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.
Demonstrations have been held daily in Tirana for more than a week against projects related to US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Protesters say a luxury hotel development expected to cost $4.6 billion in a protected area on the country’s Adriatic coast poses a threat to the environment and a nearby lagoon vital to migratory birds.
Developers also hope to transform the uninhabited island of Sazan, once a secret communist military base, into a glitzy tourist attraction.
On Thursday night, like previous rallies, crowds marched to the government headquarters on Tirana’s main avenue.
Above the crowd, protesters held signs that read: “Albania is not for sale” and called on Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.
“We don’t want this type of investment because it could damage our environment and change the place forever,” student Teftalia Papa told AFP on the crowded boulevard.
Fadel Dia, a protester who runs an IT company, echoed her sentiments.
“The project in Zvernec will destroy our nature, it will be built on protected land, a nature reserve, so it will damage our country’s status as a tourist destination,” said the young man draped in a crimson and black Albanian flag.
– ‘fed up’ –
Unrest first broke out at a small protest in Zvernec in late May, when workers installed barbed wire to block off parts of a nature reserve designated for the project.
Videos of bulldozers on the beach and violent clashes with private security quickly spread online, sparking a public outcry.
As large crowds of protesters continued to gather, many expressed dissatisfaction with corruption in the Balkan country and called for Rama to step down after nearly 13 years in power.
“People are tired of it,” said rally attendee and university lecturer Irving Goetsch.
He said the atmosphere reminded him of the 1990s, when Albania’s communist government collapsed.
“Get rid of all these political classes and build a new Albania.”
Concerns about the environmental impact of the project have prompted warnings from Brussels that the project could slow down Albania’s bid to join the European Union, one of Rama’s main political goals.
The prime minister has repeatedly played down protesters’ concerns, insisting the project has not yet been approved and there is “no reason to worry”.
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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
