Albania Approves $1.6 Billion Coastal Resort on Former Military Base
Demonstrations entered a fourth day against a luxury resort project on the island of Sazan and nearby wetlands. Viral videos circulating online misrepresent earlier events as current protests.
citizen.co.zaThe Albanian government has approved special investor status for a $1.6 billion luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner that includes hotels on the former communist-era military base on the island of Sazan and in an adjacent coastal wetland area. Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the project will proceed and described it as transformational for Albania’s tourism sector.
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Demonstrations against the project entered their fourth consecutive day on Thursday. Protesters have adopted the flamingo as a symbol, arguing that construction on the previously used military site and in the wetland reserve would cause permanent damage to the ecosystem that hosts flamingos, seals and sea turtles. No arrests or injuries have been reported during the current demonstrations.
A prosecutors office told AFP that an investigation into the granting of special investor status had been opened, though no further details were released. Protesters maintain that the special investor status amounts to selling public land.
Ivanka Trump said in a podcast interview this week that she and Kushner discovered the location while traveling by boat and were captivated by the site.
Multiple videos shared online purport to show current protests but depict unrelated incidents. One clip of a house fire, viewed more than one million times, was presented as the burning of the prime minister’s residence during recent demonstrations.
Text visible in the video identifies the structure as the former villa of Enver Hoxha. The footage actually dates to February, when protesters threw Molotov cocktails at the building during an earlier anti-government action. A second video claimed to show thousands marching against the resort project.
