THE STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, ALFRED MOISIU REGARDING HIS DECISION ABOUT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

October 14, 2006

Distinguished journalists,

Because of the importance of the issue and the promise I made to you about a month ago, I am here today in front of you to communicate my constitutional decision regarding the issue of the Attorney General. Respecting the constitutional communication, I have officially sent my decision on this issue to the Directorate of the Assembly on October 13th, the day before.

I am not required by the Constitution to make public clarifications and to offer the reasons on which the decision that was taken was based, by recognizing this as a competence that the Constitution and the constitutional jurisprudence have bestowed in discretion upon the President. However, respecting the decision of the Assembly and public opinion, I have marked the constitutional reasons on which my decision has been based in the material sent to the Assembly. The need for transparency, which is so great in a democratic system, the importance of the issue and the institutional moral and ethic induce me today to make public the decision making and the reason where it is founded.

The issue of Attorney General has preoccupied me a great deal, not only because of my institutional involvement, but also as an issue of the inter-institutional relations in a young and fragile democracy such as ours. In my view point about the Rule of Law, although it functions as a whole and the constitutional institutions are dependent on one another in their activity, within this institutional interdependence and cooperation, the independence and autonomy in carrying out the constitutional functions stands at the core. I do view the independence of the branches of power and constitutional institutions as a mean to cover their malfunction or as an exclusion from responsibilities and control, but as a fundamental opportunity for administering the state according to the principles on which the Rule of Law functions. From this view point and based on the constitutional competence, I assessed with maximal efforts the decision of the Assembly of the Republic and the entire documentation on which that decision was based.

From the formal side, the decision of the Assembly has not been presented in the form required by Article 149, paragraph 2 of the Constitution and the procedure required by Article 114 of the Assembly’s Rule. Contrary to the constitutional regulation, the decision of the Assembly is not a direct proposal to dismiss the Attorney general, but a passing of the Rapport of the Parliamentary Investigating Commission. Also, contrary from the definitions in the Assembly’s Rule, this body has decided by a single voting the passing of the Rapport of the Investigating Commission and the request to dismiss the Attorney General. Regardless of this aspect, which however carries its own significance, I paid more importance to the content of the Rapport than the procedures that was followed. After carefully reviewing and intensively consulting with a group of Albanian, European and United States jurists, as it has happened in similar cases in Hungary, Lithuania, etc., I reached the following conclusion:

The rapport of the Investigating commission has considered grave infractions of the law by the Attorney General during the exercise of his functions, his actions or non taking actions on a series of cases listed in the rapport. The Commission took upon itself to judge whether the decisions taken by the prosecutors for penal cases are or not based on the law. In each case, the Commission has assessed as being wrong the non initiations, ending or suspending of the analyzed penal cases. In my judgment, this position of the commission which was later approved by the Assembly, goes contrary to the Constitutional principle of separation of powers, foreseen by its Article 7 and also to the Law for organizing and functioning of investigating commissions and the Code of penal Procedure, according to which the decision making for penal proceeding is the competence solely of the prosecutor body. According to the Albanian legislation the exercise of this discretion to initiate, suspend or halt a penal proceeding is the right solely of the Attorney General and other prosecutors. By being a fundamental principle of a judicial system in a democratic country, the discretion of the prosecutors in a decision making for penal proceeding cannot be substituted by another branch of power. Various views of other branches of power on the decisions of the prosecutors are part of a political reality, but the intervention of politics in the decision making of prosecutors is inopportune and a dangerous precedent for the Rule of Law. The decisions making regarding the exercise of functions of the prosecutors can be assessed only in hierarchic ways from the highest prosecutor all the way up to Attorney General. The controlling function over these decisions cannot be taken by the Assembly, but only by the Court and all this is done based only on the complain presented the interested sides. For this reason, our Constitutional Court, through its decision of 2003 has stated that “the parliamentary control must be exercised in such a way so it cannot interfere in the activity of other branches of power. The Investigating commission, by investigating in a specified field within the competences included in the constitutional responsibility of the Assembly, can manage to find data which consist in a reason to be assessed by it, but without entering in the sphere of investigating and judicial bodies.”

My second assessment is connected to the make up of the Investigating commission and the positions of some of its members. By reviewing them, I reached the conclusion that we are dealing with an infraction of the principal of a fair legal process and presumption of innocence. This, because specific members of the Commission have taken upon themselves to declare an already proven all the claimed infractions and accusations, which had not been yet reviewed by the Investigating Commission. The Attorney General has been considered guilty before the Commission can exercise the function of verifying the accusations and facts, by infracting his constitutional right to be entitled to a just legal process and presumption of innocence.

Based on the above mentioned arguments and after assessing the procedures about founding and functioning of the Parliamentary Investigating Commission and the Rapport passed by the Assembly, directly referred also to the decision number 75, dated April 19, 2002 of the Constitutional Court, it results to me that throughout the activity of Attorney General, none of the conditions foreseen by Article 149, paragraph 2 of the Constitution for his dismissal are met. More concretely, it does result to me that the Attorney General has infringed the Constitution, has committed grave infractions of the law while exercising his functions, nor that he suffers from mental or physical disabilities or that he has committed acts or behaved in such a way that gravely discredit the position and figure of the Attorney General. As a result, since the proposal for his dismissal has no foundation on the criteria and procedures foreseen in the Constitution and constitutional jurisprudence, I as the President of the Republic have no other choice but, respecting the Constitution, to proclaim the decision not to dismiss the Attorney General.

This decision is in full compliance to my oath taken at the very first moment of beginning the high post of the President of the Republic that throughout my activity I would be led by the Constitution and the law, by not allowing, for as long as it is in my competence, infractions of the Constitution of our Republic.

I have naturally understand the concerns of some political parties, institutions and media about the fight against organized crime and corruption as phenomena that bring grave consequences for the entire society. I have supported and support this initiative, because it is in line with my conviction and our national interest, but in any case my advice has been and remains that such battles require collaboration and coordination of all the responsible institutions by respecting at the same time also the responsibilities of each one of them.

In the future also, as I have done until today, I will be an active supporter of any legal and constitutional initiative against organized crime and to the benefit of the country and strengthening of our democratic institutions. I expressed the same unwavering stand also in my determination to respect the constitutional institutions and their functions, which cannot be replaced by other constitutional institution, be it the Assembly of Albania. My advice and invitation is that, instead of political accusations and tendencies to shift the responsibilities. There must be the sustainable and long-term respect and coordination among the constitutional powers and institutions in our country.

In conclusion, I would like to publicly demand from the Attorney General to continue the work and learn the necessary conclusions from the constructive criticism of the Parliament and public opinion for the reformation and upgrading at the right level of the activity of the Prosecutor’s Office.

I also call upon the political forces and the Assembly to stay away from the political speculations and interests of the moment and to be on the required level of democratic ethic and culture while assessing the decisions of the President of the republic in order to demonstrate this way that Albania has put behind the period of conflicted transition and that it has already enter the irreversible path of the Rule of Law and standards that get us closer to the great European family which is the dream of our entire people.

Thank you for your attention and work!

- - -

THE LETTER OF PRESIDENT MOISIU ADDRESSED TO THE ASSEMBLY OF ALBANIA.

October 13, 2006

The Assembly of the Republic has sent to me on July 27, 2006 the decision number 53, in which it has passed the rapport of the Parliamentary Investigating Commission about the beginning of the procedures to dismiss the Attorney General, Theodhori Sollaku and also the accompanying documentation on which this decision was based.

The issue of the Attorney General has greatly preoccupied me as an issue of the inter-institutional relations in a young and fragile democracy such as ours. The Rule of Law, although it functions as a whole and the constitutional institutions are dependent on one another in their activity, within this institutional interdependence and cooperation, the independence and autonomy in carrying out the constitutional functions stands at the core. I view the independence of the branches of power and constitutional institutions as a mean to cover their malfunction or as an exclusion from responsibilities and control, but as a fundamental opportunity for administering the state according to the principles on which the Rule of Law functions.

From this view point and based on the Article 149, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, I assessed with maximal efforts the decision of the Assembly of the Republic. Although the decision of the Assembly has not been presented in the form required by Article 149, paragraph 2 of the Constitution and the procedure required by Article 114 of the Assembly’s Rule assessing, more than the formal shortcomings, the core of the request and work of the Parliamentary Investigating Commission, I reached the following conclusion:

1- The rapport of the Investigating commission has considered grave infractions of the law by the Attorney General during the exercise of his functions, his actions or non taking actions on a series of cases listed in the rapport. The Commission has taken upon itself to judge whether the decisions taken by the prosecutors for penal cases are or not based on the law. In each case, the Commission has assessed as being wrong the non initiations, ending or suspending of the analyzed penal cases. This position of the Commission which was later approved by the Assembly goes contrary to the Constitutional principle of separation of powers – a principle not only sanctioned by the Article 7 of the Constitution, but it is a principle that transgresses the entire organizing and functioning of the independent constitutional bodies. This position of the Commission goes contrary to the field of the activity of investigating commissions specified by the Law 8891, dated May 2, 2002 “On the organizing and functioning of the investigating commissions of the Assembly,” and on the Code of Penal Procedure. The decision making regarding a penal proceeding is the attribute solely of the prosecutor’s office, which according to the Article 148 of the Constitution is the only body that files charges. The decisions making regarding the exercise of functions of the prosecutors can be assessed only in hierarchic ways from the highest prosecutor all the way up to Attorney General, or can be checked by the court based on the complain by the sides. No one else, including here also the parliamentary investigating commissions, besides these bodies, has the right to reach conclusions and to make assessments regarding the decision taking of the prosecutor’s office. Even at the best case possible, this assessment would be subjective, which would leave it open for interpretations and different opinions. The Investigating Commission cannot take upon the attribution of the court, which according to the law is the only one that at the last instance, assesses whether a penal case has been halted fairly or not, or whether the non initiation of suspension of a case has been based on the law or not. This way, the Commission has taken upon itself attributions that do not even belong to the Assembly of Albania, by exercising in a way competences or attributions that belong only to the body of prosecutor or court. I assess that throughout the activity of this Commission it has not been taken into consideration the interpreting decision number 18, dated May 14, 2003 of the Constitutional Court which has stated “the parliamentary control must be exercised in such a way so it cannot interfere in the activity of other branches of power. The Investigating commission, by investigating in a specified field within the competences included in the constitutional responsibility of the Assembly, can manage to find data which consist in a reason to be assessed by it, but without entering in the sphere of investigating and judicial bodies.”

2- I have attentively followed the entire progress of the activity of this Commission and have verified its composition. I assess that the composition of the Commission and the positions of some of its members have infringed the principle of the principal of a fair legal process and presumption of innocence. This because of the fact that, specific members of the Commission, even when it had already began the investigating activity took upon them to declare as proven all the infractions or the claimed accusations, which needed to be proven about their veracity by the special investigating commission. Besides this, in the composition of the Commission, five out of seven members belonging to the Parliamentary majority were also signers of the request to dismiss the Attorney General, by infringing even further the principle of the principal of a fair legal process and presumption of innocence, for which has also dispose the Constitutional Court in its decision number 75, dated April 19, 2002 in an analog case.

As the conclusion, after assessing the procedures for founding and functioning of the parliamentary investigating commission, and also the Rapport passed by the Assembly, by directly referring to the decision 75, dated April 19, 2002 of the Constitutional Court I do not find such infractions of the law in the activity of the Attorney General to dismiss him as it is required by the Article 149, paragraph 2 of the Constitution. Hence, I decided not to dismiss the Attorney general because the proposal for his dismissal has no foundation on the criteria and procedures foreseen by the Constitution and the constitutional jurisprudence.

Hoping in your understanding,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

ALFRED MOISIU

PM Sali Berisha's aktiviteter: [Billederne i denne sektion kan som regel forstørres ved at klikke på dem (mens man er på nettet)]


Reinhard Priebe, Repræsentant for EU-Kommissionen, har været i Albanien. PM's kontor skriver:

Priebe hos Præsident Moisiu


13/10/2006

This morning Prime Minister Berisha received the Head of the European Commission for the West Balkans, Mr. Reinhard Priebe. They discussed over the Albanian European integration process and over the reforms undertaken by the government in the war against corruption and organized crime as well as in the field of economy.

Mr Priebe praised the achievements of the Albanian government and he declared that “invitations to boycott local elections have no reason to exist”.

At the end of their meeting Mr. Priebe and Premier Berisha gave this comments for the media:

Mr. Priebe: Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I just had a very detailed exchange of views with the prime minister and where Albania stands in the European integration process. We are very happy that the SAA has been signed last summer. The Prime Minister informed me that the ratification process for the interim agreement finished so that the interim agreement will enter into force the 1st of December and that is very good news.

The next step is of course now that we will implement the interim agreement and there will be some changes at customs duties and there will be some other rights and obligations. We discussed also on what needs to be done to make sure that the implementation of the interim agreement will work fully, without any difficulties.

We will continue to work intensively with the Albanian government on improving the administrates capacity, which is a huge challenge for the country. So we stand ready to give advice and to give financial assistance to the many things that need to be done to enable the Albanian administrate to cope with the challenges of getting closer to European standards.

And the other point we discussed is the local elections. We are waiting for the decision of the president to fix a date for these elections. What the European Union wants to see and hopes to see is, again, a clear progress in the election proceedings so that we can say after the local elections that again the country has made a step to having a solid and well working system of proceeding to elections.

Mr. Berisha: I take this occasion to express my highest gratitude to the European Commission in general and to Mr. Priebe in particular for his very precious contribution in the process of the progress of Albania towards the EU, in the process of the progress of Albania towards democratic standards. For years, Mr. Priebe and his team came to Albania, with the file of Albania, repeatedly. They helped and lead the SAA negotiation process. But also they gave an irreplaceable help to the electoral process. I assured Mr. Priebe that the government is determined to fulfill with seriousness all the requirements of SAA through comprehensive reforms. I also assured him that the government is determined to have a free and fair electoral process and will do whatever is in its power to have such elections in Albania. We are waiting for a date, in order to send invitations to all international institutions such as OSCE, European Parliament, and Council of Europe to come and monitor the electoral process in Albania. I discussed with Mr. Priebe the collaboration with the EU in every field, the necessity of the European projects for the region and we had a complete understanding on all these issues. I would like to thank him again for his great contribution.

Question: Mr. Priebe, you have known Albania for years and can be called an expert of the Albanian administrate and the Albanian government. It is clear to everyone that the signing of the agreement is only the beginning and that there is much work ahead. Do you think that the Albanian government is on the right path to the final goal, the European integration, and where should it focus on?

Mr. Priebe: As I said before, the signing of the SAA is an important step, and I’ll try to explain you why. Once the country is in association relations, these relations between Albania and the EU are much more intense than they were before, so we will have a phase of extremely intensive working together on many issues in committees, subcommittees and the mechanisms of the SAA will help us to organize that. Well, everybody knows that meeting the basic criteria for EU membership and all the technical requirements is a huge challenge and we will have to work on this. It is impossible to predict now how long it will take, but I think that if we continue this work as we have done over the last years and if there is a broad consensus between all the political parties in the country that this the first priority on which energies should be focused, than Albania will certainly make progress on its European prospective.

Question: The issue of the property is a key issue in Albania. How do you view the privatization process and do you think that privatizations and land renting should continue without solving first the question of property compensation?

This is a subject which we have been discussing very, very often in our technical meetings. We are very aware that this is an extremely controversial and an extremely difficult issue, by the way it’s not an issue proper to Albania, but it’s a problem to all transition countries. I can not go into any detail in any case; property legislation is not an EU competence. What is essential on property issues is that things have to work out in a constitutional way and that there is proper legal protection when people think they have to complain. And last but not least, we should not forget that there is also a financial and budgetary dimension which can not be neglected.

Question: Mr. Berisha, do you have any comment on the property issue?

Mr. Berisha: I think that the law adopted by the parliament is the best possible response for this issue. The agency created for this purpose is being organized rapidly. The government is very determined to make the most serious efforts to render the exciting properties and compensate the rest with the market value. The process of privatization of public properties or the process of land renting can not be interrupted. The government has created and will enforce the fond for the compensation of properties in currency. This is a dynamic process.

Question: Are there any sub legal acts to the property law?

Mr. Berisha: Sub legal acts to the law are being examined and need a small amendment, because we have received 1300 complaints and a new agency should be approved by the parliament to examine these complaints.

Question: Mr. Berisha, you said that you are waiting for the date of the elections. Does it mean that the electoral reform is no longer taking place?

Mr. Berisha: The date of the elections is necessary because the international institutions need it in order to plan the monitoring of the elections. The earlier we give them a date, the better they can plan the monitoring of our elections. Regarding the reforms, I would like to clarify two points. We are determined to respect every point of the agreement, as we have signed. Today we sent to the parliament the amendments to the constitutions, with the respective signatures of the MPs, for the enlargement of the Central Electoral Commission and for the four year mandate for the people that will be elected during local elections. We are making every possible effort to draft more correct electoral lists. We are determined to respect the agreement in every aspect.

SRSG praises bilateral relations between Kosovo and Albania. Signs MoUs on energy cooperation

PRISTINA – As part of his introductory visits to the region, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo (SRSG) Joachim Rücker today visited Tirana, where he met the President of Albania Alfred Moisiu and Prime Minister Sali Berisha. The SRSG also had meetings with Foreign Minister Besnik Mustafaj and leaders of the opposition Socialist Party of Albania Mr. Edi Rama and Mr. Pandeli Majko.

The SRSG, together with Kosovo Minister of Energy and Mining Et’hem Ceku, signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Albanian Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy Genc Ruli. The MoUs relate to cooperation between Kosovo and Albania in the field of Energy and the construction of a new 400 kV Interconnection Line between Kosovo and Albania.

Addressing the media in Tirana, the SRSG emphasized the excellent bilateral cooperation between Kosovo and Albania “as evidenced by the MoUs on energy cooperation signed today and many other cooperation agreements already existing between Kosovo and Albania.”

“Apart from the excellent bilateral relations it has with Kosovo, Albania is also playing a very constructive role in the region at this critical time of the status process,” the SRSG said and stressed that solving this last piece of the Balkans puzzle is also very important for regional stability.

“I think that Albania in many ways stands as a regional model of a stable, democratic and multi-ethnic society,” Mr. Rücker added.

The SRSG took note of the views of his interlocutors for an early settlement of Kosovo’s status. He said: “Status is coming, but it is essential for Standards implementation to continue, for the PISG to prepare for post-status Kosovo and for the Unity Team to maintain the unity.”

Asked about the economic benefit of status determination, Mr. Rücker said: “Status will indeed remove several hurdles to economic development, such as by allowing Kosovo full access to international financial institutions. But as far as international investments in Kosovo are concerned, Kosovo already has a very good legal and institutional basis for investment. The investment climate is good and there is full protection for investment in Kosovo.”

Indenrigsminister Olldashi


Tirana. Lokalvalget. Det forlyder at nuværende Indenrigsminister Sokol Olldashi vil stille op som Borgmester imod den nuværende, Edi Rama - som er Formand for Socialistpartiet.


Støtte til Albansk uddannelse fra Den Europæiske Investeringsbank

EUR 12.5 million for development of Albanian education

The European Investment Bank (EIB) lends EUR 12.5 million to the Republic of Albania for supporting the first phase 2007-2010 of the Albania’s National Education Strategy developed for the period 2004-2015.

EIB funds will finance an improvement of the quality of learning conditions for students; contribute to an increase of the enrolment in general secondary education, and better governance in the higher education sector. The support focuses on: strengthening leadership, management and governance in the education system and improving the quality of learning outcomes. The loan will help to develop and improve the existing education infrastructure, especially in secondary education as well as set the stage for higher education reform.

To implement the mentioned objectives the EIB is joining its forces with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the World Bank (WB). The Albanian Government and other bilateral donors will provide additional funds.

In late 1990s, the initial focus of the EIB activities in Albania was on the urgent reconstruction and rehabilitation of basic infrastructure. More recently, EIB activities in Albania have been centred on the upgrading of the infrastructure network, with emphasis on fostering regional integration and removing bottlenecks in the road, rail and energy sector. Finally, with the new loan aimed at supporting National Education Strategy, the EIB has diversified its activities into the education sector.

Forfatteren Dritëro Agolli fyldte 75 den 13. Oktober. Præsident Moisiu har sendt en lykønskning:

President Moisiu congratulates the renowned writer Dritëro Agolli on his seventy fifth birthday.

October 14, 2006

The President of the Republic, Alfred Moisiu has conveyed a congratulatory message to the renowned writer Dritëro Agolli, on the occasion of his seventy fifth birthday anniversary.

”On this remarkable day of your life, of the community of writers, artists and society, you, dear Dritëro, come as a notable figure of our national literature and culture, as a public person with a very wide diapason and also as a renowned political figure of the Albanian left who has demonstrated and still does daring ideas and reformatory stands.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to wish you once again, also on behalf of the Albanian state, health and many years to come and a rich life filled with an all sided creativity.” – it is stated in the message of President Moisiu.

Kadaré, fortsat. På det seneste har jeg læst Stéphane Courtois interview med Ismail Kadaré, der findes i Shaban Sinani's bog »Le Dossier Kadaré«, Fransk udgave 2006. Dette har givet anledning til flg. afsnit, der også findes på: http://bjoerna.net/Kadare/2006.htm

Courtois' interview kommer godt rundt og giver et alsidigt indtryk af Kadaré's måde at beskrive og fortolke sin tidligere og nuværende situation på. Kadaré fortæller at ikke alle var begejstrede for at Sinani gik i gang med at finde gamle papirer frem eller for at man åbnede Sikkerhedstjenestens arkiver, men at det var en bestræbelse han selv støttede. Projektet har kostet Sinani dyrt, siger Kadaré et par gange, for den kostede ham hans job som chef for Nationalarkivet. Det var ganske vist Berisha'regeringen der afskedigede Sinani, men nogle af kuglerne var støbt af den foregående socialistiske regering. [Om denne udlægning er helt korrekt, er jeg usikker på. Det er rigtigt at Sinani - som én af relativt få - blev afskediget som følge af regeringsskiftet, men muligvis skyldtes det mest et gammelt regnskab vedrørende chefposten, selv om det kan have spillet en vis rolle at Sinani gjorde omtalte indsats].

Kadaré er flere gange inde på forholdet til forfatterkollegaen Dritëro Agolli. Engang var de gode venner, og Kadaré omtaler Agolli's forfatterskab meget positivt, men de kom efterhånden på afstand fra hinanden, fordi Agolli lagde større vægt - end Kadaré - på at gøre politisk karriere [Agolli som formand for Forfatterforeningen] end på at være forfatter. Muligvis har 'myndighederne' påvirket Agolli til at være fagligt jaloux på Kadaré?

Kadaré beskriver sig selv som først og fremmest forfatter og som én der ville tænke frit og uafhængigt. [Denne udlægning er næppe helt rammende, for op igennem 1970'erne fik også Kadaré politiske funktioner og blev en kendt talsmand for det officielle Albanien, samtidig med at han - uden tvivl - blev betragtet med mistro fra den politiske top. Forholdet er bestemt ikke entydigt, men meget sammensat].

Kadaré har kun truffet Enver Hoxha ved en enkelt lejlighed i 1971 [derimod har han adskillige gange truffet andre fra partitoppen, dels Hoxha's kone, Nexhmije Hoxha, der spillede en stor politisk rolle, dels Ramiz Alia, som han har skrevet og talt indgående med flere gange, bl.a. i tiden frem til afhopningen i 1990]. Kadaré er - efter Hoxha-systemets sammenbrud - blevet kritiseret af Nexhmije Hoxha for at have svigtet og for at have spillet en art dobbeltspil.

1971 var i øvrigt dét år hvor Kadaré blev optaget som medlem af Kommunistpartiet. Hvorfor blev han dét, når han ikke så sig selv som 'partisoldat', men som forfatter?, kunne man spørge. Det var ikke alle og enhver der blev medlemmer, men personer som partiet havde tillid til, og Kadaré blev - synes det - ikke indstillet til optagelse af hvem som helst, men af partitoppen. Kadaré mente af samme grund ikke det var muligt for ham at takke nej. [Det er nemt og gratis at være bagklog, men Kadaré kunne relativt let have sluppet fri for optagelse i partiet, hvis det var dét han ønskede - og dét formentlig uden større personlige konsekvenser. Min formodning er at Kadaré déngang anså det for opportunt (måske mente han at en optagelse ville beskytte ham eller gavne ham på anden vis) eller endda fordi han fandt det at være det rigtigste at gøre. Hvis dét var tilfældet, synes jeg det ville have været i orden. »Mit« problem er slet ikke dette, men dén ikke helt gennemskuelige måde Kadaré omtaler Hoxha-tiden på i dag].

Det var meget almindeligt i Hoxha-tiden, siger Kadaré, at forfattere og andre kunstnere blev forfulgt, at deres værker blev beslaglagt og at de blev fængslet. Det gjaldt flere af Kadaré's venner og bekendte, så det var noget man på en måde vænnede sig til. Han har selv ved et par lejligheder gået i brechen for kolleger, tilføjer han, og han har ikke bidraget til at nogle blev forfulgt - hvad man heller ikke kunne se af nogle af de dokumenter der nu var lagt frem.

Nogle af hans egne ting kom ikke ud, fortæller Kadaré [og dette er - men ikke på nogen simpel måde - en indikator på at Kadaré havde en sammensat position]. Digtet »De Røde Pashaer« blev forbudt og destrueret, andre af hans ting kom i et fortryk tidsskriftsform, men opnåede ikke at blive udgivet i bogform. [Kadaré's omtale af »De Røde Pashaer« er - formentlig - kun delvis dækkende. Det er korrekt at digtet blev skarpt kritiseret og at det blev forbudt, men - at dømme efter digtets indhold - ikke fordi det i det grundlæggende var kritisk mod det kommunistiske system, derimod mod »nogle« unavngivne partifolk som Kadaré anså for at være bureaukrater; efter digtets indhold ville bureaukraterne blive afsløret af Enver Hoxha og udstødt af ham. Som digt betragtet er det - også efter datidige litterære standarder - gyseligt, men politisk set er det på linie med Kadaré's litteraturpolitiske artikler som er aftrykt nedenfor. Mig bekendt blev digtet ikke skrevet på opfordring, men på eget initiativ - og dét er en indikator på at Kadaré ikke var dén dissident han i dag giver sig ud for at have været].

En særlig historie fik den russiske udgivelse af en samling digte af Kadaré. Udgivelsen blev planlagt, mens Kadaré var på et længere studieophold i Moskva, men forlaget var ikke helt tilfreds, man fandt digtene for vestligt orienterede og ønskede at der blev optaget et særligt forord, der kritiserede digtene.

Nogenlunde samtidig indtraf bruddet mellem Sovjetunionen og Albanien, og der blev rejst kraftig gensidig kritik. De kritiske bemærkninger til Kadaré druknede, og derfor blev Kadaré ikke kritiseret i Albanien i forbindelse med udgivelsen.

Scanderbeg in Scandinavia. »Tirana Times« trykte 061013 flg. artikel:

Scanderbeg in Scandinavia

by Bjoern Andersen

The stamp of Scanderbeg

A few years ago a Danish archaeologist, Dr Peter Pentz from The Danish National Museum, published an article about the seal-stamp of Scanderbeg, a brass-stamp to seal documents.

The stamp had been bought in Italy in the middle of the 17th century to the Danish king of a commission agent. For many years the stamp was looked upon as an artefact from the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. Now, Dr Pentz made a thorough study and discovered that the seal-stamp had something to do with Scanderbeg.

According to the inscription, which is in Greek, the stamp belongs to Alexander (= Skender) who is described as an Emperor of the Romans and a King of the Turk, the Albanians, the Serbs and the Bulgars.

Since Scanderbeg never was in a position in which he could describe himself as an emperor or a king - or would be accepted as such of the other nobles in Albania - it is most likely that the stamp has been manufactured in Italy some years after his death of political or economic reasons, either in the 16th or in the first part of the 17th century. Furthermore, we do not know of any documents with this seal. Dr Pentz adds that another stamp is known with a simple and modest text: Georgius Castriotus Scendarbigo.

Ludvig Holberg

When discussing the stamp Dr Pentz and I recalled a text about Skanderbeg by Ludvig Holberg. Holberg was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1684 and moved to Copenhagen to study theology; at that time Norway, Iceland and Denmark were united with the Danish king as the sovereign. Later on, Holberg became a professor of the university which he was till he passed away in 1754. Today he is widely acknowledged as one of the main characters in the Danish-Norwegian Enlightenment.

Holberg was a great scholar and a highly productive and versatile writer. His writings were on natural law and natural rights, history and philosophy, but he also made up scathing satires and vivid comedies that are performed even today. Some of the comedies are The Political Tinker, Erasmus Montanus and Jeppe of the Hill. Holberg wrote against haughtiness and false wisdom - in the comedies and in his essays as well.

In his late essays - the Epistles - he discussed many problems of contemporary importance; like other European writers of that time he - for instance grappled with the insoluble theodicy-problem, the discrepancy between the good and almighty God and the overwhelming evil.

Holberg on Scanderbeg

In 1739 Holberg published The Achievements of Great Heroes. He had taken inspiration from the ancient Greek writer Plutarch, who once compared outstanding Greek and Roman characters.

Holberg wrote about 12 pairs: Zoroaster and Mohammed, Sulla and Caesar, Socrates and Epaminondas - and Zizka and Scanderbeg. The characters were as it appears - highly important persons from different times and different places.

One of the favourites of Holberg was Socrates, whom he highly appreciated because of his approach to knowledge and his moderation.

Scanderbeg was appreciated as one of the greatest generals ever lived -and for his modesty. According to Holberg Scanderbeg never overrated his position, but stood up as an humble Christian Soldier since he left the Ottoman army and abandoned Islam.

Writing about Scanderbeg Holberg took the work of Marinus Barletius (or Barleti) as a starting point, but he formed his own judgement. Possibly, he had an aim of his own to pursue - to promote certain virtues and to discredit other ones.

Holberg realized that Scanderbeg -with limited support - was capable of holding his ground against the Ottoman forces. Even more, he fought the enemy vigorously, defeated him and often put him to flight.

Holberg took an interest in Scanderbeg because of his great military achievements against the Muslims. Here we have to bear in mind the Ottoman attack on Vienna in 1683 (led by one of the Albanian-Turk Köprölu's - and the Habsburg attack on Kosova and Macedonia in 1689 (led by general Piccolomini and his vice-general, the Danish-German count Georg Christian von Holstein). At the time of Holberg the Ottomans still were to be considered a powerful and dangerous neighbour.

Barletius

A searching at Danish libraries for more information about Barletius and Scanderbeg was quite succesful, since two very interesting publications were found. First an article by Minna Skafte Jensen, who in many years were a professor in Latin and Greek in Copenhagen and later on at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense.

In 1988 she wrote A Heroic Tale: Marin Barleti's Scanderbeg between orality and literacy which is to be found at http://miqesia.dk/Barleti-Scanderbeg.htm

Minna Skafte Jensen analyses the narrative style, looks upon the relationship between history and epic and upon the contradiction between barbarism and civilization. Her article is a major contribution to the discussion of biographies of renaissance princes. Hopefully, her article will appear in Albanian in some months.

Initially, she writes: »The prologue establishes this sombre framework, but as soon as the author begins the description of his hero, the melancholy present pales into insignificance against the excitement of heroic valour and victorious exploits. But the point of departure is sad. Just imagine what would happen if Alexander the Great returned! Or Pyrrhus, who in his day fought so brilliantly against the Romans! They would hardly be able to recognize their country, but would leave again full of contempt, because it was no longer a home of freedom as in their day. The present squalor is so overwhelming that the author fears he will be unable to convince his readers that Albania was glorious not only in antiquity, but also during the immediately preceding period. Freedom reigned supreme, where now slavery has spread. In those times the whole world looked to Epirus in admiration, where now the only question is whether fortune will never weary of plaguing the country. The work is dedicated to Donferrante Kastrioti, Scanderbeg's grandchild, but also to posterity, and its double purpose is to offer a treasury of moral examples from reality and to ensure for the Albanian nation the kind of immortality that is to be found in fame and is treated by writers. Thus, the scene is now occupied by three protagonists - Barleti, Donferrante and Scanderbeg as author, addressee and hero respectively.«

The book from 1709

At the Royal Library a rare book from 1709 was found. It is in Danish, but most certainly it is translated from the German. The title of the book is The true story about the most powerful three Turkish emperors and their most aggressive opponents. One of these opponents was Scanderbeg. It seems as the German author has been very much inspired by Barletius. We do not know whether Holberg has read the Danish translation, but possibly he has and have made use of it. Some time in the next year the text from 1709 and the text of Holberg will be carefully compared. Cf.: http://scanderbeg.dk/1709/slides.htm

The Icelandic poem

An Albanian friend told me some years ago that he had heard about an Icelandic poem about Scanderbeg. Was it possible to find it? It was, quite easily, actually at the Royal Library, which is one of the two national libraries in Denmark. An Icelandic poet, Hannes Bjarnason – who also was a lay preacher

– had written Rímur af Skanderbeg Epirótakappa, which means something like: The poem about Scanderbeg from the Epirus.

There is an old and important relation between the Danish and the Icelandic languages, anyway, it is not so easy for modern Danes to read Icelandic, so a skilled interpreter had to be found.

Out of the blue, one day earlier this year, he appeared, professor Matthew Driscoll of the University of Copenhagen, who is in charge of the collection of Icelandic manuscripts in Copenhagen (a great part of the collection has years ago been transferred to Iceland).

Driscoll had initiated a study of handwritten Icelandic manuscripts about Scanderbeg. The source of these manuscripts seem to be the text of Holberg. Afterwards, the manuscripts and the oral tradition have given the input to the poem of Bjarnason.

Some time in 2006/2007 Driscoll will publish his study in English. Interesting enough the study is about something very similar to old Albanian customs, namely the relation between oral and written tradition.

A seminar in Albania?

When I am visiting Albania later this year, I will see whether Albanian historians and philologists would like to arrange a seminar with the participation of Albanian scholars and students and Scandinavian scholars.

In Scandinavia we are not very much familiar with modern Albanian Scanderbeg-research and we would be happy to exchange information and views about the history of Albania and Scanderbeg and about how to step further in the research. Later on the papers from the seminar and the minutes could be published in English and Albanian on the internet to the benefit of anyone who is interested.

Bjoern Andersen is a Danish sociologist, http://bjoerna.dk. Recently he has published a book on Albania in Danish; which will appear in English in 2007, cf.: http://bjoerna.net/articles. Earlier he has published The Danish Law of 1683 in a digitized version in Danish. His research field is the writings of Ludvig Holberg.