For more than a month, thousands of citizens have taken to the streets of Tirana to protest against the government, in what the British newspaper The Guardian describes as the biggest outburst of discontent in Albania since the fall of communism more than three decades ago.
In an analysis devoted to the latest developments in Albania, The Guardian writes that what began as a protest to protect a nature reserve and the more than 2,500 species it shelters has turned into what protesters call the “Flamingo Revolution,” a movement that is now calling into question the very direction Albania is taking.
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According to the newspaper, citizens are angered by multibillion-dollar tourism development projects backed by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, which critics say threaten one of the last wild areas on the Adriatic coast—Zvërnec, its lagoon and the nearby island of Sazan. Equally troubling for protesters is the lack of transparency surrounding these projects.
The Albanian government has said the agreements have not yet been finalized. Nevertheless, the publication of videos showing heavy machinery on the beaches sparked the mass protests, the British newspaper writes.
“Demonstrators are now calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who won a fourth term last year in elections where turnout was around 45 percent”, The Guardian opinion piece says.
The newspaper also cites Rama’s statement that, “there is absolutely no possibility that the investment will be stopped as long as I am here.”
According to the analysis, the head of government has strongly promoted foreign investment and international capital, arguing that they are essential for the economic development of one of Europe’s poorest countries.
However, The Guardian stresses that Albanians are not against investment, but they do not want the country’s natural assets to be sold off through deals perceived as opaque.
The newspaper notes that while Rama has often been presented as a leader steering Albania toward modernization, his critics speak of a “democracy with bulldozers,” one that appears more attractive from the outside than to the citizens who live in the country.
According to the article, the prime minister attributes the negative reaction to the project to anti-Donald Trump sentiment. But the newspaper argues that the civic movement is tied far more to disappointment with Rama’s government, as well as with the opposition led by Sali Berisha.
The analysis recalls that the development in Zvërnec was made possible after legal changes in 2024, which allow the construction of five-star resorts in nature reserves. For many protesters, this represents the clearest example of sacrificing the public interest in favor of the rich.
