project.

He has also dismissed concerns as disinformation and vowed that the investment would proceed responsibly.

Environmental alarm

The proposed site sits inside a protected area that hosts roughly 12% of Albania’s wintering waterbirds, including flamingos, and is home to loggerhead sea turtles, Eurasian otters and endemic amphibians. Data shared with The Guardian shows 279 out of 2,529 species in the delta are internationally threatened. Heavy machinery and security fencing entered the Pishë Poro-Nartë protected zone in late May, which conservationists say was done without authorisation.

If you want to see the Mediterranean as it used to be, before it was wrecked by tourism, this is one of the last spots where you would find it.

Corruption and accountability

The unrest has also turned into a broader indictment of Rama’s government over endemic corruption and the lack of basic services. The anti-corruption agency SPAK has confirmed it is investigating aspects of the project, and EU officials in Brussels have warned that environmental damage could jeopardise Albania’s EU candidacy. Many protesters, such as Fadel Dia, say the resort “will destroy our nature” and threaten the very attraction that could draw tourists. The nightly marches have united people across political lines, with demonstrators asserting that the country’s natural patrimony is not a commodity for foreign billionaires.