Albania\u2019s \u201cFlamingo Revolution\u201d intensified on Tuesday, with clashes between protesters and police leading to six arrests, a day after members of the European Parliament arrived in the capital in support of the movement. <\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s clashes marked an escalation from the peaceful demonstrations in Tirana over the past 31 days, News.Az<\/a> reports, citing Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n Originally, Albanians were targeting a\u00a0proposal for a luxury resort\u00a0on a pristine southern coastline linked to U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.<\/p>\n But over the past month, demonstrators have also called for the resignation of the entire government and the opposition, the repeal of controversial laws regarding investment and the environment which they say pave the way for projects that threaten nature, and the installation of a technical government.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Italian member of the European Parliament\u00a0Ilaria Salis\u00a0attended the protests, followed Monday by German MEP Jutta Paulus and Dutch MEPs Tineke Strik and Anna Strolenberg, all from the Greens. Salis, Paulus and Strik addressed the crowd, praising the movement and the Albanian people, and calling for the resort project to be halted.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the Flamingo protests have a profoundly European, and perhaps even global, significance. They express a popular demand for a radically different model of development \u2014 one that rejects predatory capitalism and puts people, communities, and the environment first,\u201d Salis said in a statement after her visit.<\/p>\n She added the protests<\/a> were a \u201cremarkable example of grassroots democracy in action.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday morning, about 200 protesters gathered outside parliament as lawmakers arrived for a plenary session. Amid calls for deputies to resign and accusations of corruption, some people threw eggs at the lawmakers\u2019 cars. Police gathered to push the protesters back, obstructing a journalist from filming. Some people at the scene suffered minor injuries, according to witnesses.<\/p>\n Tensions escalated further when several people hurled water bottles and stones towards parliament and deputies\u2019 cars, resulting in further confrontations with police, followed by six arrests.<\/p>\n A crowd of protesters then marched to the police headquarters to demand the prisoners\u2019 release and to condemn the police for what they called heavy-handed tactics.<\/p>\n Paulus said she had not seen any violence or rough language at the protests she had attended on Monday, describing a \u201cfriendly atmosphere\u201d and \u201cmany families with children.\u201d When asked about Tuesday\u2019s escalation \u2014 at which she was not present \u2014 she said: \u201cViolence is never acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Strik emphasized that Monday night\u2019s protests were peaceful but could not comment on Tuesday\u2019s, as she was not in Tirana when they occurred.<\/p>\n One of those arrested was Dritan Goxhaj, publicly accused by the government of having\u00a0links\u00a0to the Iranian regime. He, along with another protester, was released after several hours.<\/p>\n Last week, a Kosovo citizen, Igballe Huduti, was banned from entering Albania for 15 years after she was pictured at a protest. Interior Minister Besfort Lamallari said the decision was based on information from law enforcement institutions,\u00a0citing threats\u00a0to \u201cnational security, homeland security, and public safety.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This comes after Prime Minister Edi Rama\u00a0repeatedly alleged\u00a0foreign interference in the protests, mainly from Iran.<\/p>\n