Albanian police disperse anti-government protests over coastal corruption claims

Albanian police used water cannons and teargas to disperse anti-government protesters outside parliament in Tirana on July 2 after demonstrators threw eggs and flour at officers and some lawmakers. Three police officers and one protester were injured as the clash broke up a march that had been building for more than a month.

The unrest began over allegations of corruption tied to development projects along Albania’s coast and near protected areas, then spread beyond a single luxury resort planned by a company linked to Jared Kushner. It focused especially on the Vjosa–Narta protected area, where campaigners say construction threatens land that should remain off-limits.

Aslan Dogjani said the point of the demonstrations was to demand transparency and protect nature, while slogans such as “Albania is not for sale” have become a rallying cry. On one Tuesday before the July 2 confrontation, police arrested six demonstrators for throwing eggs at members of parliament’s cars, and some protesters chanted “Rama has to go to jail.”

Edi Rama, who has led Albania since 2013, argued on X that the protest had moved from civic activism into conflict and violence, while the European Parliament urged Albania on June 17 to suspend construction in protected areas and called for an immediate moratorium on new permitting and construction there. BirdLife called for the pause to give Albanian authorities time to align with EU nature-protection standards.

European lawmakers and the European Commission have warned that continued development in protected areas could damage the country’s accession path, and the dispute has already fed into earlier violent clashes this year over alleged corruption involving another senior official. A new protest was scheduled for Saturday.