By Fatos Bytyci
ZVERNEC, Albania, June 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of Albanians took to the streets of Tirana late on Thursday in the largest protest this week against a plan by a company linked to President Donald Trump's son-in-law to build a luxury resort in an environmentally sensitive area.
Jared Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners is involved in the €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) project on an undeveloped stretch of coastline that lies near the Vjosa-Narta protected area, a wetland home to flamingos,
seals and sea turtle nesting sites in the south.
Environmentalists oppose the project, which they say would affect several hundred hectares of pristine beaches and thousands of flamingos that nest and pass through nearby areas each year.
Ornithologist Ledi Selgjekaj said more than 1% of the global population of flamingos is in Albania.
"Of course, it's very important to have investments in the country. It's very important for the economy, but you have to choose very wisely where to build it. There is a reason why this area is called a protected area,” she told Reuters.
Groundwork and the arrival of heavy machinery at the site triggered local protests last week which were followed by large street demonstrations in Tirana.
"ALBANIA IS NOT FOR SALE"
Some locals rushed to the area to check the situation on Friday, as police patrolled, hours after protesters gathered outside the office of Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, holding pink inflatable flamingos and chanting "revolution" and "stop the project". A placard read: "Edi Rama, resign."
"Albania is not for sale. Albania belongs to the Albanian people and we decide what we want to do here. It's not that some corrupt politicians who run Albania can decide what they can do with our property, with the Albanian heritage, the natural heritage, a cultural heritage," said Lindita Komani, a writer who joined the protests.
On Friday, there was no sign of the builders or heavy machinery that had been preparing the ground in recent days at the site of the planned resort.
Rama has defended the project. Developers have said their focus will be "responsible stewardship and environmental enhancement."
Albania's Economy and Innovation Minister Delina Ibrahimaj said on Thursday that environmental impact assessments are being drafted for the proposed investment which would have to comply fully with environmental legislation and safeguard the local habitat.
European environmental directives and Albanian law provide legal guarantees against projects that could harm the protected lagoon and surrounding habitats, she was quoted as saying by Albania's state news agency ATA.
Kushner announced plans to build the resort in 2024 as part of a wider investment that also included a former army headquarters in the Serbian capital Belgrade. Last year, he gave up the Serbia project following street protests.
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
