nr. 128 / 9 maj 2009
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Confrontation eve After almost two decades, the main actors of the
Albanian politics have changed at the political elections eve in Albania. The
historical leader of the Democratic Party, as well as one of the initiators
and resisters of the democratic movements in our country, Sali
Berisha, won’t have to face, at least directly, the
other historical leader of the Socialist Party, the icon of the high levels
of the Albanian politics, Fatos Nano. Here begins
even the new interest that offer these elections of
June 28, 2009. Known as a “rebel” since the end of the ’80s , as well as one of the initiators of the democratic
changes in the Albanian of the ‘90s, though the son of a family very near to
the communist regime, Edi Rama is now on the other side of the barricade,
opposite to the actual Prime Minister, the former President Sali Berisha. The analysis of these two individuals should start
from the beginning. Berisha, from the mountains of Tropoja, who achieved everything in his life through
sacrifices and great efforts, facing the existing mentality, unfortunately
still existing toward part of population personifying the Prime Minister,
could go upstairs, step by step not only in his professional career as a
physician, but also as a politician. Rama, one of the young people of Tirana, grown in or
near the famous Block, in direct or indirect contact with the “forbidden
fruit” of the communist regime, even a “petted” by the destiny, as the son of
a privileged one of the communism, not so successful professionally as a
painter, yet not so little as a politician and administrator, as least of the
Albanian capital, used the conjunctures, year after year, to reach in 2009,
opposite to his rival. Though a member of the Party of Labor for more than
two decades, Berisha became head of a movement
started by students, becoming a symbol of the separation of Albania from the
communist past, because of his positioning clearly against the dictatorship
and those who represented or represent it during the years. As an irony of the destiny, at the beginning Rama
was at the same side of Berisha, with the only
difference that he represented radical attitudes to the former dictatorship
and its’ representatives, obviously expressed time after time. It is not
clear if Rama did ever become member of the DP, but very soon he showed his
distance from the first opposition force in the country. In 1992, Berisha would
reach the ace of the State pyramid of the new Albanian democracy, while Rama
turned into one of the greatest oppositionists of him and the installed
State. In reality, he was neither the first nor the last and not even the only. “Letra nga ferri” (Letters from the
hell), mostly edited by “Koha Jone”
newspaper, showed the harsh positioning of Rama even during the time of his
immigration in France. The half of 1997 and the beginning of 1998 would
bring the overturn of the positions not only between the two main subjects,
DP and SP, but also the two individuals, Berisha
and Rama. The first left the Presidency while the left wing won the political
elections, and the second started his way for power in Albania. It was 1998
that signed the memory of political career of Rama, and not only his memory,
with the expression of Fatos Nano after a few
years: “I took him from Paris, with his grown nails, and made of him a
minister”. The “political tin bowl” of Rama didn’t last for
long, while Berisha was trying to keep the DP from disintegration, that turned in opposition also hardly hit
in its image by the events of 1997-1998. As a Minister of Culture during the
Socialist Government, for the moment, Rama presented a different performance,
if not successful. It wasn’t so hard, even with the idea of painting the
walls of the buildings of the ministries, as Albania looked like a after civil war country. Apparently, this performance
convinced the SP to make of him a candidate for mayor of Tirana in 2000,
though he wasn’t yet a member of the SP, perhaps without even wondering if he
was a member of the DP of the beginning of the ‘90s. After beating his rival,
Besnik Mustafaj, in his
first true political confrontation, Rama started to feel the “smell” of true
power. His artistic creativity, maybe insufficient to make of him a painter,
helped him to start the change of Tirana, starting from the removal of
kiosks, continuing with the painting of the palaces, building of sidewalks,
parks, roads and so on, always in his style and image, fixed in his mind. In
his position at the head of opposition, it was impossible for Berisha to stop the grow of Rama
in politics. Time showed that Berisha did never
think to find Rama in front of him in 2009, starting as a mayor, now
separated not only by the destiny of a town, but of a nation, even beyond
Albania. At the eve of June 28, 2009, we find many
parallelisms. Berisha continues leading with an “strong hand” the party he created and “de facto”
leading since 1990. The same line continues Edi Rama since 2005, with the
party he took away from Fatos Nano, though the
ideas of political administration before with those after taking the
leadership of the SP, are years-light far from one
another. If, in concept, Berisha is right as a
representative of the right, always built around a strong leader, Rama “took
away” the model, even in the construction of a left wing party, always used
to oppose “the one” at the head. Berisha indeed,
continued the traditional way of building a right wing political subject,
admitting even the cost of losing his closest collaborators, now either
returned in the DP or in a pre-electoral coalition. The “Rama” model of
managing the SP is a reflection of the moral-politic construction of the same
leader, whom, perhaps after the beginning of the ‘90s, was one of the most
radicals of changes in Albania. This caused the PS, due to its way of
organization, the excess of discipline, not to be considered a traditionalist
left wing political force, but to go nearer to the center of the political
specter, or even to the right wing. It is not a casualty that the trinomial
articulated by Rama starts with the leader in the concept of governing:
leader, team, program. In a country like Albania, with deep social-economical development problems, inherited through the
years, it is very hard to clearly distinguish the political programs from one
other. Many points of the programs executed or presented by the DP and the SP
are very similar having as a background the social element, to get in many
ways to an extreme populism. Only the listing of priorities or “the first 100
days of power” can distinguish Berisha from Rama. The corruption! This is the “battle-horse” used by
the DP to get the power in 2005, and it’s exactly this “battle-horse” that
Rama is using to remove Berisha from the power on
June 28. The socialist leader Rama, knows very well
this argument was effective to remove Nano from the government of 4 years
ago, but Berisha too knows that the same argument,
based also on investigatory commissions, resulted a failure in the “ambushes”
to the Mayor of Tirana, to remove him from the management of the metropolis
in all the electoral confrontations. In paradoxical way, with the increase of
accusations, investigatory parliamentary commissions, from 2000 until 2007,
Rama got a deeper victory in his run for Mayor of Tirana against his democrat
rivals. Closer now to the elections of June 28, 2009, Rama is holding
stronger to the corruption of the actual governing, though he didn’t present,
during the sensational electoral promises, any program on how his is supposed
to decrease corruption with the new government, if he wants to have the votes
of the Albanians. Rama is using a method, which resulted in failure, at least
against him, at least in his run for Mayor of Tirana since 2000 until now. Berisha is holding strong after the investments he
realized, the increase of salaries, NATO, European Union etc. Since 2005, a lot has changed even in the mentality
of the Albanians. At that time, “corruption” caused a government to fall, to
replace it with another. Do Albanians have the same mentality after 4 years?
Is it more important to them the diminishing of corruption or what they see
every day starting from their pockets, the view and the streets they walk on?
We’ll know this only on June 28, 2009, along with the answer to the question:
“Have the Albanians really changed in 4 years?” Blerti Delija Blood-feud, the greatest wound of
society The greatest wound of the Albanian
society, the blood-feud, is taking away human lives, day and night. The
paradox based on the “laws” of the medieval Canon of Lekë
Dukagjini, has become a terrible cancer for the
society which pays with the life even of the innocent the codes of a rule now
without meaning for the civilized world. The gun of blood-feud has taken many
and many innocent lives for many generations even for centuries. Especially
during the last 19 years this phenomenon has got fearful dimensions. A few
time ago, on April 6, 2009, at the center of the northern town of Shkodra, was shut dead Nadir Quku.
Even today, after so many days, the police couldn’t arrest anyo Ndue Bacaj The Canon defeats law The lack of authority and the State of law is
replaced by the primitive revenge, the Canon of Lekë
Dukagjini. Many Albanians have been victims of this
code living for more than 600 years. Many innocent were buried, killed by the
gun of the avenger, only because they were relatives of the person who
committed a murder. One of those victims is Besnik Gani Ganija, born on August,
1st, 1956, in Puke and resident in Shkoder. According to an official document
of the Mayor of Puke, Rrustem Strugaj,
actually in the files of our editorial office, Besnik
Ganija and his family are living closed-in, though
innocent and the State has no power to secure their lives. This started on
August 24, 1999, when his cousin - son of his uncle - named Ylli Ganija, had caused an
incident killing the citizen H.T. from Puke. Since then, the two families are
in blood-feud. The family Ganija had to close in,
according to the laws of the Canon. The efforts for reconciliation have
failed many times, as it is reported in the document nr. 22 of protocol, of
April 29, 2009, of the association of the Missionaries of Peace and
Reconciliation of Albania, and this family is in
serious danger, as it happened in many similar cases. After gathering this
information, we searched more about the problem. This family is truly nearer
to death than life. The last ten years have been a true hell for it, but
fortunately all their members escaped death until now. The avengers, indeed
have shown tolerance, giving trust to Besnik Ganija many times, so that he could bring his children to
school. Lately, while the avengers have come to know that all the male
members of the family Ganija have left Albania, to
save their lives, Besnik Ganija
got the ultimatum. No more trust, and reconciliation
cannot even be mentioned. The problem is also that he has four sons, three at
school and another younger. Now these children have no hope to learn, to play
with their mates and live closed-in with their parents. The avengers avail
themselves of the fact that he has four sons. Four children with dreams for
life are condemned by the wild laws of the Canon, what shows that the State,
the law have no authority over the medieval codes. Shqipëria Etnike Revenge for duty motives The recent years were appropriate for terrorist
groups, anarchists, smugglers and all the outlaws. Often, the victims were
people who worked for good, who observed the law or defended the institutions
of the State. This is what happened during the summer of 1997, after the fall
of the State because of the rental enterprises, while all the production enterprises and shops were
robbed, the arsenal was broken in and emptied, part of which are still in
people’s hands. In 1997, thousand of people
attacked the army depots of Vau Dejes,
about 20 km from Shkodra with the intention to get
the guns. The officer Gezim Ejlli, tried to defend the
arsenal of the Albanian Army, where he was in service. After hours of
attempts, the crowd could brake in and empty the de Rifat Ymeri |
