Students have joined Albania’s campaign against coastal development, adding demands for lower tuition and education funding to protests that call for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.
The Associated Press reported that Oct. 20 was the eighth straight day of unrest in Tirana, where police used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators. Students also want action on alleged corruption in the education system. State Police said 271 people were arrested during the seven protest days through Oct. 19.
The coastal dispute involves two distinct proposals. On Dec. 30, 2024, Albania’s Strategic Investment Committee granted Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC strategic investor status for a planned resort on Sazan Island. The proposal lists €1.4 billion in investment and 45 hectares of development. The designation provides 10 years of priority procedures and envisages state participation, while a final agreement remains under negotiation. Rama said Oct. 3 that the project’s architectural design and environmental study had not been submitted.
Separately, a March 30, 2026, development permit for Zvërnec does not authorize construction, the prime minister’s office said. Officials say they will review a construction permit application only after an in-depth environmental assessment.
A website presenting itself as an outlet for the Flamingo Revolution calls for Rama’s government to step down, a transitional technical government and new elections. It also seeks cancellation of the Zvërnec project and amendments to protected-areas legislation and the law on strategic investors.
Rama acknowledged concerns about living costs and future opportunities on Oct. 20 but accused people involved in violence of exploiting those grievances. The European Commission condemned attacks on institutions and property and urged authorities to keep their response lawful and proportionate.
Police conduct drew earlier scrutiny during the student protests. In preliminary findings released Oct. 20, Ahmet Prençi, commissioner for the Ombudsman’s National Preventive Mechanism against Torture, said five of eight minors held at one police station alleged physical and verbal abuse. Monitors observed signs of injury in two cases, and the office is investigating.
The next project steps are a final agreement for Sazan Island and, at Zvërnec, an environmental assessment and a decision on any construction permit application.
