In his message, the head of government divided the participants into two groups, describing them through metaphorical imagery that, according to him, reflects the different approaches to the protest.

“Flamingos and crows with ravens are separated precisely by the gulf that separates peace from violence. The former want Albania to be better, fairer, cleaner, while the latter want Albania to be a playground for hooliganism, violence and filth,” Rama writes.

According to him, some of the protesters are seeking a calmer and more constructive society, while another group is looking for tension and clashes.

“The flamingos will get what they seek, while the bitter failures of the black crust of this protest will get what they deserve, the crows and the ravens,” the prime minister further states.

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During the conversation, Hyland emphasized the long-standing historical ties between Albania and the United States of America. Speaking about the project proposed by Jared Kushner, he described it as a major economic opportunity of international scale.

“The US has a long history with Albania. If it were not for President Willson, the breakup of Albania would have led to its non-existence.

We have had a woman in the US who wanted to become Queen of Albania. American supporters have never stopped speaking about Albania and Albanians in successive US administrations.

Albania must be open to investment. As for Kushner’s project, it is a multinational project involving the US, Saudi Arabia, and investors coming from all over the world and from international investment. Albania has many colors, like those used by your prime minister.

No one is more concerned than I am about protecting protected areas, and the island where the investment will be made is, in a way, ruined, and investors will pour billions of dollars into changing it, so this is, in a way, a kind of gift for Albania.

I have visited many of Albania’s national parks, and in these places there are hotels, there are resorts, and I support the idea that these investments should be open to citizens, so that they can experience that investment,” he said.

According to Hyland, Sazan Island is currently in a degraded condition, and the planned multi-billion-dollar investment would bring about a major transformation, giving the country, in his view, an entirely new image.

He also added that he has visited many national parks in Albania, where he saw hotels and resorts, while supporting the idea that such investments should be accessible to citizens, so that they too have the opportunity to experience them.

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Through a lengthy post on social media, Vengu said he is “for a strong Albania alongside the chants for a new Albania,” while listing three elements that, in his view, form the basis of Albanians’ strategic role in Southeastern Europe, one important element being the country’s economic, diplomatic and international strengthening over the past decade.

“First, Albania’s greatest strategic advantage in the 21st century is that it is surrounded by fellow nationals. In an era when power is measured less and less by territory and more and more by the ability to organize, adapt and act quickly, the Albanian presence in the region is our greatest historical, human and geopolitical capital.

Second, unlike the first century of state-building, in the last decade Albania’s economic, diplomatic and international strengthening is being translated directly into more security, more weight and more opportunities for Albanians throughout the region. It is no longer only Albania that is sustained by the nation. It is also the nation that is strengthened by a stronger, more credible Albania that is closer to the European Union. Third, Albania has exercised its role as the mother state without complexes: sometimes on the front line, sometimes through quiet diplomacy, but always in defense of the national interest and of Albanians wherever they live,” Vengu wrote.

In his reaction, he also praised Albania’s role as the mother state, stressing that the country has defended the interests of Albanians in the region both through direct engagement and through diplomacy.

Referring to the protests, Vengu criticized calls for “revolution,” arguing that destabilizing Tirana does not serve the national interest.

“Therefore, whoever thinks they are serving the nation by chanting ‘revolution’ in Tirana does not understand the scale of the times. Tirana is not simply the capital of Albania. It is the political, economic and diplomatic center of gravity for Albanians in Southeastern Europe,” Vengu wrote.

According to him, the capital represents the political, economic and diplomatic center of Albanians in the region.

“To destabilize it is not a patriotic act. It is a luxury that the Albanian nation cannot afford,” he said.

At the end of his message, the socialist MP called on the protesters not to confuse patriotism with what he described as “tutelage over Albania.”

“P.S. A friendly piece of advice for the revolutionaries with GPS who come down only to Tirana. Do not confuse love for the nation with tutelage over Albania. We know how to criticize our own government ourselves. But we will not let anyone weaken the mother state in the name of patriotism,” he said.

Vengu concluded his reaction by stressing that Albanians have only one strategic center of gravity and that this is “a strong Albania.”

“Because Albanians have two states, are a state-forming nation in North Macedonia and a Europeanizing minority in Montenegro and Serbia. But they have only one strategic center of gravity. And that is a strong Albania.

‘New Albania’ may sound good as a chant. A strong Albania is far more difficult as a task. I choose the task,” the Socialist Party MP said.

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