Protesters and police clashed near the parliament in Tirana 

TIRANA – Clashes occurred between protesters and security forces during the protest near the parliament in Tirana which took place on 30 June. It was reported by the Albania media outlets that six people were detained.

On Tuesday, about 200 protests gathered in front of the parliament as MPs arrived for the plenary session. Some of the demonstrators threw eggs  at the parliamentarians’ cars, and the police began to push people back. Afterwards, participants threw water bottles and stones, which led to the clashes with the police and arrests. 

According to the media, some of the protestors went to the police headquarters, demanding the release of detainees. 

Thousands of people who take part in the ongoing wave of anti-government protests in Albania (so-called “The Flamingo Revolution”) are demanding the immediate resignation of the Prime Minister Edi Rama.

The protests were initially sparked by plans to build a luxury resort and hotel complex in the highly sensitive Vjosa-Narta coastal reserve and on Sazan Island. The project is backed by foreign developers, including Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of American President Donald Trump.

What started as an environmental cause quickly transformed into a much wider civic movement. Protesters carry inflatable flamingos and signs reading “Albania is not for sale”. They accuse Rama’s administration of institutional corruption, cronyism, and selling off national assets to foreign interests. Despite the daily protests, Rama remains defiant and has refused to step down. 

Politico.eu reports that on Sunday Italian member of the European Parliament Ilaria Salis attended the protests, followed Monday by German MEP Jutta Paulus and Dutch MEPs Tineke Strik and Anna Stoltenberg, all from the Greens. They addressed the crowd, praising the movement and the Albanian people.