A national pact for integration is implausible.

by Alfred Kola     Click here for the version in Albanian

The U.S. ambassador in Albania has repeatedly called on the country’s political class to sign a national pact that will make them work together for the common good of the Albania’s integration in EU. This appeal was first made by the SMI (LSI) Chairman Ilir Meta a few days ago and it’s not known whether the latter and ambassador have discussed the initiative before Mr. Arvizu publicly suggested it. The supporters of the pact do not specify its content, but the timing when and place where the ambassador suggested it, by the side of the unelected mayor of Tirana, the man who openly defied him in usurping the post through manipulation of popular vote, damaging his image as the U.S. ambassador, the image of the Department of State and the American government in the eyes of the Albanians and probably beyond, seems to have some obscure underlying factors that need to be clarified. The attitude of the U.S. embassy toward the events of January 21 protest, where four people were shot dead by National Guard and the hasty accusations of the prime minister that opposition committed the killings as well as the silence that followed the process of frauds and manipulation of mayoral contest in Tirana dealt a hard blow to the pro-American feeling of the Albanian nation and to the faith that American values of freedom and democracy are applicable to every country and for every nation. The loss of trust in this embassy and its initiatives was the unavoidable consequence.

I am not against a national pact, but not for the washed-out word of integration. This term has become very dull and abhorring to the ears of the Albanians because it has served and still serves to cover the abuse and malfeasance of this government. As a citizen of this country I am all for an extensive national pact to build a modern government after the European model, to establish western-like law enforcement institutions to clear the country from the crime, corruption and traffics and to shape a state that will guarantee the inviolability of the civil liberties of the Albanian citizens. When this happens the process of integration becomes inevitable and natural.

But let’s assume the parties agree on such a pact. What will it contain and, first of all, who will serve as a guarantor for its implementation? Mr. Arvizu suggests the model of Slovenia and Croatia. I like the comparison considering that the former Croatian prime minister is arrested on charges of corruption and is being indicted on such charges. Will the Albanian pact contain terms for the arrest of corrupt officials in all levels and their punishment according to law? If not, what will it contain then? I am sure the answer to this question would be quick: political agreement to pass bills in parliament that require the maximum majority. Here we are again with the old song of pinning the blame on the lack of laws, not their implementation. We can build a thousand courts and a thousand times more powerful will become the prime minister, because all these courts will fall immediately under his thumb. Albania has a lot of problems and their solution lie in the implementation of the existing laws. But, if Europe is prone to admitting within its ranks the frighteningly corrupted Albanian government that has brought under unlawful ownership most of the country’s business sectors, education and the media, that destroys labor unions, that has a deeply political and uneducated administration, that has brought under its control the justice system and police, that has close ties with the organized crime, that follows irresponsible economic policies extremely impoverishing the population and most of all rigs the elections and kill protesters, then, hallelujah.    

I have always thought that the “internationals” were uninformed about what was really happening in Albania, but the publication on WikiLeaks of the U.S. embassy cables showed that the American and European governments are better informed than the Albanians will ever be. Then what’s going to happen now?

It’s very weird that the ambassadors in Tirana, who never miss a chance to speak before TV cameras, go places and attend every possible public or private event, ranging from the inauguration of an alley to donating ten used computers to a school and to free beer, haven’t said a word about those poor miners in Bulqiza, who are being neglected and humiliated in their dignity and family bread, and who are bravely challenging this governments that the ambassadors know very well. Aren’t they part of the integration pact? They might consider the question of miners a domestic matter. Well then, to intervene in the prosecution work or tell the opposition leader to back down is not meddling in Albania’s internal affairs? 

But even if such a pact is agreed upon, its implementation poses a host of challenges. No one can guarantee that the master of agreement breaking will not turn this pact into a worthless piece of rag. The internationals and even Mr. Arvizu, who is suggesting such a pact, cannot vouch for its implementation. The end of 2010 and the year 2011 proved that Berisha doesn’t give a hoot about the internationals when he sets his mind on doing something, from the European parliament when he trashed the resolution unanimously   adopted by both political sides to Leichak and Countryman who vouched for the fairness of the May 8 local elections. And the real intentions of an integration pact lie precisely in the international community’s failure with Albania.

After the manipulation of the mayoral contest in Tirana involving CEC chairman Ristani and the Electoral College, Berisha is obviously in a difficult position and a complete isolation by the international community. They are telling Berisha that, although they don’t like the Albanian opposition and its leader, their support for him cannot cross some boundaries such as the open manipulation of elections and the distortion of people’s will after the process has ended and the winner is announced. But international community is also aware that it promised the opposition and people fair elections and the failure to do so was actually their failure to solve the deadlock and the deepening of the crisis will become their responsibility. The scenario of a political tension in the country would place them in the middle of undesired conflict and they would find themselves in the thick of a shower of critics from the international media for their inaptness in Albania and handling Berisha with kid’s glove. Some of them have even labeled him a Gadhafi of Balkan. In light of such a situation they will be forced to publicly condemn Berisha as the prime minister of a totalitarian regime and the first step would be the expulsion of Albania from NATO. But they know that even facing threats for further measures, Berisha would never back down from his position, but the people will find incentives and encouragement to revolt against the government and will rise to overthrow it. The upshot would be bloodshed and revolution. With a national integration pact, the internationals of Tirana aim to solve two major problems easily: first, they wash their hands of the May 8 elections and second, they rehabilitate Berisha with the hope that they will be able to control him in his greed for unlimited power. Pledged in a national pact for integration in EU, the isolation barriers for Mr. Berisha would gradually fall and he would be rehabilitated in international organizations. The ambassadors in Tirana don’t even care about the integration and the aspiration of Albanian people. They just want to dodge their responsibility.

But this pact has another political implication: it will serve to castigate the opposition in case it refuses to cooperate. But the opposition, on its part, may turn this pact in its favor by proposing another comprehensive national pact aiming the establishment of the rule of law in the country, starting with the solution of the January 21 murders and Berisha’s accusations that the opposition was involved in them as well as making public the concessionary contracts on the mineral resources and oilfields in the country. Then they can work on other terms of the pact. How ready will the opposition be to help Berisha in these difficult moments is up to it. It will also determine the support the people will give the opposition in the future.

At any rate, the real purpose of the national integration pact is to get Berisha off the hook and to fix the image of the troika, which had turned to a boring tasteless soap opera. Despite the great need for a national pact not solely of the politics, but the whole institutional life in Albania, the lack of guarantees for its proper implementation makes it unachievable and worthless.