Dua Lipa backs Albanian protests against Jared Kushner-linked resort
Dua Lipa has thrown her support behind protesters in Albania who are standing against a resort backed by Jared Kushner.
Kushner, who is married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, is planning to create a luxury holiday resort on Albania’s only island, Sazan, which has led to mass protests across the European country. There is also a planned development of 10,000 villas on the Zvërnec peninsula.
In May, Ivanka spoke publicly about the project, which is estimated to cost €1.6 billion, on a podcast, stating, “We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it. We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivate.”
Per the Los Angeles Times, an investment firm that has links to Kushner has been given special investor status for the resort despite it being in an environmentally sensitive area.
For the last six weeks, protestors have been making their voices heard on the streets to prevent the resort from taking over the unhabited nature reserve, and now, Lipa, who is a dual British-Albanian national, has amplified the protests on the world stage.
She said on her Service95 Book Club podcast while in conversation with Albanian author Lea Ypi, “I find it so inspiring to see how much people really care.”
Lipa also said, “What I actually find concerning is the principle that the government could just change the law to remove the environmental protection without any kind of public consultation.”
leksander Trajce, from the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), has welcomed Lipa’s intervention.
Trajce told The Guardian, “It was a very powerful statement. A lot of especially younger Albanians, who see her as an idol, have been inspired. This is the 45th day of our protests and there is no sign they are going to stop.”
On his hopes for a U-turn, Trajce said, “The government is now beginning to do what it should have done from the start, such as conducting an environmental impact study but on [Zvërnec] the damage has already been done; works have taken place, there has been an environmental crime and people should be held accountable.”
MEPs have also warned the Albanian government that going ahead with the project may prevent them from joining the EU in 2030.
