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By Jordan King
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Opposition to Jared Kushner's planned luxury resort development in Albania has broadened into a wider anti-government movement, with tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in recent days to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and denounce what critics describe as corruption and a lack of transparency surrounding the project.
The demonstrations began as environmental protests against a proposed resort on Sazan Island and nearby protected coastal areas that is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law. However, they have since evolved into some of the largest anti-government rallies Albania has seen in years.
Protesters have accused Rama's government of prioritizing wealthy foreign investors over public interests and environmental protections, while the prime minister has defended the development as a major economic opportunity for the Balkan nation.
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"This government no longer represents us," Ina Shkurti, whose family emigrated from Albania to the U.S. when she was 11 years old, told The Guardian. "It has chosen to represent oligarch investors like Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. These protests are not going to stop, even if they're no longer exclusively about them."
Thousands gathered in the capital, Tirana, over the weekend as the movement—dubbed the "Flamingo Revolution" by supporters because of concerns about threatened bird habitats—expanded beyond environmental activists to include students, civil society groups and members of the Albanian diaspora. Demonstrators have increasingly directed their anger at the country's political establishment, with some calling for both Rama and opposition leader Sali Berisha to step aside.
Rama has dismissed protests as overblown "hysteria," arguing that international media have exaggerated the scale of opposition and that critics are spreading misinformation about a project still under review.
Earlier reporting initially linked the project to Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners, but it is backed by Sazan Real Estate Development LLC, a separate company that includes Kushner and Ivanka Trump among its investors, a spokesperson told Newsweek.
The chair of Sazan Real Estate Development LLC said in a statement: "For four years, we have worked toward creating a world-class destination on the Albanian coast—one rooted in thoughtful design, environmental stewardship, and long-term economic opportunity. Our goal is simple: celebrate Albania's natural beauty, create jobs, and build something future generations can be proud of. Its future will ultimately be determined by Albania and the Albanian people."
Newsweek has contacted the Albanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment via email and Affinity Partners via online contact form.
What Protesters Are Demanding in Daily Demonstrations
Thousands of protesters marched in Tirana on Saturday demanding a change in government, according to Reuters, which shared footage of demonstrators holding signs that called for state power over individual power, with some calling for Rama's resignation.
Calls of "Rama ik" (Rama resign) could be heard at protests, according to The Guardian. The demonstrations have reached a scale rarely seen in Albania since the collapse of communism in the early 1990s, making them one of the country's most significant expressions of public anger in decades.
Shkurti told The Guardian that every day, Albanian friends living abroad were traveling from the U.S. and other parts of Europe to join the protests.
Rama's government, in a statement to Fox News Digital, criticized "all interested foreign parties and individuals, who have spread all kinds of misinformation and launched all kinds of baseless attacks all over the globe against a highly ambitious project with the potential to become another role model for how next-generation tourism destinations can be built."
It added that Sazan Island and the Zvërnec peninsula, where Kushner's proposed luxury tourism developments would be built, "is privately owned land."
Agim Nesho, a former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told the outlet: "These investors are bringing in $4 billion into Albania that will create jobs and opportunity for our youth. They are building on private land whose protected status was revoked years ago by Rama and his oligarchs."
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Inside the Proposed Albania Resort Development
Sazan Real Estate Development LLC plans to develop luxury tourism projects on Albania's Adriatic coast. The proposals include a high-end resort on Sazan Island, a former military base, and a separate development near the Zvërnec peninsula, an ecologically sensitive area known for its coastal habitats and wildlife.
Supporters, including Rama's government, say the projects could attract foreign investment, create jobs and boost tourism in one of Europe's fastest-growing travel destinations. However, critics, including environmental groups, have raised concerns about sensitive coastal habitats—such as wetlands and bird migration routes around the Narta Lagoon near Zvërnec, which is known for its flamingo population.
They have also highlighted the potential negative effects of large-scale construction on Sazan Island, one of the Adriatic's most undeveloped islands, and have questioned the transparency of the approval process and changes to protected-area designations.
On June 17, the European Parliament urged Albania to halt construction in protected areas. EU officials have warned that unresolved concerns over environmental protections could complicate the country's bid to join the bloc, which Rama hopes to achieve by 2030.
"The flamingo protest shows that citizens care about protecting the environment and joining the EU. We will stand with them, supporting their protest against Trump allies who exploit their natural heritage and supporting their journey toward the EU," said Tineke Strik, a shadow rapporteur for the European Commission's 2025 report on Albania.
Rama rejected the call, saying on social media, "Flamingos will be protected, Vjose-Narta will be protected, Zvernec will be developed based on an Environmental Impact Assessment according to European Union standards."
Update 6/22/26, 12:33 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Sazan Real Estate Development LLC.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Shakeema Edwards.
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