Balkan Unscripted #21 - Flamingo’s and Bosnian coffee
Hi all,
We would not have predicted a summer where tens of thousands of Albanians marched through Tirana to protest against Rama’s regime and the Trump family’s luxury mega-resort.
Over the weekend, Albania was rocked by a large civil uprising. Thousands of protesters flooded Tirana’s broad boulevards in what has been dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution”.
What started three weeks ago as a localized protest under the banner “Albania is not for sale” —a imed at protecting the ecologically fragile Vjosë-Nartë delta and Sazan Island — has since snowballed into a massive national movement.
The trigger? A proposed luxury development backed by Affinity Partners, a firm linked to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. While Prime Minister Edi Rama argued that Albania cannot afford to pass up a multi-billion-dollar investment, the European Commission and the EU Parliament have issued warnings against building in ecologically important areas.
As the massive turnout in recent weeks has proved, this isn’t just about the environment anymore. The flamingo the protesters hold has become the symbol of a deeper, existential rage against a system which protesters say is built on autocracy and oligarchic capture.
A recently published OCCRP, Shteg, and Follow the Money story and a BIRN investigation has validated what the street protesters have been shouting about: the land on which the coastal villas are to be built is mentioned in court documents of Albania’s Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) as a front for laundering drug money.
SPAK issued 20 arrest warrants and seized over €100 million in assets. The law enforcement agency is tracing massive international drug trafficking revenues into Albania’s construction sector which — according to SPAK court files —intersects with the planned luxury resort.
According to Frank Elbers, who recently reported from the demonstrations in Tirana, people are no longer demanding merely that the construction of the luxury resort be canceled.
“Banners reading ‘Rama to prison; Berisha to prison’ are becoming more numerous,” Elbers wrote for Donau. “The call for an end to corruption and the dominance of Edi Rama’s Socialist Party and Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party, as well as for improvements in healthcare and education, is growing louder.”
Student leader Ardit Minarolli, one of the protesters who had been there from the beginning, told Elbers: “We just want our Prime Minister [Edi Rama] to resign. It has been 13 years. Rama promised many good things, but the only thing he has done is encourage Albanians to leave this country and make it harder for anyone who wants to speak out against it, like me.”
Our eyes are on Tirana,
Ingrid and Marjolein
P.S. While a small group was supporting the protests in Albania at the Dam in Amsterdam, next weekend’s protests are slated for Brussels!
What else is new?
Kafa goes global! Bosnian fans brought the world’s largest coffee pot to Toronto for the World Cup. This traveling attraction can serve over 8,000 cups of coffee at one match and requires a massive 140 pounds of coffee beans. “I am from Bosnia, take me to America!“ by Dubioza has gone international too! We are rooting for you, Bosnia.
Kosovo had its third elections in sixteen months. Deadlock after deadlock led to a record low turnout. Again Albin Kurti and his party Vetëvendosje (LVV) won, but will he be able to form a government. This analysis by New Eastern Europe sums up three factors that suggest parties might come to an agreement: international pressure, Vjosa Osmari’s return to LDK and demands from voters that Kosovo finally needs to become political mature.
Romania’s maternal healthcare crisis. Wehighly recommend reading Balkan Insight’s exceptional investigative piece. By centering the voices of the women who experienced it, they reveal a truly horrifying reality in maternity care that cannot be ignored. Truly horrific.
Meme of the month
In this heatwave, I think we can all agree that we can get behind this “slavic science”:
Tip!
Yes, I (Marjolein) am going to recommend my own podcast. For Balkan Express I interviewed Deniza Miftari, a Kosovar Belgian author who published her first book. It’s about growing up between cultures, about Kosovar patriotism, about being an ‘acceptable migrant’ and most of all, her book is a tribute to her parents who left everything behind for their children. Though the interview is in Dutch, Deniza’s story is too good not to share. As a strong voice in the Kosovar diaspora, her insights offer something valuable for everyone.
And for those of you who happen to be in Bosnia in July: People often visit Srebrenica around the 11th to mark the genocide anniversary. If you stay a couple of days longer, you can also visit the Silver Frame Film Festival. The name refers to the word ‘srebro’, which means silver, and it reminds of the history and rich heritage of the place. The festival aims to make Srebrenica a place of creativity, culture and artistic expression.
Hi, from us
We’re Ingrid & Marjolein, two journalists writing about the Balkans and beyond. This newsletter was born one Saturday night over a few glasses of rakija. In every edition, we share the stories that catch our eye, the pieces worth reading, along with our observations from reporting across the region. Grab a coffee (or a rakija) and welcome to the journey.
