Tens of thousands protest Kushner-linked resort as Albania freezes €128 million in assets

Albania’s opposition to a luxury coastal development linked to Jared Kushner has grown into one of the country’s largest protest movements in years.

Tens of thousands joined a June 20 demonstration in Tirana under the banner of the “Flamingo Revolution,” named after the birds that inhabit wetlands near the proposed development.

The project includes plans for resorts on Sazan Island and near the Vjosa-Narta lagoon, an ecologically sensitive stretch of coastline used by flamingos, sea turtles and other protected species.

Protesters say the development threatens habitats, restricts public access and relies on land whose ownership remains disputed.

Villagers in Zvërnec say property confiscated during communist rule was later sold without resolving competing claims. Albania’s anti-corruption prosecutors have opened an investigation and seized assets worth €128.3 million linked to land transactions in the project area.

Kushner and other foreign investors have not been accused of wrongdoing.

Rama has defended the investment as central to Albania’s ambition to become a high-end tourism destination and said the project will comply with legal and environmental requirements.

But the movement has spread beyond the resort, drawing in diaspora Albanians and residents fighting other coastal developments.

Rama has accused foreign actors, including Iran, of amplifying the protests as part of a “hybrid war.” Tehran rejected the allegation.

The European Commission has also warned Albania to respect environmental protections as it pursues EU membership, placing the controversy at the intersection of tourism, land rights, governance and accession reform.