From "flamingos" to "crows and ravens", L'Espresso brings Rama's clash with protesters

The Italian magazine "L'Espresso" has dedicated an article to the protests that have engulfed Tirana and other cities in the country for nearly two months. 

The Italian magazine writes that the protest began as opposition to the resort project in the Vjosa-Narta protected area, linked to US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then turned into a broader movement demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Rama.

According to L'Espresso, despite the pressure of the protests, the head of the Albanian government has shown no signs of backing down, while in his public appearances he has continued to attack the organizers and his political opponents.

Full article: 

Edi Rama is not backing down. Nearly two months after the start of the protests that have engulfed Tirana (and beyond), the Albanian prime minister once again attacked today the so-called "Flamingo Revolution" movement - the mobilization that began at the end of May against a mega-resort linked to Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in the Vjosa-Narta protected area, and which has turned into the largest protest against the government in years, with the demand for the resignation of the prime minister, who has been in power since 2013.

In an online conversation with citizens, Rama divided the boulevard where the protests are taking place into two parts: on one side, "flamingos", on the other, "crows and ravens".

"To me that boulevard is clearly divided, because it is divided by history," he said.

According to him, "the story of flamingos" is that of "the new Albania," while the story of "the crows and ravens that have invaded it" represents only "the past that returns in very dangerous and disturbing forms."

His tone became even more dismissive when he emphasized the difference between the two categories he himself created.

For the "flamingos," he said he feels respect: "They have taught me a lot."

While for others he used much harsher words:

"As for crows and ravens, I feel only disgust and contempt. They scream, curse, sing vulgarities in chorus and believe they can change the world. They change nothing and they will have no chance here in Albania."

The prime minister repeated his attacks on "right-wing and left-wing extremism," which he described as consisting of "charlatans, delusional, ignorant, and angry failures."

On the other hand, he promoted his economic agenda – the "Mountain Package", large investments and the objective to increase Gross Domestic Product from 27 to 35 billion euros by 2030.

"This is the story of the future," he repeated.

There was also no shortage of criticism of those who oppose the presence of foreigners and foreign capital. According to Rama, anyone who seeks "an Albania only for Albanians" represents "the worst thing that could happen to this country."

It is not the first time that Rama has attacked the "Flamingove" movement. Since the first weeks of the protests, he has alternated irony with conspiracy theories: he has called the protest an "imaginary flamingo revolution", spoken of a "hybrid war" orchestrated from abroad - mentioning Iran and Greece - and, in an interview with the Financial Times, told the protesters to "fuck you".