Thousands of people rallied in Albania’s capital and hundreds at a protected nature reserve on the country’s coast on Saturday to protest plans by a company with ties to the Trump family to build a luxury beach resort.
In response to calls from environmental groups, activists and local residents from across the country flocked to the Vjosa-Nalta lagoon at noon, located about 150 kilometers southwest of the capital Tirana.
It is the latest in a series of protests against a project costing some 4 billion euros and linked to US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
“The entire sea is a protected area. Destroying it would be fatal for the area’s biodiversity,” one protester, finance worker Emiljona Puja, told AFP.
Protesters gathered on the beach facing azure waters, some waving red Albanian flags and others holding inflatable flamingos, the movement’s symbol, while chanting: “Cancel the project!”
Later, AFP reporters saw crowds holding the largest demonstration yet against the project in central Tirana, marching to the government headquarters holding placards that read “Ivanka Goes Home” and “Albania is not for sale.”
Riots broke out in the reserve during the first protests in late May over site preparations to install barbed wire to cordon off the area. The barbed wire fence has now been removed.
People rushed there after seeing videos on social media of construction and bulldozing on the beach. The machines weren’t there on Saturday either.
AFP reporters observed that the concrete foundations of the above-ground fence had also been removed.
– Birds are threatened –
Thousands of protesters have gathered in Tirana every night for nearly a week to denounce what they see as plans to destroy the entire area of ​​the Vjosa-Nalta nature reserve and transform it into a luxury tourist destination.
Under the plan, developers also hope to transform the uninhabited island of Sazan, once a secret communist military base, into a glitzy tourist attraction.
The lagoons on the southern Adriatic coast are home to many migratory birds, including flamingos.
Denisa Kasa of the Albanian Environmental Protection Association said: “It is not only a matter of transparency in the entire process, but everything is happening with a complete disregard for the environmental importance of the area.”
“The area is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean,” Casa added.
Prime Minister Edi Rama played down the protests on Friday, insisting there was “no reason to worry” and adding that the project had not yet been approved.
He insisted that “top” world experts were involved in the program and the aim was to “create something unique”.
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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
