Hysaj said the delegation had been offered the opportunity to visit the island and receive official information about the project and Sazan’s legal status, but declined and travelled to Tirana to join a protest dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution.”

Tourism Agency Director rejected comparisons between Sazan and Gaza, saying the island had not been sold and that no agreement with a private partner had been finalised. Ownership of Sazan, she said, will remain public.

Prime Minister Edi Rama backed Hysaj’s comments, writing on social media: “These revolutionaries of lies flee the truth like the devil flees incense, while confusing the world with their nonsense.”

The government head also praised the National Tourism Agency and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture for the reception given to the delegation.

In a lengthy statement, Hysaj said the activists had been offered an opportunity to visit Sazan and receive detailed information about its potential development, but had declined.

“If you cross the sea claiming you are going to save an island and, once you arrive, refuse even to visit it, you have not come to understand reality. You have come to stage a conclusion written before you set off,” she said.

Hysaj criticised the activists’ use of imagery linking Sazan to Gaza and said the comparison was offensive to Palestinians.

She stressed that Sazan is an uninhabited island and said no residents faced displacement or other threats. Flamingos, she added, live in the Narta Lagoon on the mainland and are not found on Sazan.

Hysaj stated no agreement with a private investor has been signed, no architectural project has been finalised and “not a single square metre” of Sazan has been sold.

She said any future private investor could participate only if an agreement and tourism project were first approved, through a joint company in which the Albanian state would remain a partner.

“The state will not be the seller of the island, but a partner in a possible project. Ownership of Sazan will remain public,” Hysaj said.

Sazan covers 562 hectares, while a potential development area could cover 45 hectares, or just over 8% of the island, she said. The maximum development intensity would be limited to 0.25% of the island’s total area.

Natural monuments, cliffs, environmentally sensitive areas, the marine national park and protected marine areas would be excluded from any development, while public access would have to be guaranteed and any intervention subject to strict environmental requirements, she said.

“Had they chosen to visit Sazan, they would have seen that the island is not under siege,” Hysaj said.

She added that the government remained open to visitors who wished to examine the island and learn more about the plans.

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