How Ivanka Trump’s plans for a lux resort sparked The Flamingo Revolution

[00:00:00]Welcome back everyone. It has been dubbed the Flamingo Revolution and over the weekend, tens of thousands of Albanians once again joined huge anti-government protests. Now in their fourth week, the protests were first sparked by plans for a $4 billion luxury resort planned in part by President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner to be built on Albania's only big island in the Adriatic Sea and a nearby coastal area that's part of a nature preserve. The project now faces accusations of corruption and illegal development. Our Patrick Revel visited the island for a firstirhand look at what's at stake in tonight's Prime Focus.

[00:00:37]>> We're skimming across the blue waters of the Adriatic Sea when we see it. An unspoiled paradise is >> this is it. This is the island. This is how I Trump say she fell in love with it when she saw it from a boat.

[00:00:50]>> The island of Sassin lies a few miles off Albania's coast. From pristine turquoise waters, it rises lush, tranquil. But we have come here because the peaceful island has become a battleground.

[00:01:03][cheering] >> If you could speak to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, what would you say?

[00:01:11]>> Hands up. Hands is not for sale.

[00:01:13]>> Nearly 5 years ago, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were drawn to the island by its beauty.

[00:01:19]>> We were on a friend's boat and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the islands.

[00:01:25]We went on a hike barefoot all the way up to the top. And we were just captivated. Over the course of of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realize its potential and and transform it, but with a lot of restraint and care because the land is so beautiful.

[00:01:44]>> The couple joined a multi-billion dollar project with Albania's government to build an exclusive luxury hotel and resort on the island and a nearby peninsula. But there's a problem. The island is not, as Ivanka Trump said, private. In reality, it's public land, part of a protected nature reserve. Home to many species of birds, including flamingos, now the symbol of what activists call the flamingo revolution.

[00:02:12]Last month, a move by authorities to seal off part of the land sparked the protests.

[00:02:19]They quickly snowballed into broader demonstrations against the government in this tiny Balkan country. Protesters demanding the removal of Albania's longtime prime minister Eddie Rama. For 3 weeks, tens of thousands of people have marched, [screaming] angry at what they see as decades of exploitation of the country by a corrupt wealthy elite. This began as a protest about that luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, but it's growing to something much bigger because people here see it as emblematic of broader corruption in Albania.

[00:02:54][cheering] >> Part of a broader swell of Gen Z protest movements around the world. The demonstrators say they now want bigger change.

[00:03:01]>> This luxury development just showed the true colors of our government. We knew what was happening behind doors. But this showed us really what was going on in front of our faces. So it was really the cherry on top of corruption for 35 years.

[00:03:17]>> Well, it's easy to see why Ivanka Trump says she was captivated by this island.

[00:03:22]It is really, really beautiful. As you can see, it's definitely not deserted during the day. A lot of people come from the mainland on tourist boats, but the rest of it is pretty wild. It really is a sort of paradise.

[00:03:35]>> When Albania was still under communist rule, Sazun was a major military base.

[00:03:40]Bunkers and tunnels riddle the island.

[00:03:43]Now a few crumbling barracks lie abandoned. Signs still warn of landmines.

[00:03:49]Boat loads of tourists still visit each summer, but left abandoned, nature has largely grown wild. On the shore, we bump into MeT. Once a soldier at the base, he spent 20 years living on the island. He now works for an environmental group.

[00:04:14]In 2024, Rama pushed through a controversial law allowing building in protected areas. Since then, the project has moved ahead joined by two Qatari billionaire investors, Mutaz and Ramaz al- Khayat.

[00:04:27]>> People now think that everything is uh happening in the same way. So an investor comes and he say that okay I want this and prime minister doing all the laws to open the way to give to him.

[00:04:40]For Albanians like Ava, Kushner's project became a symbol of deeper concerns. Who is Albania being developed for? Foreign investors and political elites or ordinary Albanians?

[00:04:51]>> She says it resembles similar opaque projects also vulnerable to corruption >> and the people are not against Jared Kushner or but for the whole model of investments. There we see that they are taking the land and they are building villa. They are selling villas and people gain nothing.

[00:05:11]>> Tourism now accounts for more than a fifth of Albania's GDP and has transformed parts of what is one of Europe's poorest countries. But the rapid pace of development has intensified debate over who benefits.

[00:05:23]>> The prime minister has obviously said that this project will bring billions to Albania that it's good for the Albanian people. I mean clearly you don't agree with that.

[00:05:32]>> At what cost? Firstly, secondly, to whom Albanians, to oligarchs, it just goes to the same people, to the same politicians, and this is no development.

[00:05:42]This is not millions for the country.

[00:05:44]>> Albania's special anti-corruption prosecutors have now frozen the bank accounts of a landholding company involved in the project owned by a Qatari billionaire. The prosecutors are investigating whether property titles may have been obtained fraudulently. A public relations firm working with Jared Krishna and Ivanka Trump provided statements from a company Sazan Real Estate Development that represents the investors. It said, "Our goal is simple.

[00:06:09]Celebrate Albania's natural beauty, create jobs, and build something future generations can be proud of, adding the project's future will ultimately be determined by the Albanian people." The project, it says, remains in the planning and design phase and that the team is still refining a process that prioritizes environmental stewardship.

[00:06:26]No conclusions, it said should be drawn from preliminary planning materials.

[00:06:30]Costak Kenomi has lived for decades near the Zach wetlands where the resort project is planned to be built. The 81year-old is one of a group of villagers who alleged the proposed resort is being built on beachfront land stolen from them. Last month, he abruptly found access to the area sealed off after a fence and security guards appeared overnight.

[00:07:13]Villagers allege a company involved in the resort project illegally bought the property deeds for their land from a businessman who also claims to own them.

[00:07:21]Although a court ruled in favor of the villagers in 2013, the legal dispute is ongoing and ABC is unable to assess who the land rightfully belongs to. Albanian prosecutors are also reportedly investigating the same businessman over suspected ties to organized crime and money laundering. In a statement, Sazan Real Estate Development said it was not the subject of any investigation and that it believes the underlying land acquisitions were conducted lawfully and in accordance with applicable procedures, adding it will cooperate with any lawful processes as required.

[00:07:52]Prime Minister Rama denies any corruption and so far has been defiant.

[00:07:57]He argues the project and similar ones are badly needed to develop the country.

[00:08:01][snorts] >> It has never been a question if this will go ahead or not. This is a bless for the country. Uh u an investment of 4 billion euro in a country that has 27 and a bit more uh billion euro GDP speaks by itself. Following the protests, authorities removed the fence by the wetlands and have claimed the project is paused.

[00:08:30]>> But the demonstrators say they won't stop until the prime minister leaves office, saying the whole country must change.

[00:08:37]>> Do you hope that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will do something to pull out of this project? Will say we don't want to be part of this anymore?

[00:08:44]>> I'm sure that they will do it. It's the bare minimum now in this situation for them to pull back. His