‘I hope Rama resigns’: Why Albania’s Flamingo Revolution isn’t actually about flamingos
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Melissa Muller
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Fri, 06/12/2026 - 12:22
Protests against a Trump-linked real estate project over environmental and sovereignty concerns have turned into widespread anti-government demonstrations
Protestors holding national flags gather in front of the office of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana, on 11 June 2026, against the construction of a luxury resort near a protected natural area (Adnan Beci/AFP)
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It is 6pm on Wednesday when a few hundred Albanians gather outside Skanderbeg Square in central Tirana. Some protesters make speeches as others are arriving with posters and flags.
Around half an hour later, the demonstration starts moving towards Prime Minister Edi Rama’s residence in the heart of the Albanian capital. Along the way, vendors sell Albanian flags, Albania‑themed scarves, whistles and traditional qeleshe hats.
Outside the prime minister’s office, the crowd grows into thousands, stretching for almost a kilometre along the central boulevard. People are singing, screaming, blowing whistles and beating drums.
One of their key slogans: “Edi Rama ka mbaru” - Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, is finished.
By 9pm, the protesters start marching through Tirana’s city centre, causing many cars to get stuck in traffic. Most drivers don’t seem to mind - and instead wave Albanian flags, cheer the protesters on or honk in support. Some climb onto their cars to wave Albanian flags.
The nightly protests in Albania's capital erupted on 30 May. They were sparked by a controversial plan for luxury resorts to be built on Albania’s largest island, Sazan, as well as inside the Vjosa-Narta nature reserve, which is home to flamingos, sea turtles, more than 200 bird species and over 70 endangered species.
Affinity Partners, the investment firm of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, is behind multi-billion-dollar plans to build in the protected area. His wife, Ivanka Trump, also appears to be involved in the project, after she received scrutiny for saying that she “found” the island while on a yacht trip.
In 2024, Albania amended legislation governing protected areas, a move critics say opened the door to tourism development in previously protected zones. At the end of May, construction work began, causing locals to protest around the fenced‑off site that was guarded by private contractors.
Things escalated when a protester was dragged across the ground by security personnel. A video showing the scene went viral - and fuelled protests.
During the first days, the demonstrators focused on Vjosa-Narta, with images of protesters holding up flamingos going viral. But by now, the movement has transformed. What began as an environmental fight has become a broader anti‑government uprising.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama publicly dismissed the protests, calling them “engineered digital hysteria” and accusing foreign media of over-dramatising the situation. He also warned protesters: “There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here.”
But Albanians are not just angry about a resort, they are frustrated with Rama himself.
‘We Albanians get nothing’
Protester Oljam Dervishi, founder and CEO of the environmental NGO Resu, tells Middle East Eye that the project sets a dangerous precedent because if the resort gets built, that will mean that "everywhere where there are protected areas, they are not protected anymore".
"This project shouldn't happen”, the 33-year-old says. “If they want to develop, they should develop somewhere else."
But although many protesters are upset about the project, their focus has shifted.
"I don't think this is a question of protected areas or the environment anymore,” says Dervishi.
“People feel like decisions are not taken for the people, but for investors. And that's why they are furious."
Jonida, a programming student who has been coming to the protests from day one, says that the demonstrations are not just about the project itself, or about Trump.
“Even if it was another billionaire, we would still be here,” she tells MEE. “Because the real problem is the principle of selling the country.”
For her, the government’s real priorities should be to work on improving the healthcare and schooling system, as well as lowering oil prices.
“This needs to be fixed first,” she says. “You can think about tourism for elites after. But even then, it has to be outside of protective areas. You cannot change laws through corruption.”
Like for many people at the protest, Jonida’s demands go even further.
“I hope Rama resigns,” she tells MEE, adding she doesn't support the opposition either. Her ideal outcome would be the creation of a new people's party that wins elections.
Albanians protest against Kushner-backed project threatening the environment
»
“I hope there will be a party that cares about Albanian citizens; that there will be people who are in it for the country and not for the money.”
Rezarta, another student protester, also hopes for change. Asked about Ivanka Trump’s recent comment that she discovered Sazan on a yacht trip, the architecture student laughs. “Ivanka the explorer says she found our island, but it was ours to begin with.”
While Rama promises economic benefits from the planned resort, the 21‑year‑old tells MEE: “We Albanians get nothing. Only Ivanka, her friends, our prime minister and his friends can enjoy it.”
For the architecture student, these protests are an expression of widespread frustration with a political system that, according to her, prioritises luxury resorts over the basic needs of Albanians.
“The healthcare is horrible and living here is very expensive compared to the wages we get. We cannot take it anymore,” Rezarta says.
She too wants Rama to resign - as well as the opposition leader, Sali Berisha, echoing one of the protesters’ slogans: “Rama to prison; Berisha to prison”. The 81-year-old president of the Democrat Party served as prime minister from 2005 to 2013 and as president in the 1990s.
“We know that they are working together,” Rezarta says. “We want them gone from our politics. We want new people and new faces.”
For her, these protests are a last resort: “Many of the people here are Gen Z and Millennials. You can feel that they're here to fix everything - or else we're all leaving Albania.”
‘We consider them traitors’
This is precisely why Hortensa, a mother of two children, joined the protests. Her motivation is simple: “I don't want my kids to leave Albania.”
Her fear is well-founded. About 1.2 million Albanians are living abroad - around one third of the population.
“What don't we have that Italy or Germany have?” she asks. “Our youth should remain in Albania.”
Another protester, Redes, is also upset about so many Albanians leaving. He watched his relatives and friends move abroad “because of this corrupted government”, he says.
Redes works as a dentist. But he tells MEE that, even though he has a good job, life is hard: "The wages are bad. Everyone is fed up.” He too wants Rama to resign.
Redes says he thinks that the planned resort is about Rama wanting to make money and keep a good relationship with Trump and the US. “But at what cost?” he asks.
None of the working-class people would be able to go to the resort, Redes argues. “It's for billionaires, not for us. Even though this is our land.”
Another demonstrator, Ilir, has been coming to anti‑government protests for a long time before it all started. He tells Middle East Eye that in the past, it was just a couple of hundred people. “This time is different. Most people here want both the government and opposition leaders in prison. We consider them traitors.”
Kushner's island land grab: Albanians are revolting against a system, not a resort
»
According to Ilir, the government is “selling and destroying the most beautiful parts of Albania”. His view is that the protected areas were “sold to foreigners under the table”.
But he also reiterates that the protests have long moved past Narta - and instead transformed into a movement that rejects Albania’s entire political class.
And they’ve already led to a partial success: Albania’s anti-corruption judicial body, SPAK, has initiated an investigation and frozen assets and bank accounts connected to a company involved in the project.
In addition, the European Commission warned that the project could raise issues relevant to Albania's EU accession process - a goal supported by 91 percent of Albanians.
On Tuesday, a European Commission spokesperson told reporters that, after the commission expressed concerns, Albania’s environment minister committed to halting construction and ordered an assessment on the environmental impact.
On Friday, protests will enter their 13th consecutive day. So far, there seems to be no end in sight. For Dervishi, this alone is a success. "One of my goals is to end this state of being scared of speaking out,” he said.
“That's why this protest is so meaningful for me and for all the people here. And I'm very positive that the protests will have good outcomes that will serve the people of Albania.”
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