Albania: Beating and injured Greek over Kushner resort
Violent clashes erupted in Zvërnec, Albania as residents protested a controversial tourism project linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in an environmentally sensitive coastal area.
Scenes of tension and violent clashes occurred in Albania on Saturday, May 30, in Zvërnec, in the south of the country.
Residents of the area — among them ethnic Greeks — took to the streets to protest the construction of a large tourist complex in one of the most environmentally sensitive coastal zones of the Albanian Riviera.
The protesters clashed with individuals they characterized as private security for the companies implementing the project, while an ethnic Greek was injured during the incidents.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump behind the tourism project
The incidents take on greater dimensions considering who is behind the controversial project. According to a report by Parapolitika, the development of the complex in the Dalani area has been assigned to the company “Zvërnec South Adriatic Development,” which is linked to international investment structures involving Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and businessmen from Qatar.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump are promoting, through investment schemes, one of the largest tourism projects presented in recent years on the Albanian Riviera. The Zvërnec area, next to the Narta lagoon and near the Vjosa River delta, is considered by environmental organizations one of the last nearly untouched coastal zones of the Mediterranean.
Kushner’s interest in the area had been revealed by international media outlets, which described Zvërnec as an isolated coastal paradise that investors consider ideal for an ultra-luxury tourist destination.
International analyses have also pointed out that the Albanian government has proceeded in recent years with legislative interventions that facilitate the implementation of strategic investments even in areas under environmental protection status, a fact that has provoked reactions from environmental organizations across Europe.
The fears of ethnic Greeks
For ethnic Greeks, the issue goes far beyond its environmental dimension. Residents express fears that the extensive tourism development will lead to a permanent alteration of the area’s character and will intensify pressures around the property regime of lands that, they claim, have belonged for generations to families of the Greek National Minority.
Athens has repeatedly linked Albania’s European path to respect for the property rights of the minority.
During the incidents, the head of the village of Zvërnec, Kostak Konomi, stated that a protester was struck in the neck and lost consciousness. “He was spitting blood in the hospital,” Konomi said speaking to reporter.al. In videos circulated on social media, the protester can be seen being dragged on the ground.
In some areas, tear gas was used and stone-throwing occurred, while police forces present at the scene did not intervene to de-escalate the tension — a fact that further enraged the protesters.
Rama’s response and the arrests
On Sunday, May 31, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama made a public statement, thanking the State Police for their response and announcing that he himself would speak on Monday about the project.
“Tomorrow it’s my turn to speak about an excellent project for Albania, which has been in progress for several years and which has nothing to do with some big lies circulating in recent days,” he stated in a post. At the same time, he thundered against the private guards as “a bunch of brainless muscles.”
In the wake of his statement, the State Police announced the arrest of the guard who struck a protester and the criminal prosecution of two more guards. The director of the Vlora Police was suspended and a disciplinary investigation began into the entire hierarchy of the local police department.
The Greek Foreign Ministry demands accountability
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing deep concern about the incidents and calling for their full clarification.
The Greek Embassy in Tirana intervened immediately to ensure every necessary consular and medical assistance to the injured Greek citizen, while making representations to the Albanian side demanding accountability.
In its statement, the Foreign Ministry emphasized the “need for full observance of the rule of law, including the protection of the rights and properties of members of the Greek National Minority” and linked this issue to Albania’s accession process to the EU.
