Last week, in the framework of the “Vision 2030” project created by the “Young Generations for the New Balkans” with the support of the IIP and others, I once again returned to Tirana, the capital of Albania. I first visited the city at the beginning of the nineties, when Albania had just started to transform itself from a backward Communist dictatorship into a capitalist democracy. As with all countries that seek to undergo a fundamental transformation, expectations were too high - especially concerning the timeframe and speed of the transition. Old habits and new reactionary forces oftentimes hinder rapid and thorough transformations.
When I first visited Tirana, I was still a member of the Vienna city and regional government responsible for urban development and city planning. Tirana’s mayor wanted help and support to design new instruments and strategies for the city’s development. However, fundamental changes only happened when Edi Rama, with his artistic knowledge and feeling, became the city’s mayor. He fundamentally transformed the face of Tirana - and not only by forcing homeowners to paint their houses in bright colors. Some investors expected stronger growth than could be realized, resulting in over-investment in the city. Nevertheless, Tirana developed rapidly and with quality - with the exception of the ”development” along the road leading from the airport to the city, where we find the same ugliness and chaos as in many other cities.
Strolling through the park opposite the hotel “Rogner” in the few minutes after the main event and before heading to the airport, I recognized two monuments that were symbolic for the fate of Albania and the Albanians. First is the monument of Ismail Qemal Vlora, whose photo can be seen frequently across the coutry (including as the background of the picture taken during a visit to the Speaker of the Parliament below).
Ismail Qemal was the father of Albania’s independence and its first prime minister, serving from 1912 to 1914. He graduated from the Ottoman law school in Istanbul and started his career as an Ottoman civil servant; among other functions, he served as the governor of Beirut. At first, he sought to find a political solution for Albania within the Ottoman Empire, for example proposing the formation of a Balkan Confederation with Turkey as the political centre. Married to a Greek woman, Ismail Qemal had always favored Greek-Albanian cooperation, subsequently for the purpose of a common fight against the Ottomans. He also opposed Bulgarian, Italian, and Austro-Hungarian aspirations in the region until he found an ally in Austria-Hungary against the Serbs. After talks with officials in Vienna, he returned by boat from Trieste to Durrës in 1912, and on November 28th the “Albanian Declaration of Independence“ ended 500 years of Ottoman rule. But many Albanians did not find themselves inside the new Albania. In the interest of forming a strong alliance against Austria-Hungary, the Western powers “gave” several regions with predominantly Albanian populations to neighboring countries - for example Kosovo to Serbia.
Ismail Qemal’s life was difficult and tumultuous, just as the history of Albania during that time - and for many centuries before. Even more than other countries in the region, Albania was an object of foreign domination and a victim of the aspirations of its neighbors and the great powers. Even today we can witness competition for influence by global powers, but at least there are no plans for occupation.
Nationalism at that time - as expressed by Ismail Qemal - was progressive in seeking to rid Albania of foreign domination and establish democracy and freedom for its people. But it would not be long before democracy was crushed and a new liberation movement turned into a cruel dictatorship.
One fighter for a new society - of which he himself would later fall victim - was Qemal Staffa. His statue is located just a few meters away from that of Ismail Qemal. Qemal Staffa was a co-founder of the Communist group of Shkoder and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Albania in November 1941. In 1942, he was killed by fascist forces. Several Communists claimed that the Communist leader Enver Hoxha betrayed him and gave compromising information to the Italians. This has not been proved, but it is significant that his fiancée, brothers, and sisters were imprisoned and persecuted by the same regime, which then glorified Qemal Staffa and named many places, squares, and schools after him. Here we find a parallel to the Soviet regime: it is widely accepted that Stalin killed a young and much-liked Leningrad leader, Sergej Kirov, who could have been his rival and a challenger to his power. As he mourned Kirov’s death at the burial, Stalin glorified him on the one hand and at the same time used his death as a pretext to escalate the system of repression.
Nearby these two monuments you can also find the remnants of the countless bunkers that were built around the country to “defend” Albania against its enemies. These enemies were first friends and then later, in the view of Enver Hoxha, traitors and enemies: Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and China - one after the other. It was an enormous burden for the democratic forces after the collapse of the Communist regime to get rid of these bunkers.
A country and a society that have such a historical background cannot overcome these burdens and wounds overnight. In all my discussions with the leaders of the different parties, I could sense the profound influence of the country’s past. Cooperation was not on their agenda. This is especially true for the conflict between the Socialist Party and the (conservative) Democratic Party (DP). Their long-term leaders - Sali Berisha for the DP and Edi Rama for the Socialists - have had a particularly strained relationship. During our most recent visit to Tirana, I was reminded of a famous dinner at the Strasbourg restaurant Crocodile where the leaders of the Socialists and the People’s Party in the European Parliament and myself tried to mediate between the two leaders but ultimately failed.
Irrespective of the numerous difficulties, many of us European parliamentarians sought to build bridges within Albania. We were - at least for a while - more successful in mediating between the two “left-wing” leaders - Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Illir Meta.
From my very first visit, I developed a positive emotional relationship with the country and its people. I was thus delighted when several Albanians underlined and praised my engagement with Albania during our most recent visit. And some fans even wanted selfies with me. There is no reason to be especially proud of this, but it is proof of the value of personal engagement in politics for people who have suffered in the past and who aspire to be recognized as equal Europeans. Needless to say, there is still much to do in order to combat corruption and poverty. And the boycott of the Parliament by different parties at various times is no sign of a functioning democracy. But with all the backlash in our own democracies in the EU, we should be less arrogant and recognize the necessity of a common fight for democracy inside and outside the EU. In this respect, I will never stop pleading for compromise and common cause in order to ease the way towards EU membership for Albania.
I am particularly happy that, with the help of the IIP, we were able to launch the project “Vision 2030” and look more toward the future. Yes, history is important in order to understand the struggles of the past, as they are often obstacles to rapid and comprehensive changes. But we should strive to analyze them in order to overcome them. Integration into the EU - certainly step-by-step and on the basis of doing the necessary homework - is the best way to prevent the spread of undesirable influences. EU membership - with all its deficiencies - is in today’s globalized world the best way of overcoming narrow-minded nationalism. But the fight for democracy and human rights has no end.
For more information on the trip to Tirana, see the full event report here.
Dr. Hannes Swoboda, President of the International Institute for Peace (IP), started his career in urban politics in Vienna and was elected member of the European Parliament in 1996. He was Vice President of the Social Democrat Group until 2012 und then President until 2014. He was particularly engaged in foreign, enlargement, and neighborhood policies. Swoboda is also President of the Vienna Institute for International Economics, the Centre of Architecture, the University for Applied Science - Campus Vienna, and the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute.