Student-led protests demanding the Albanian government’s resignation turned violent in the capital, Tirana, for a third consecutive day this week, and parliament cancelled a scheduled session. Protesters are objecting to the planned sale of part of the country’s southern coastline to a luxury resort development backed by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
The demonstrations are not new. Reports in early September marked the 100th day of protests against the Kushner-linked coastal project, which had already turned violent on that occasion. Opponents object to handing part of the southern coastline to a private luxury developer. I could not find the latest official statement from Tirana in this week’s coverage, so the government’s position is not summarised here.
The unrest comes as student movements are spreading across southern and western Europe. Democracy Now reported that a wave of student protests that began in France over classroom conditions has since reached Greece, so Albania is part of a wider pattern of young people pressing governments over public services and public assets. Each country’s grievances differ, but the common thread is a sense that decisions about land, education and cost of living are being made without them.
There are also concerns about press freedom in the wider region. On Wednesday, Turkish police raided the Istanbul headquarters of the opposition-aligned broadcaster Halk TV and detained nearly a dozen people, and authorities appointed a trustee to oversee the channel.
For Albania, which is a candidate for European Union membership, the stakes are considerable. How the government handles the protests, and whether it opens the coastal deal to scrutiny, will be watched closely in Brussels. The cancelled parliamentary session shows how far the unrest has disrupted normal politics. Whether the dispute is settled through dialogue, a review of the coastal deal, or a longer standoff remains the open question.