By Frrok Çupi
Of course, we’re not in St. James’s Palace in London, where the Conference of Ambassadors convened in 1912. We’re in Albania and there’s no doubt on this. But what is happening here?
Is this a political arena or this is a place for ambassadors?
I think that there’s a big confusion here. Reporters and media cameras have entered a game of table tennis, where they turn their head from left to right within a fraction of a second. Everyone is in search of the ambassadors. They get on their cars, take their cameras, microphones and their jackets that they had taken off because they were hot; and they rush God knows where!?... but someone has said that “Lu went into the office of that one”, “Vlah went into the office of the other”, “Borch has not yet waken up, but wait on the door…”. They run after the ambassadors so quickly that now, reporters have even come up with abbreviations for their names, by referring to them as “Lu”, “Borch”, “Vlah”. Who has time to say “Borchardt” while running after ambassadors? For instance, today they were at the office of the Minister of Interior and everyone ran there. A few days ago, they were in the office of the Assembly Speaker, President, Prime Minister, opposition and some MPs who are up “for sale”. Media owners in this case turn into “watchmen”; they cannot let anything escape without being “covered”.
Even politicians cannot allow some ambassador escape; but they follow them through the media. Not even common people who have so many daily problems, cannot allow an ambassador to escape them. Everyone seems to have gathered in a place where table tennis is being played.
Yesterday, the head of the EU mission who accepts the title of “ambassador”, imprisoned a journalist. It was not Vlah herself, but police. Police alone had entered the table tennis place and was following Mrs. Vlah. Who knows how many other real crimes happen elsewhere, but who cares? Everyone is focused on the ambassador. Police thought that Mr. Myftaraj (the journalist) was killing her, so they arrested him. Everything is being done to keep up appearances. The presence of the ambassadors also aims to keep up appearances and no good can come out of it. Even for Mrs. Vlah it was just a case of keeping up appearances and this is why she didn’t say anything, but she didn’t even say “no, don’t imprison him”. Who has time to think and speak wisely!? Everyone is running after them. Not even I cannot write the ambassador’s name in full. I simply refer to her as “Vlah”, because I’m in a rush.
But why all this rush?
A serious political crisis has broken out in the country. The parliamentary elections which were scheduled to take place on 18 June have fallen. Even the law doesn’t allow them. Had they fallen and broken, this would be the least that was expected, but they fell and didn’t break. They are neither legal, nor illegal. They are neither credible, nor lacking credibility. As it happens in table tennis, citizens follow the government’s and ambassadors’ ball and get dizzy, but they don’t benefit anything. State institutions have fallen: Parliament ended its legislative term; the President’s mandate will expire soon, but the new president is one-sided. The Ombudsman term has expired. The Judicial System in a gridlock due to the Vetting and political pluralism as the foundation of the state, is collapsing…
Who will uphold the state’s values?
Everyone have their eyes on the ambassadors. Not only reporters, but everyone has set his eyes toward the ambassadors, as if they were Gods. Even the great writer, Kadare, “knelt” in front of Mrs. Vlah with his own free will.
But will foreign ambassadors uphold our values? Not only because they are “foreigners”, but also because they are mere ambassadors and they are not here for this. We have given them this “task” and they have accepted it with cynicism and pleasure. Given that someone is entrusting them with this “kingdom”, why not accept it until they return to their country and work their gardens? During this entire crisis, we have believed and only believe on the ambassadors. Everything else is under suspicion: the government-of course; the opposition-of course, by the government and ambassadors; Parliament-of course, suspected of being criminal; Justice is suspected of being corrupt; the people are suspected from themselves.
In fact, the entire weight of the “sin” falls upon the nation. The nation is accused of not being capable to consolidate a state, but not only this. It is also accused of cultivating drugs and making a blind eye in front of the ones who cultivate it. It is accused of selling votes and of being manipulated by criminals whom it elects. But this is completely unfair, because all these state “crimes” committed by the nation are committed under the custody of ambassadors. The ambassadors where here when the narcotics were cultivated, when the labs were set up, when the transport airplanes came and when the euros where collected and distributed. Ambassadors proved that they could imprison you if you talked, but not if you commit a crime. The ambassadors are able to allow narcotics and electoral rigging. Ambassadors have in their hands the sovereignty of the people, which have been reduced to a mere constitutional phrase, because ambassadors control government people and politicians. Then, the politicians control MPs and representatives of the people. And then, nothing. Sovereignty falls.
This is the issue; in this great rush toward the ambassadors, a quest for the Lost Sovereignty is taking place. Politics are lacking sovereignty, media is lacking it, Parliament is lacking it, justice system is lacking it, narcotics are lacking it.
The state’s values have fallen. The 1912 London Conference ambassadors have returned as shadows. Even then, when Albania was being divided, the Conference of Ambassadors was everything. Even our history reflected it as a “big event” in school texts. There were even songs about the ambassadors.
But, at the end of the day, our fate depends on the “conference of ambassadors”.
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Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy
