Hard fight for flamingo: What does Albania risk?

At the centre of them are protests in Albania against a luxury tourist project in the southern part of the country, which Rama accused Iran of influence through dezinformatives, while the Iranian side said it is using it to justify internal discontent.

“in Albania people are free to protest against their government, criticise their prime minister, seek justice and call for elections without fear of imprisonment”, Rama wrote on the X platform on June 10th.

Could the same be said of the people on whose behalf you claim to speak?”, he asked, addressing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

He, a day earlier, called on Rama “to calm down” and listen to the demands of his people, reports REL, broadcast Periscope.

Accompanied with a video by protests in Tirana, Baqaei even distributed the calls of protesters to Albanian: “No corruption!”, “ ” and “Rama flee!”

How did it start?

The debate between the parties began at the beginning of the week, when Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a media conference that Albanian authorities are avoiding citizens' concerns and are trying to shift the debate, accusing Iran of disinformation.

Similarly, Prime Minister Edi Rama accused Iran of involvement in <x0 hybrid war “against an investment project in Albania - planned by Jared Kouchner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump - worth about 4 billion euros.

In an interview for the American newspaper Politico, he said the dezinformation campaign is linked to false and dangerous tertiaries, including claims that the project could include the shift of Palestinians from Gaza to Albanian territory.

Baqaei - whose country is at war with the U.S. and Israel - said that the Albanian people are sharp enough not to believe these claims - according to him, <x0, funny”.

Who and why do you protest?

For days, thousands of citizens protest in Tirana against Kushner's planned tourist project, demanding its cancellation due to possible impact on a protected area where flamingo, seals and sea turtles live.

The protests, known as the “Flaging Revolution”, began on May 30th, after a section of the coastline in Zvrinec, near Vlora, was surrounded and placed under private security control.

The area, once protected, along with the island of Saban, is involved in the Kouchner project for the development of a luxury tourist destination.

The company, linked to Kouchner's initial investments, Sazan Real Estate Development LLC, told Radio Free Europe that it respects all institutional processes, but opponents raise concerns about lack of transparency and environmental risk.

Rama: Albanian people know truth from lies

In his replica with Iranian spokesman Rama - who defends the tourist project as part of the country's economic development strategy - said that the Albanian “is intelligent enough to distinguish truth from falsehood”.

He accused Iran of using false profiles and videos to create confusion in public opinion.

Baqaei dismissed these accusations and stated that if Albania chooses its “sovereignty”, this is its case.

In response, Rama stressed that Albania does not take lessons on sovereignty from a state that, according to him, has been involved in cyber attacks on Albanian institutions.

He recalled that these were the very incidents that led to the interruption of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2022.

“... because, despite the differences that might have between us as Albanians, we are all clear and united in the position that any kind of regime that keeps its people in darkness and poverty is an enemy of our way of life, disguised as a concern. And yours is the worst -- a terrorist state under the definition of”, Rama wrote on X.

Kyrias: Iran Takes Use of Dezinformation and Division Protests

The security expert in Albania, Redion Kyriazi, describes developments as a combination between legitimate domestic protests and an external dezinformation campaign, including Iran.

According to him, actors associated with Tehran are exploiting the situation to damage Albania's image and promote internal divisions.

He stresses that this is not a crisis caused by the outside, but an internal moment that is being manipulated by geopolitical opponents.

I wouldn't say that the hybrid war has caused the protest, but I would say that the protest development has brought the need for Albania's political opponents, such as Iran, to further damage Albania”, says Kyrias for Radio Free Europe.

He recalls Iran has long followed a sustainable cyberwar strategy against Albania, including attacks that have paralysed key state institutions.

It cites groups like “Homeland Justice”, which have published manipulated materials and false content to create the perception of a deep crisis in the country.

Also, according to him, world networks and false profiles are used that spread conspiracy radicals and try to divert public debate.

Kyriazi points out that Iranian state media have amplified these tertiaries, presenting the protests as anti-Western destabilisation.

He warns that the main goal is to undermine public confidence and damage Albania's position as a pro-Western country.

According to him, danger is not necessarily immediate, but continuous and potentially escalating even in new cyberattacks.

The “Retoric of these days is likely to launch new cyber attacks against Albania, or continue Iran's strategic approach to discredit more of the image of our country”, Kyriz says.

Kyriazi also warns that the labeling of protesters such as the <x0 foreign subgent” on the part of the Albanian government can have a opposite effect, deepening social and political divisions.

Rama, in some cases, has described protesters as manipulated by foreign agents and mocked them through theatre gestures.

If Government does not treat carefully the way it labels its citizens, it can produce an effect, where instead of softening the protests, it will spur even more civic anger”, Kyriz says.

The government's “task is to target Albania's opponents, without balming them, without scorning them and labeling them enemies of the country, those protesters who abuse their basic freedoms and rights to support a certain” cause, end up a security expert. /Periscope