Police clash with anti-government protesters in Tirana over coastal development plan
Tirana police used tear gas and pepper spray after several hundred demonstrators demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation attacked officers during a protest against a luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner.
Police in Albania's capital confronted a crowd of several hundred protesters outside the parliament on Thursday, deploying tear gas, pepper spray and a water cannon after demonstrators threw rocks, eggs and plastic bottles and damaged a police vehicle. Authorities reported twelve officers injured and eighteen protesters detained.
The demonstration was part of ongoing daily protests, dubbed the “flamingo revolution,” that began over a proposed luxury coastal development at Narta Lagoon linked to U.S. businessman Jared Kushner. While initially focused on environmental concerns for the protected flamingo habitat, the rallies have expanded to broader criticism of Prime Minister Edi Rama and his government.
Protesters shouted slogans calling for Rama's resignation and used cardboard flamingo cut-outs as symbols. One participant, Agustela Thoma, said the protesters “want their voice to be heard inside the parliament” and that “enough is enough.”
Interior Minister Besfort Lamallari condemned the “acts of vandalism and criminal violence,” stating that attacks on police are attacks on the state.
