- Albanians protest Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's island resort development.
- Protests aimed at environmental protections, but morphed into Flamingo Revolution, an anti-corruption protest that has lasted over a month.
- The EU is putting increased pressure on Albania and its prime minister to resolve situation.
For more than a month, Albanians have flocked to the streets en masse to protest the development of a $5 billion resort on a small island off the country’s coast.
The island being developed is home to the Vjosa-Narta wetland ecosystem, which is inhabited by monk seals, sea turtles, greater flamingos and many other species. The protests are being called the Flamingo Revolution after the island’s native bird species.
Last month, Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, spoke on a podcast and announced plans that she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have to develop the small island and some of the Albanian coastline.
On the podcast, she said, “I’m working on an incredible project with my husband. … It’s an unbelievable, beautiful 1,400-hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean.”
After telling the story of how she and her husband found the island, Trump said, “Over the course of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realize its potential and transform it.”
The clip of her announcement, along with clips of a protester being taken away by private security, was widely circulated, sparking backlash against the project.
Politico reported that the EU has been putting increased pressure on Albania and Prime Minister Edi Rama to resolve the situation and suspend construction on the island.
What the Trump/Kushner resort entails
In 2024, Albania rescinded the island’s protected status and allowed for Kushner and Trump to acquire rights to develop the land. Some of the land on the coast was claimed to have been unjustly seized from private owners.
The billion-dollar project centers around Sazan Island, which was previously a communist-era military base. The island is located in Albania’s Karaburun-Sazan Marine National Park and was barred from construction projects.
Kushner, in March 2024, posted renderings on his social media of what the island resort could look like.
Kushner has faced criticism for some of his private ventures. Countries that Kushner works with in his government roles have contributed money into the project through sovereign wealth funds, The New York Times reported.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is facing increased pushback from protesters, who claim he bypassed environmental laws to permit the renovations.
Speaking at a Socialist Party’s parliamentary group meeting on June 20, Rama said, “The world did not wake up because of the fate of Narta, but because of the name of Jared Kushner.”
The Associated Press reported in 2015 that Albania was working to make the island a tourist hot spot.
Demands of the Flamingo Revolution
The protests were originally driven by environmental concerns but have developed into a larger anti-corruption protest against Albania’s government.
The organizers of the Flamingo Revolution released five demands for the Albanian government:
- The nonnegotiable resignation of Rama and the entire government cabinet.
- The creation of a transitional technical government, which will be nonpartisan and will have a clear 12-month mandate.
- The drafting of a new constitution that guarantees full equality of citizens before the law, which will be approved by popular referendum.
- Not giving up on the initial economic and environmental demands.
- A new social contract between citizens and the state, which will be drafted through consultations with intellectuals, technical experts and nonpartisan citizens proposed directly from the protest square.
Among their environmental demands, the movement seeks to undo reforms to certain laws in recent years that deal with cultural heritage and protected areas. Reversing the changes would inhibit further construction on the previously protected land.
Last week, the European Parliament called for an immediate moratorium on construction of the resort. Before that, the European Commission warned Albania that the country’s handling of the situation could affect its accession to the EU.