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Demonstrators in Tirana and Zvërnec opposed a billion-dollar resort development on Sazan Island and nearby protected land. The project involves investors including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
japantoday.comDemonstrators rallied against a billion-dollar resort development in Albania linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for a seventh consecutive day on Saturday. Activists have dubbed the protests the "Flamingo Revolution" and adopted the pink flamingo as a symbol. Protesters carried pink flamingo cutouts during a demonstration in Tirana on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Jared Kushner is among a group of investors planning to transform Sazan Island, once a secret communist military base off Albania's Adriatic coast, into a luxury tourist destination. Hotels are also planned by the investors in surrounding areas in the Vjosa-Narta protected zone.
Ivanka Trump referenced her and her husband's plans for the luxury resort while speaking to the "Founders" podcast last month.
"I'm working on an incredible project with my husband in the Mediterranean," she said. She added that she and Kushner had "discovered" the island while sailing with friends. "We swam to the island, we went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated," she said.
Anger escalated sharply last month when excavators and bulldozers moved onto the site. Footage of an activist being dragged away from the development went viral. Thousands have taken to the streets in Tirana every night since the incident.
"There was no public consultation whatsoever," Aleksandr Trajce, executive director of the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania, told CBS News on Friday. "There was nobody who was informed. Just one day, we saw bulldozers entering outside, opening up roads, cutting trees, destroying the dunes, and so on.
He added that the government declared there is a development permit, but nobody has seen it and it has not been made public. Rama's socialist administration has been embroiled in a corruption scandal since charges were filed late last year against Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, a close ally of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Albania's parliament, led by a socialist majority, has blocked the arrest of Balluku.
SPAK, Albania's anti-corruption prosecution office, opened an investigation into the project earlier this week, according to local media reporting. Edi Rama, who has led the country since 2013, insisted the project will go ahead despite rising public pressure.
"It is very important that we remain welcoming, that we remain fair, and that under no circumstances do we receive the stigma of being a country where investors are met with hostility," Rama said in a statement.
CBS News travelled with protesters on Saturday to the Zvërnec area on Albania's southern coast. There was little trace of bulldozers or building equipment left in the area beyond tire tracks along the beach on June 6, 2026. Protesters shouted anti-government slogans at Dalani Beach in Zvernec on the same day.
A local environmental officer for the PPNEA told CBS News that the group had mapped the destruction of at least one sea turtle nest due to the bulldozers. A representative for Sazan Real Estate Development LLC stated the company was excited about creating a world-class destination and making one of the largest private investments in the region's history.
Asher Abehsera, CEO of Sazan Real Estate Development LLC, said on Friday: "Our focus remains on responsible stewardship, environmental enhancement, job creation, and creating long-term value for local communities.
Albania has one of the lowest rates of GDP per capita in Europe. A young woman told CBS News in Tirana on Friday evening that the project site is part of UNESCO and she does not want the flamingos and animals destroyed.
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