Protesters tear down Albanian development site fences, amid anger over coastal projects
RRJOLL, Albania, June 13 (Reuters) – About 200 protesters on Saturday tore down metal and barbed wire fencing surrounding a luxury development on Albania’s Adriatic coast; It was another sign of growing anger over construction in environmentally sensitive areas.
Albanians have been protesting for weeks against the planned luxury resort, backed by a company linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, near Vlora, famous for its flamingos and turtle nesting ground.
On Saturday, villagers from Rrjoll, in an area of beaches and pine forests in northwestern Albania, protested another project, saying it was built on their confiscated land.
They waved Albanian national flags and shouted “Revolution” as they tore down the fences. Some scuffles broke out with the police, but the police did not stop them from removing the fences.
Zeke Nikolle Shullani, 56, one of the landowners who have been protesting for several months, said, “The protests will not stop until compensation is paid to the residents of Rrjoll village. We are 200 families whose lands have been confiscated.”
An Albanian company is developing a five-star luxury tourism resort in the region, and the project has been given the title of “special status investor” by the Albanian government.
“What’s happening in this country is crazy,” said Nikolin Markpalaj, 60, another local landowner. “We asked investors to come and consult the public, but they refused. Do they think they can get all this wealth without blood or anything that could happen here?”
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Writing by Ivana Sekularac, Editing by Gareth Jones)
