Swiss daily focuses on protests in Tirana: Rama’s resignation demanded

The protests that have been taking place in Tirana for 31 days have now also drawn the attention of foreign media. The Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung has devoted an extensive analysis to the protest movement in Albania, examining it through five questions and answers on the causes of the opposition, the controversial project, and the government’s stance.

According to the outlet, for weeks thousands of citizens have taken to the capital’s streets every evening to protest against a luxury project, while the pink foam flamingos carried during the marches have become the movement’s identifying symbol, now known as the “Flamingo Revolution.”

The first question raised in the analysis is why people are protesting in Tirana. For weeks, every evening, thousands of people have gathered in the Albanian capital to march against a luxury construction project involving a company owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.

These demonstrations have drawn international attention, also because of the flamingo figures the protesters hold aloft, which have given this new movement the name “Flamingo Revolution.” The protests have continued for weeks and, although the participants do not represent any specific party, almost all of them are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

As for the project expected to be built, it consists of two parts: a small resort on Sazan Island, an uninhabited former military base dating back to the communist period, as well as a construction development in a coastal area near the Narta Lagoon.

This area is currently under natural protection and is home to wetland species, including flamingos. The project envisions the construction of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina for yachts.

The analysis also mentions Fatma Paja, who works by hand producing foam flamingos used in the protests against the coastal development project in western Albania. According to environmentalists, the project has sparked outrage because it would irreversibly damage previously untouched nature and a unique habitat.

The protesters are calling for the suspension of the project, underscoring the lack of transparency and the fact that environmental standards have not been respected in many similar initiatives.

In the section dealing with who is behind the “Flamingo Revolution,” the Swiss media outlet focuses on figures such as artist Fatma Paja. She lives in Tirana and runs a creative studio together with her two sisters.

The 28-year-old, along with other artists, created the cut-out foam flamingos that have now become an inseparable part of the evening gatherings. “I am against an elitist project that blocks and destroys a fully protected area,” she says.

“It has no legal basis and is not supported by any study on the damage it will cause to the environment and nature.” According to her, art has long been used as a means “to express injustices and dissatisfaction connected to people’s daily lives in Albania,” Paja told the Associated Press (AP) news agency as she painted a flamingo pink for the evening demonstration.

During the marches, she also leads chants through a megaphone such as: “Albania is not for sale!” and “Hands off Narta!” “This protest has motivated people to raise their voices,” she says.

Among the first participants in this movement was Arben Kola. The 46-year-old has worked for more than ten years as a tour guide, accompanying visitors to historical sites and natural areas across Albania, including the area where the construction is planned.

For Kola, the advancement of this project is further evidence that the government is abusing its power. For this reason, he joined the protest from its earliest days. “Albania faces a high level of corruption linked to the privatization and giveaway of land, beaches, valleys and rivers,” he told the Associated Press (AP) while accompanying a group of tourists in Tirana.

Today, Kola has become one of the voices leading the crowd through a megaphone. He says he remains surprised by the scale the protests have reached. “We did not think the protest would grow to this scale,” he says. According to him, he is often asked whether the movement will continue, but the answer is simple: “That depends on the people.”

The analysis also addresses the government’s reaction. Prime Minister Edi Rama presents this project as fundamentally important for Albania, which aims to enter the luxury tourism market and join the European Union, as well as attract other major investors.

Tourism in Albania has seen strong growth in recent years, and more and more visitors are choosing to enjoy the country’s long and untouched coastline. According to the outlet, this appears to have also impressed Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, who said in a podcast in May that they discovered the project site during a boat trip with a friend.

Meanwhile, Albania’s anti-corruption authority has opened an investigation into the project. The government claims the land is private property, although there are conflicting accounts of how it was privatized.

Edi Rama continues to defend the controversial tourism project on the Adriatic coast, while critics accuse his government of corruption and misuse of state power. In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), Rama recently dismissed environmentalists’ objections, describing them as the result of misinformation.

According to him, an official environmental impact assessment has not yet begun, as international architects and environmental experts continue to work on the project’s urban plan. Nevertheless, Arben Kola is convinced the project is being pushed ahead at a very rapid pace.

He stresses that clearing of the land has already begun through the cutting of vegetation inside a protected natural area.

Another element highlighted in the analysis is the participation of older people in the protests. Unlike many other protests Albania has experienced in more than three decades of democracy, this time the number of pensioners joining young people is increasing.

Among them is 70-year-old former engineer Bujare Ishmi, who takes part almost every evening and holds a placard reading: “You have the power of criminality, we have the power of truth.”

Bujare Ishmi, 70, has become a symbolic figure in the protests against the controversial tourism project in Albania. She is calling for more transparency and the rule of law in major state projects.

When she arrives, protesters chant “Nona! Nona!” The word “Nona” is an affectionate Albanian nickname for an elderly female family member and shows that she is regarded as the matriarch of the protests.

Ishmi, whose husband was a former political prisoner and victim of Enver Hoxha’s 40-year dictatorship, describes Albanian democracy as “halfway.” She says she is not against foreign investment, but remains concerned about the lack of transparency.

“Investments bring progress, but the proper conditions and rules must be respected.”