Albanians protest against US-linked luxury resort

Albanians have protested against plans to build a luxury resort linked to United States President Donald Trump.

The unrest reached a climax this week when thousands took to the streets of the capital Tirana to demand the government block the project championed by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Many at Tuesday's rally complained the project would be an environmental disaster. Others said it was akin to selling off their country. And some said they feared the influx of foreign money would exacerbate corruption.

The project, which calls for the development of the uninhabited 2-kilometer-wide island of Sazan in the Adriatic Sea and the nearby mainland's coastline, also triggered a protest on Saturday in the community of Zvernec, which would be at the heart of the resort.

At that demonstration, activists protested against the installation of barbed wire fences blocking access to the beach.

Their unease has been mirrored by some officials, with members of the country's special prosecutor's office to combat corruption and organized crime saying this week they have opened an investigation into the acquisition of land previously thought to have been government-owned and part of a military exclusion zone.

The authorities have also suspended several police officers and revoked the licenses of two private security companies after it emerged protesters had been attacked and injured.

Kushner first unveiled the redevelopment plan two years ago, saying the island and the nearby mainland coastline would be transformed into a luxury 1.4-billion-euro ($1.62 billion) resort featuring a marina and several high-end hotels.

In an interview this week with US podcaster David Senra, Ivanka Trump described how she and her husband Jared Kushner found the site.

"We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it," she said. "We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated."

Since then, an investment company linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status and the project has started to take shape, with excavators and other heavy machinery moved into the area last month to begin building roads and clearing vegetation.

But environmental groups, which have been protesting against the project since January, have countered by saying the redevelopment of land that includes a nature reserve would damage biodiversity.

Albania's Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama told protesters this week he wants to find solutions and invited a delegation of about 20 to sit down with him on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But he has also said the project would help transform Albania's tourism industry and add the economic security it needs to secure membership of the European Union and added: "There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here."

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