An easy explainer of Flamingo Revolution in Albania (with images)
- Lizbowski
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
Albanians are protesting for its Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign after he sold an eco-sensitive island allegedly illegally to build a luxury resort linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
People see this deal as a sell-out to America and in disinterest to Albanians welfare. Meanwhile, Edi Rama insists he is good to people.
PRO TIP: Don't get PR training.
Edi Rama has been the PM for the last 4 terms, that's 12 years! But it has been plagued with scandals including vote-buying, backing his own party members in drug trafficking cases and strict censorship.
Turns out censorship isn't always a bad idea.
I don’t think he realized all these years how seriously Albanians take their holidays because this time, they actually managed to break through the country’s censorship and media control to a full blown international media coverage.
The protest, or “the Flamingo Revolution” started in May 2026 as a protest to highlight the environmental issues that come with building a hotel at a eco-sensitive region like the Sazan Island. One of them includes the endangerment of Flamingos who have made it a pit stop from Africa to Europe. Now it's crossed its 90th day ( as of Aug 2026).
There are also monk seals, sea turtles and pelicans in the lagoon. But they don’t have the same brand value like The Flamingos, I guess.
And speaking about branding, what makes Edi Rama hold power is his positioning as the leader who will get Albania to be part of the EU. And he’s obsessed with getting there somehow and will do anything because-
Rama claims the roadmap to the EU is the reason they need this 4 billion euro luxury project.
But it might actually be doing the opposite. The EU has strict standards to be a part of them. In fact, one of their promising missions is the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 which plans on wetland and freshwater restoration.
And last month, the EU spokesperson issued the concern over the resort, in a press conference.
But Edi Rama has reassured that the hotel will be according to the EU standards.
It is absolutely true when people say that the World needs to decentralize America, because who needs American politics when you have this?
Obviously this project goes way beyond the Flamingos and the ecosystem.
One of the ethical criticisms about luxury tourism is how the govts. sell public property or indigenous lands to foreign investors to build something exclusive, closing access to beaches, forests and islands to its own citizens- something that should be free for them to use. It is the same thing that has happened in the Caribbean islands.
And Albanians, they don't want that shit in Albania.
The Sazan island where they are building the resort also has historic importance. It was a military base during the communist era strategic to Italy and Europe which they abandoned for many years after the Govt. collapsed.
Because it was left untouched for several years, plants grew, trees grew and many migratory birds like the Flamingoes started flying in.
It was practically Earth in Season One.
After many years, it turned out to be a popular weekend destination for the locals who would come there to look at them, or take a quick soak on the beach.
But Ivanka Trump claims to have discovered this island- the largest island in Albania.
If you listen to her closely, you will realise that this is probably how Christopher Columbus sounded when he was marketing Europeans to move to America.
It's rather disappointing how much powerful business people controls the world, because the last time we mentioned a Trump on an island, we got the war in Iran!
This deal also might come across as a comeback from not getting control over the Strait of Hormuz in Iran. The Sazan Island is located on Strait of Otranto, which is the crucial trade route for European trade between Italy and nearby regions like Slovenia, Croatia, and Albania.
Albanians are also questioning why the country wants to associate with Ivanka Trump's husband, Jared Kushner who deals with diplomatic negotiations for the US government regarding the Gaza War. He holds no official title with the US Government in 2026, except the title of the President's son-in-law.
And Edi Rama has a different view on this Trump Family member.
Now let’s take a look at Kushner’s talk at his alma mater Harvard a couple of years ago.
If this is what he thinks of human lives, those flamingos never stood a chance in the first place!
Albania isn't the first place that Jared Kushner’s private firm had trouble. There was a proposed plan in Serbia at an ex-military base, which eventually after protests was pulled back.
It is easy to direct the protest as Albanians vs. the U.S where in fact it is in its roots people asking for transparency in what their Govt. is doing. No, they are asking their authorities for answers. WHY? Their politicians for answers.
Okay, remember how I told you the island is an abandoned military base? The island was abandoned because it has many undiscovered landmines from its military time. So who is going to build the resort?
Because I’m not sure how many Albanians will be blown away by this opportunity.
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