Protests erupt in Albania over resort project linked to Trump family
People in Albania have taken to streets to vent their anger at plans for a proposed billion-dollar luxury resort backed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in a protected coastal area.
Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day of protests in the Albanian capital of Tirana, which saw clashes between protesters and the police.
The €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) resort, which is being led by Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners, has raised concerns over environmental damage and corruption.
It includes the construction of hotels on the uninhabited island of Sazan and in the protected coastal area of Vjosa-Narta, a wetland home to flamingos, monk seals and sea turtles.
The protesters held signs reading, “Albania is not for sale” and "I don't want Albania like Dubai".
Carrying cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, the demonstrators also called on the government to block the resort project.
“From start to finish there has been a total lack of transparency,” said Aleksandr Trajce, executive director of the country’s leading conservation group, the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA).
“We have seen no public consultation or public documentation regarding permits, and so now what we are saying is, if they remove the bulldozers, remove the fence and restore the habitats to what they were, then we can start talking.”
Trump's daughter and Kushner's wife Ivanka Trump recently said she and her husband discovered the site by chance while swimming from a friend's boat and were "captivated" by what they found.
Kushner’s project in Albania was part of a wider investment that also included a former army headquarters in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Last year, however, he gave up the Serbia plan following protests against it.
The anger was in full display during a football match, where Albanian fans loudly booed and whistled through the Israeli "anthem" in Tirana on Wednesday, in a protest that continued throughout the event and triggered a brawl.
Home fans jeered Israeli players every time they touched the ball, and the tension boiled over in the 73rd minute when an Israeli player scored a goal.
Objects, including what appeared to be a shoe, were thrown from the stands toward the pitch.
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