Thousands of Albanian citizens gathered last night in the central "Skenderbeg" square in Tirana to express their dissatisfaction with a project for the construction of protected areas on the southern Albanian coast in the Zvarnets region for the ninth consecutive night, ATA reported, BTA reported.
The protesters marched from the square to the office of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, carrying Albanian flags and posters with the inscriptions "New Albania", "Zvarnets will sit on your throat" and "We want justice". Along with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the cancellation of the Zvarnets development project, yesterday the protesters also called for the removal of Sali Berisha from the leadership position of the main opposition force in the country - the Democratic Party.
On May 30, during a protest against the construction of a resort in Zvarnets, clashes broke out, in which employees of a private security company used violence against a protester. In the nine evenings after the incident, protests were held in the Albanian capital Tirana against the project, which according to Albanian media is led by the investment company “Affinity Partners“ of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
At the same time, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has repeatedly defended the Zvarnets project. In an interview with Reuters yesterday, he reiterated his position, saying: “I tell you, this will be a wonderful project and we will implement it and we will be proud to contribute to Europe. I was elected to implement these things. I was not elected to be led by people who have a different idea of how to develop the country“.
Last night, Rama published footage from the protest in Tirana, in which a protester uttered obscene words at him, and wrote ironically: “Missionary of the “New Albania”. Comments in support of a program that is so European, so ecological, above all so social, are welcome“.