Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Monday defended plans for a massive tourist resort in an environmentally important area, which has been linked to US President Donald Trump’s family and triggered angry weekend protests, but denounced violence used against people opposed to the project.
Rama blamed private security guards for the violence in the coastal Zvërnec area in the Vlore region of southern Albania, in which one Greek national was injured. But he strongly defended plans for a €4 billion resort, which he said would attract high-spending visitors and provide local jobs.
The development, in an environmentally important area that includes a lagoon and attracts a large bird population, has triggered protests from eco activists and local residents who include many members of the country’s ethnic Greek minority.
Rama’s comments followed a statement from the Greek Foreign Ministry that voiced “strong concern” over Saturday’s violence and linked the issue with Albania’s prospects of joining the European Union.
“We stress the need for full adherence to the rule of law, including the protection of the rights and the property of members of the ethnic Greek minority, as well as the importance of effectively protecting environmentally protected areas in line with European practice, whose observance is a precondition for progress in [Albania’s] accession process,” Sunday’s Foreign Ministry statement said.
