Albania's 'Flamingo Revolution' demands PM Rama resign over Kushner-linked luxury resort in protected lagoon

Origins of the resort dispute

In February 2024, Albania's parliament passed a law allowing the construction of luxury hotels in protected areas, paving the way for a proposal unveiled later that year by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The planned resort would span the uninhabited Sazan Island and the Narta Lagoon, a wetland refuge for over 200 bird species including flamingos and the endangered Dalmatian pelican. Opposition remained muted until late May 2026, when barbed wire suddenly appeared on beaches in Zvërnec, the coastal site roughly 150 kilometres southwest of Tirana. The physical barrier, together with longstanding disputes over property title acquisitions and a complete lack of environmental impact studies, triggered immediate public outrage.

“It is a project that has no legal basis and has not been supported by any study on the damage it would cause to the environment and nature.”

The flamingo becomes a symbol

Artists in Tirana began producing cardboard cutouts of flamingos, handing them out at nightly rallies and organising drawing activities for children. Fatma Paja, a 28‑year‑old who runs a creative studio with her sisters, described the flamingo as a unifying emblem for a movement that started as a strictly environmental campaign.

“Albania is not for sale!”

she chanted through a loudspeaker, a slogan echoed on protest signs. The images spread quickly on social media, and the demonstrations soon earned the nickname "Flamingo Revolution" in both domestic and international press.

From environmental protest to national movement

Within weeks, the nightly gatherings in central Tirana drew several thousand participants and broadened far beyond conservation. Protesters now voice anger over corruption, rising living costs, failing healthcare, low pensions, and a lack of prospects for young Albanians. Hermes Ruci, 20, cited a "total lack of transparency" as his reason for joining, while lawyer Irena Dule attributed the fury to "the lack of transparency, the lack of accountability, and the arrogance." Demonstrators carry Albanian flags alongside the flamingo figures, and many travel from abroad to attend.

“Our demands are very clear. The first is the resignation of the prime minister and his government.”

The movement remains unaffiliated with any political party, a fact that organisers say has built broad trust.

Government response and legal pressure

Prime Minister Edi Rama, in power since 2013, attempted a televised address to calm the protests but only deepened discontent when he grew visibly irritated with a reporter's questions. Since early June, authorities have opened investigations into at least 100 demonstrators for alleged public order violations and participation in illegal assemblies, according to sources close to the movement. Protesters, meanwhile, continue to block the boulevard outside Rama's office each evening, calling for his resignation and even imprisonment.

International spotlight

The involvement of senior Trump family members has drawn outsized global attention to a local dispute. Environmental activists like Anisa Kulla warn that "under the guise of strategic investments, our nature is being sold to companies we don't even know," while tour guide Arben Kola, one of the first to join the protests, highlights the threat to the very landscapes his clients visit. With a month of unbroken rallies, the Flamingo Revolution has become Albania's largest sustained protest movement in years, testing both the government and the rule of law in a country still grappling with post‑communist property conflicts.