Pelicans!

 The Flamingo Revolution: An Anarchist Perspective on Unrest in Albania

Introduction
For more than five months (at the time writing, November 2026)—from initial protests in the village of Zvërnec, to the unrest that followed—the situation in Albania has been clouded by conflicting information and partisan analyses. Many reports are unclear about who is protesting, what they are demanding, and why this is happening now. This text aims to clarify where the protests came from, who is taking part, and what is at stake.

In a Nutshell
These protests represent a revolt by broad segments of society. It is not merely students opposing the government; rather, it is the general public taking a stand against a criminal system that has alienated them.
There have been over 150 consecutive days of protests against the authorities—movements that began as opposition to luxury resort construction projects in Zvërnec, Vjosë-Nartë Nature Preserve, and nearby Sazan Island. These projects connect local oligarchs, drug cartels, Qatari investors, and the Trump family’s interests.
By the 130th day, these peaceful protests escalated into social unrest. The movement is diverse. No single organization or leadership speaks for everyone involved. Different groups and individuals participate with different political positions, social interests and demands, often without coordinating with one another.
Thus, there is wide array of demands, yet one rallying cry keeps bringing them together: RAMA TO PRISON!

A Bit of Context
For a full 23 years, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama[1] has used his power to take control of every sphere of social life. Much like under the administration of the previous Prime Minister Sali Berisha, oligarchs have forged close, criminal ties with those in power. Dozens of ministers and government officials have faced accusations or convictions regarding organized crime, drug trafficking, rigged public tenders, land expropriation and corruption. The list seems endless: former interior minister Saimir Tahiri is accused of involvement in drug trafficking; Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku is accused of rigging tenders worth 200 million euros and money laundering; Chief of Intelligence Vlora Hyseni is allegedly in a romantic relationship with an individual linked to organized crime; a waste-incinerator scandal involving the evaporation of hundreds of millions of euros; and the privatization of beaches—including the pristine Palasë beach in Southern Albania, which oligarch Samir Mane reportedly managed to privatize for just €5 per square meter (approximately $5.50 USD per 10 square feet).
All of this has taken place against a backdrop of glaring inequality, abysmal public services, understaffed hospitals, expensive education, crumbling public infrastructure, volatile prices, and a media landscape that has been bought off, among a multitude of other problems. And in this context, the people of Albania (that is, those that have remained in Albania, as opposed to the hundreds of thousands who have migrated to Europe) find themselves fully alienated.

Resistance Against the Regime
Organizing against this regime is a difficult endeavor. There have been some pockets of resistance here and there: protests against hydroelectric plants, opposition to the appropriation of a natural water source in Tragjas, and a public outcry over the demolition of the National Theatre. But these struggles have largely remained sporadic and focused on immediate objectives.
One exception was the student protest movement of 2018, which succeeded in mounting a (short-lived, but genuine) organized opposition of the regime.

What is Happening Now?
A thorough analysis of why resistance has been only now ignited will likely be the subject of future discussions and studies. Broadly speaking, however, we are dealing with a generation that has grown up knowing only this current regime and sees no future for itself under these conditions.
Among older generations, frustration has only continued to mount. Combined with the issues mentioned previously, this has created an explosive situation that needed nothing more than a spark.

The Spark
In May 2026, reports emerged that construction had begun on the previously announced project to build exclusive resorts on Sazan Island and in the Vjosë-Nartë Nature Preserve/Zvërnec area. This project, shrouded in secrecy, corruption, bribery and money laundering, has enjoyed strong backing from those in power, despite objections from the public and numerous legal violations.
In short, this exclusive resort construction project is an approximately 5 billion euro investment into luxury hotels and summer houses on 800 hectares (8 square kilometers/just over 3 square miles) of protected natural landscape which is already home to famous residents: massive flocks of Greater Flamingos. The Nartë lagoon is a nesting habitat for these beautiful birds, and the flourishing flamingo flocks in the lagoon at the delta of the wild Vjosë river have long been considered by environmental and wildlife experts to be a triumph of conservation efforts. Current development plans will convert the lagoon into a marina with a nearby airport to support the influx of luxury tourists arriving via private yachts and jets.
Plans for these projects were successfully concealed until Jared Kushner's Affinity Partner Fund[2]-managed company Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC was declared as a strategic investor in Albania (in laymen’s terms, the country rolls out a red carpet and fixes everything to ensure that they will get their investment profit). The project brings together local oligarchs, Albanian drug money, Qatari investors, and Trump family business interests.
In May, excavators belonging to the Kastrati Group entered Zvërnec, cordoning off the area and destroying beach dunes and the surrounding forests. During one protest against the development, the company’s private security personnel seized a protester, dragged him along the ground, beat him and threatened him by pressing the barrel of a gun against his head.
All of this happened right in front of the police.
Following this, daily protests began in Albania’s capital city of Tirana under the banner of the Flamingo Revolution.

The Flamingo Revolution
These began as persistent, peaceful daily demonstrations. Initially sparked by opposition to the building of exclusive tourist complexes, the protests took on a deeper significance: a stand against the government, corruption, the oligarchy, the mafia, authoritarianism and police violence, among other things. The protesters moved their anger away from the symptoms and towards the root causes.
The unrest we see on the streets today is simply an organic continuation of these protests.

Demands
It is difficult to list all the demands because the protests are not homogeneous, and by extension, neither are the demands of the protestors.
The initial demands still stand, including but not limited to: reversal of the changes that have now been made to the laws that previously protected these areas of land in order to facilitate luxury developments, and repealing the “Mountains Package.”[3] Alongside these is a multitude of others: better conditions in universities and dormitories, laws to cap high prices, a technical government, independent investigations into police violence and corruption, an end to cooperation between Albania and Israel, and many, many more.
But the common thread is that things just simply cannot continue on like this. This system, this regime and this government are ruining people’s lives, and they must be brought down.
All of this is captured in the rallying cry: “Rama to prison! Berisha to prison!”

Unrest
After around 130 days of peaceful demonstrations, the protests turned into full blown riots. Throughout those 130 days, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s administration not only ignored the demands, but consistently disparaged both the protesters and their demands as well.
For 130 days, their demands fell on deaf ears.
On 13 October 2026, students announced a boycott of classes and took to the streets. The protests escalated, with demonstrators targeting symbols of authority: government buildings, banks, and businesses linked to oligarchs and other figures affiliated with the government.
Throughout this period, the authorities responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, armed police units and arrests, including Gestapo-style midnight detentions at peoples homes, streets, dormitories, etc. There were also attacks by individuals in plain clothes, beatings inside police stations and, naturally, propaganda.

So, Who is Protesting?
The movement is a hodgepodge of groups and individuals. These are grassroots protests against the government, so one would naturally expect them to include a broad cross-section of society. There are university and school students, trade unionists, parents and children, political groups and leftist parties, sports fans, right-wing groups and nationalists—a whole host of people from different walks of life, from educators to social media influencers.
It is basically “the people”, from all social strata.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, the largest opposition to the current administration, keeps trying to position itself as a key player in the protests. Yet, its representatives are repeatedly pushed to the margins, with some even ending up in Tirana’s Lana River.

What’s Next?
Naturally, the protests are full of contradictions. They bring together groups and individuals with conflicting interests, demands and mutually exclusive political principles. There is no clear vision of what should follow the fall of the Rama government, nor a defined strategy for how the resistance should continue.
But one thing is certain: there is no turning back.
The protests are now at a critical juncture. Hundreds have been arrested and beaten by
the police, and hundreds more face criminal charges. Police violence is happening on a
staggering scale.
Exhaustion is evident, but so is the participants’ determination. The resistance must therefore build new, lasting structures: develop new political projects, convene popular assemblies, and broaden its tactics from direct action to general strikes.
But in the meantime:
EVERYONE TO THE STREETS!

[1] Representing Albania’s Socialist Party – “Socialist” in name only
[2] A fund that manages Saudi money. In other words, a funnel of bribes for Donald
Trump’s regime
[3] A similar development plan for mountain tourism

This text was collaboratively written and translated by anarchists both local to the
Albanian region and across the world from it. We are everywhere and our world is not for sale.