Albanians protest against another luxury development on Adriatic coast | Albania
On Saturday, nearly 200 protesters 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 Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, near Vlora, famous for its flamingos and turtle nesting ground.
On Saturday, villagers of 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 chanted “Revolution!” they shouted. when they tear down the fences. Some scuffles broke out with law enforcement, but the police did not prevent the removal of the fences.
Zeke Nikolle Shullani, 56, one of the landowners who has 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 were 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 going on in this country is complete madness,” 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 this much wealth without blood or anything that could happen here?”
