Thousands of Albanians protest Trump-linked resort project

TIRANA: Thousands of protesters marched through Albania’s capital on Thursday, the latest in a series of demonstrations against a planned resort linked to the Trump family.

For over a week, daily demonstrations have been held in Tirana against the project connected to US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.

Protesters say the estimated US$4.6-billion luxury hotel development slated for construction in a protected area on the country’s Adriatic coast poses a risk to the environment and to a nearby lagoon critical to migrating birds.

Developers also hope to transform the uninhabited island of Sazan — once a secret communist military base — into a glitzy tourist destination.

On Thursday evening, as in previous rallies, the crowd marched to the government headquarters on Tirana’s main boulevard.

Above the crowd, protesters held signs reading: “Albania is not for sale” and calling for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.

“We don’t want this type of investment because it could damage our environment and change this place forever,” student Teftalia Papa told AFP from the packed boulevard.

Protester Fadel Dia, who runs an IT firm, echoed her view.

“The project in Zvernec will destroy our nature, it will be built on a protected land, on a nature reserve, so this will detract from our country as a tourism destination,” said the young man draped in a crimson and black Albanian flag.

‘Fed up’

Unrest first broke out during a small protest in Zvernec in late May, after workers installed barbed wire to cordon off part of the nature reserve earmarked for the project.

Videos of bulldozers on the beach and violent confrontations with private security spread quickly online, drawing public outcry.

As protesters continue to gather in large numbers, many have vented frustration at perceived corruption in the Balkan nation and demanded Rama step down after nearly 13 years in power.

“People are fed up,” rally attendee and university lecturer Ervin Goci said.

The atmosphere reminded him of the 1990s, when Albania’s communist government fell, he said.

“Get rid of all this political class and start a new Albania.”

Concerns over the project’s environmental impact have already triggered warnings from Brussels that it could slow Albania’s path to the EU — one of Rama’s key political goals.

The prime minister has repeatedly played down the protesters’ concerns, insisting the project has not been approved and there was “no reason to worry”.