By Fatos Bytyci and Edward McAllister
TIRANA, June 10 (Reuters) - Thousands took to the streets of Albania’s capital Tirana on Wednesday in the largest demonstration yet against the development of a luxury resort planned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The project, expected to cost around 5 billion euros, has provoked outrage in the Balkan country because of its location near a protected wetland home to flamingoes, seals and sea turtle nesting sites, but also for a perceived lack of transparency surrounding the plans designed by foreign investors.
Protesters held signs that said “Albania is not for sale” and chanted “New Albania” outside Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office as the crowd stretched half a mile down one of the city’s main boulevards.
“The project in Zvernec is a project … with no transparency. And this is the apotheosis of what has been happening in Albania for the last 35 years. So today, enough is enough,” said protester Leand Lakrori.
The protests are the latest test for Rama, who has been in power since 2013 and who many now blame for not eradicating widespread corruption or doing enough to improve basic services like healthcare.
Rama told Reuters in an interview this week that the project would go ahead and would be completed responsibly.
He also says he has made strides to reduce graft, including through the creation of a special prosecution office, known as SPAK, which has opened a series of high-profile investigations in recent years.
Still, violent clashes also broke out earlier this year as protesters demanded the resignation of Rama’s deputy, Belinda Balluku, over alleged corruption. Rama fired Balluku, but the mistrust remains.
“I’m here to protest, to finish this saga of the Albanian government. It’s the same two parties always,” said Fabio Bracaj. “We want a new era … we want a better country.”
The resort development is the brainchild of Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, who described falling in love with Albania a few years ago while visiting on a yacht.
Protests erupted at the development site near the village of Zvernec when developers erected a fence around some of the land last month. The fence has since been taken down.
(Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
