Leading US publication WIRED has published an article about the protests that have been taking place in Tirana for 48 days, with citizens demanding the government’s removal and Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.
According to the US outlet, the rallies in Albania have now reached their sixth week and have also secured the support of pop star Dua Lipa, whose parents are Kosovo Albanians.
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In June, WIRED reported on how what began as a “flamingo revolution” to protect coastal wildlife from the construction of a $1.4 billion resort on the island of Sazan turned into a wave of mass protests against the Albanian government.
On May 23, news was published of a proposed project in the Zvërnec area, approximately 14 kilometres from Sazan Island, linked to Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners. The announcement sparked strong opposition because of the Vjosa-Nartë ecosystem, considered one of Europe’s last wild natural coastal systems. Clashes between local residents and security workers at the project site brought into the national spotlight an initiative that, according to critics, had previously been handled with limited transparency.
The protests then quickly spread to the capital, where demonstrators demanded the prime minister’s resignation and the repeal of legislation which, according to many citizens, allows investments to proceed without the necessary oversight. Flamingos, the birds that inhabit the area where construction is planned, became the emblem of opposition to what protesters describe as the privatisation of coastal land and public natural resources, WIRED writes.
