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Albania’s government will not withdraw its support for two luxury tourism projects backed by Jared Kushner’s investment firm, despite weeks of daily protests, Prime Minister Edi Rama told Bloomberg.
In written statements to Bloomberg, Rama stressed that his government must distinguish between “real protests” and “political theater,” as he described the protests against the projects. He argued that voters gave him a strong mandate in last year’s elections to move forward with his vision of transforming Albania into a top-tier tourist destination, “and not to govern through hashtags or the loudest voices on the internet.”
The projects, backed by Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, have sparked a national backlash over coastal development and the approval process for large private investments.
Protesters are calling for the plans to be canceled and for the Albanian prime minister to resign.
"Neither a noisy minority, nor opposition forces, nor a digitally amplified wave of anger fueled by the international allure of the Trump name linked to what I see as an extraordinary opportunity for Albania, nor the intervention of malicious foreign actors will prevent us from realizing the vision of 'Albania 2030.'" Rama said.
The protests began in late May, when preparatory work began in the Zvernets Peninsula area, while Ivanka Trump had spoken on a podcast about development plans for Sazan Island.
Since then, Rama has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the protests are being fueled by an "ecosystem of artificially inflated digitally-generated reactions." In a more recent statement, he said that "time will tell whether Iran is not the only factor involved."
Around 3,000 members of the Iranian opposition in exile live in Albania, while in 2022 Iranian hackers carried out cyberattacks on municipal services in the country.
"Our model is clear, law, science, transparency and European obligations, not hysteria," said the Albanian prime minister, adding that "We are opening the country, protecting its natural resources, attracting serious investments and moving steadily towards accession to the European Union."
Rama uzirpatori i 100 hektarëve toke bregdetare. Prandaj ky nxit banditet qe te uzurpojnë dhe ua legalzon, sepse ne kete klime uzurpuese synon ti legalizoj 100 hektar toke bregdetare te plaçkitura prej tij. Prandaj ky mbron dhe uzurpimit e Salehut. Prandaj vendosi Vangjeslis Tavon kryetar Bashkie, qe ai ti ndërtoj infrastrukturën dhe ta ndihmoj ne kete uzurpim Kaq i peshore dhe kaq hapur. Manipulonte i qelbur!