Albania Is Not for Sale: Kushner's $4B Resort Triggers'Flamingo Revolution'

4 hours ago

Albania's anti-corruption prosecutors froze the bank accounts of Albania Land Development, a company involved in a luxury resort project backed by Jared Kushner, as part of a property-fraud investigation.
Protests, dubbed the 'Flamingo Revolution,' have expanded from environmental concerns to challenge Prime Minister Edi Rama's government, with legal and diplomatic pressures mounting.
The development includes two ventures: an Aman eco-resort on Sazan Island and a larger mainland project on the Vjosa-Narta coast, both raising environmental and transparency issues.
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, funded largely by Gulf sovereign wealth including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is behind the project, with critics alleging favorable terms to court U.S. political influence.
Ivanka Trump's description of Sazan as a 'private island' discovered during a boat trip sparked public anger, with locals renaming it 'Trump Island.'
Construction began without completed environmental assessments or permits, causing ecological damage, including sealing a lagoon channel and destroying wildlife habitats.
Protests grew after private security guards assaulted demonstrators, leading to arrests and international diaspora demonstrations, with demands to cancel the project and for Rama's resignation.
The European Commission has linked the project to Albania's EU accession prospects, urging compliance with environmental laws and the repeal of controversial legislation to meet membership benchmarks.

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