Nightly protests that began in late May against a multi-billion-euro coastal resort linked to Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners have stretched into a fourth month.
Demonstrators, many carrying pink flamingo cut-outs, now demand Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation, a technical government and a halt to construction in protected wetlands around Narta Lagoon and Sazan Island.
A viral video of security guards dragging a protester at the site ignited the unrest. Rallies have drawn tens of thousands in Tirana and the diaspora; some estimates put a mid-June gathering above 100,000. The European Parliament has called for a moratorium on building in protected areas. Rama has dismissed the unrest as hybrid warfare and insists the project will bring jobs. Courts this week released 14 protesters arrested after clashes, ruling the detentions illegal. Albania is an EU accession frontrunner; how it handles the protests is now a test of that claim.