In Albania, the public is revolting against the alleged handover of Sazan Island and its protected coastline to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Tens of thousands, chanting “Albania is not for sale,” are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Nadya H. | Red Phoenix correspondent | Maryland–
Thousands of Albanian protestors have taken to the streets of Tirana and the coastal region of Zvernek-Narva to oppose a €4 billion resort planned for Sazan Island off the coast of Albania. Protestors demand transparency, including concerns regarding the visible environmental impact of the site’s construction, as well as the deal’s being backed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Sazan Island holds a rich history dating from Ancient Greece, long cherished for the island’s strategic value in the Adriatic Sea. Utilized by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, Italian fascists, and, lastly, by the Albanian people themselves, the island has largely become a sanctuary to 39 bird species, including falcons, pigeons, warblers greenfinch, and over 200 migratory species, notably the migratory flamingo, which has become a symbol of protest in what some call the “Flamingo Revolution.”
Protestors have intensified calls for prime minister Edi Rama to step down. During an interview, Rama stated: “It has never been a question whether to go ahead or not. This is a blessing for the country. An investment of €4 billion in a country that has €27 GDP speaks for itself.”
Additionally, the prime minister made the following tempting offer to the American capitalist class: “This country is open to any American investor… It is not public land that the Albanian government is giving away or selling. It is private property.”
Jared Kushner, billionaire investor, businessman, and U.S. government official appointed, not elected, to several offices within the Trump regime, is married to Ivanka Trump, making him son-in-law to Donald Trump. The international and domestic disdain for Trump, as well as the direct correlation to infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein that Trump has maintained for decades, is not lost on Albanian protestors. Many protestors express genuine concern regarding the ultra-wealthy resort, particularly given the scale of human trafficking plaguing Europe in recent decades.
On Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Edi Rama said that “they were very nice, humble, humorous people.”
We in the American Party of Labor stand in solidarity with the Albanian people against any attempt to encroach on Albanian land, much less a protected island habitat untainted by the bulldozers, missile silos, and ramshackle motels of the American bourgeoisie. Workers of the world unite!
Evrensel | Turkey | June 7, 2026—
Albania has been in turmoil for a week. The revolt continues against the transfer, on a silver platter, of a strip of protected coastal land and the island of Sazan to Trump’s son-in-law and real-estate magnate, Jared Kushner.
Tens of thousands of people shouting “Albania is not for sale” consider that, with this enormous sale, their national pride is also being trampled. The people of Albania, famous for their efforts in favor of socialism despite all the attempts to undermine it after the fall of the U.S.S.R., are determined not to permit this “five-star” project created to serve the 1% of the of the world’s super-rich, sometimes called the “Epstein class.”
The struggle against this four-billion-dollar deal, which involves capital from Gulf states, the Israeli arms industry, corruption, an attempt to court the imperialists’ good graces, and lies about the instigation of other foreign powers, has been transformed into a reckoning for the government of Albanian prime minister Edi Rama, considered an accomplice in this looting.
The project zone, situated on the Adriatic coast, includes not only Sazan island, an off-limits military area, but also a large part of the nature reserve of Vjosa-Narta, one of Albania’s most important wetland habitats, home to seals, sea turtles, and flamingos.
The general contractor for the project is the investment firm Affinity Partners, which is backed by Kushner. It is estimated that its annual investments amount to €1.4 billion. Prime minister Rama, however, has spoken of a sum of €4 billion. The government views the facility as a project that will completely nullify the patrimony of the ex-socialist state. In fact, Albania possesses a coastline 450 kilometers which remained, at that time, largely undisturbed.
He received honors from Israel
Although Trump’s daughter has stated that “We swam to the islands, we went on a hike barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated,” in reality, the project dates back much earlier. In 2024, Kushner’s Affinity Partners fund, together with Gulf-state capital and Israeli partners, began to speak openly about “development” plans for tourist villages on the Albanian coast. In April 2025, the highest Israeli civilian honor was conferred on Rama by Israeli president Isaac Herzog. Rama’s declaration (“As long as I’m around, this project will not be abandoned”) and artificial-intelligence-generated images, which suggested that this was a Greek provocation to hinder competition for tourism – embittered the protests further.
Those who entered the project area attempted to obstruct the work in progress. Photos of private security teams dragging protesters on the ground and using water cannons and tear gas against mass protests fed the protesters’ anger.
Today, people are filling the streets, arriving at Rama’s door with slogans like “Albania is not for sale!” and “I don’t want Albania to be like Dubai!,” had the following demands: the resignation of Rama’s government, the abolition of the special status of “strategic” investors, the abolition of the so-called “mountain package,” which facilitates construction, and the revocation of the changes to laws on protected areas and cultural heritage.
The mobilizing of the people led the Albanian special prosecutor’s office against corruption and organized crime to intervene. The office is investigating the change of status of the area and the suspicious land purchases. The first result has been the freezing of the assets of the Qatari company Albania Land Development, which holds waterfront property.
The example of Serbia
The protesters’ accusations are well-founded, judging by Albania’s neighboring country. In Serbia, the parliament approved a special law for the construction of a deluxe complex financed by a company close to Kushner, on the site of the army general staff building in Belgrade, once bombed by NATO. A month later, the court indicted four people, including a government official, for abuse of office and falsification of documents. After this, Kushner left Serbia.
The White House’s backdoor
Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is well-known as the “backdoor” of the White House. In fact, each investment and pledge of support for him always ends up turning a profit. Just after the establishment of Affinity Partners, its first investor was Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates followed. One of the most critical elements of Kushner’s political and investment identity is the state of Israel. In 2023, Affinity Partners acquired 15% of the Israeli auto-rental and financing Shlomo Group’s stocks. Shmeltzer Holdings is a partner of Israel Shipyards, Israel’s only shipyard that produces missile-launching “Sa’ar 4.5” class ships for the Israeli navy. In other words, the millions of dollars collected from Arab sovereign wealth funds were transformed, through Kushner’s intercession, into a partnership with a group that produces warships for the Israeli military.
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