“Flamingo revolution” in Albania. Donald Trump's son-in-law's megaproject is at risk
On Wednesday, thousands of protesters gathered on the main boulevard in Tirana to take part in a large demonstration against this investment for the fourth time in a row. The crowd waved Albanian flags, posters with witty slogans and large cardboard figures in the shape of flamingos attached to sticks.
“Albania is not for sale” – one of the banners said. “Where will they live now?” said another, accompanied by an image of a pink wading bird.
In 2024, Kushner—a developer, investor, and Trump administration negotiator on Gaza, Iran, and Ukraine—announced plans for his private equity firm [inwestowanie w spółki nienotowane na giełdzie w celu zwiększenia ich wartości i późniejszej sprzedaży z zyskiem]Affinity Partners, regarding the construction of a large luxury resort on the Albanian island of Sazan and the Zvernec coast near Vlorë, with the potential of up to 10,000 hotel rooms.
In January 2026, he visited this place with his wife, Ivanka Trump, and in April this year. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed to POLITICO that talks on the project are ongoing.
The planned investment is located in a once protected ecosystem that is now home to flamingos, over 200 species of migratory birds, Mediterranean seals and nesting sea turtles. However, controversial changes to Albania's 2024 Protected Areas Law have paved the way for tourism investments in some protected areas.
Rama told CNN International on Wednesday that the project does not exist yet and an environmental impact assessment is still underway. “The challenge is to prove that development and nature can not only coexist, but that nature and development need each other,” he added.
The controversy escalated in late May when developers fenced part of the area with barbed wire, sparking demonstrations, clashes with private security guards, several arrests and the imprisonment of a security guard accused of assaulting and unlawfully detaining a protester.
The protests spread to Tirana (the capital of Albania) and the flamingo became a symbol of the movement, also appearing in social media posts titled “flamingo revolution”.
— We are protesting because we are at risk of giving our land to people who are not interested in helping Albanians at all, but only in benefiting themselves, says Suzi, who works in the tourism sector, anonymously.
— This movement is unprecedented in Albania's post-communist history – says Gresa Hasa, an expert on Albania and a PhD student at the University of Graz in Austria. — Without the support of any political party, an independent grassroots movement is being created, fueled by civic mobilization. These are mainly young people, most of whom are under 30 years old.
Earlier this week, the country's anti-corruption prosecutor announced he was leading the charge investigation into the ownership and legal status of the land designated for this purpose and seizes the assets of persons associated with the project.
Jared Kushner, the White House and Affinity Partners did not respond to requests for comment.
Water cannons
On Wednesday evening, the atmosphere at the protest became tense when metal barricades that initially blocked the road near the prime minister's office were breached by protesters. Police used water cannons to push back the demonstrators.
Security measures were heightened as preparations were underway for a soccer match between Albania and Israel at the national stadium, just 300 meters from the protest site. [ostatecznie spotkanie zakończyło się porażką miejscowych 0:1].
Over the past week, scores of people have taken to social media to add their voices to the protests. At that time, some people spread disinformation online, falsely claiming that the land was sold to Israelsometimes citing Kushner's Jewish origins as evidence of a hidden political agenda. There was no clear support for such claims during the protest.
Hasa says that anti-Semitism is not a characteristic feature of the movement. “The vast majority of opposition concerns the project itself and the decision-making process associated with it,” he explains. — People don't care about Jared Kushner's religious or ethnic identity.
“One part of the protest is ecological, and the other is because people don't want their land taken away when they are not involved and will not benefit from it,” argues Stef, a German protester who has been living in Albania for four years.
On Wednesday, Rama said he was ready to talk to real protesterswho have ecological concerns, and not with those who want to “promote anti-development attitudes”, but he has repeatedly said that the proposed investment will be implemented.
Protests organized by the Albanian diaspora are planned for Sunday in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, as well as in Stockholm, Berlin, Munich, Toronto, Milan, Florence, New York, Bologna and Skopje over the next five days.
