Malkaj: Artists in Albania are treated as a means of entertainment, not as a national value

2026-05-11 09:59:00, Aktualitet CNA

Malkaj: Artists in Albania are treated as a means of entertainment, not as a

Actor Mehdi Malkaj has expressed criticism of the way artists are treated in Albania. In an interview for the show "Kafe Shqeto" on Syri TV, Malkaj said that artists are considered a means of entertainment and not a national value.

According to him, Prime Minister Edi Rama says that everyone is free to say whatever they want and the moment they speak, their relatives are fired.

"The truth is that we artists are considered a means of entertainment, not a national value. Not Mehdi, I'm talking about artists in general, all of us. Come on, let's have a party. Come on, let's go... And what happened in the square a few days ago? How much could 200,000, 200 million dollars have been spent there for all that luxury that our enlightened and beloved leader of the Albanian people wanted, not only for his height, but also for the height of his mind, you have no idea how much we love him. And yes, I could be wrong about this. Because all the intellectuals that you call your master, love him. Because they are ashamed to associate with people who are not, are not like that. No. Because they ruin the biography. This dear and precious prime minister of ours, he says you are free to speak whatever you want and however you want. And you speak. The next day you have all your relatives and some "Friend. How am I free? How am I free? Why do you treat me like that? When I say me, I don't mean myself. I mean all the artists. But the artists themselves, who could hardly wait, could hardly wait for Berti to leave, left and left and justified themselves by saying, yes, come on, now Berti is gone. Well, oh well, Berti left on his own. Why didn't you leave? And we who stayed, they pressured us, yes, leave, leave because they left us," said Malkaj.

The actor also criticized the silence of intellectuals, while saying that protests and civic resistance remain the only response to a government that, according to him, ignores the public interest.

"Because we tried to create a model among others that one should protest. No, by not doing it together, yes, the resisters are doomed. The public has found a word and is using it. Come on, what do I need? It's this, it's dominant in this country called Albania. What do I need? What do I need? Why? Who needs it when you don't need it, I don't need it, he doesn't need it. Who needs it? And with this, he has put the people to sleep, he has put an entire people to sleep. What do I need? It's terrible. Look, there's a lot of talk about intellectuals. I don't call myself an intellectual, although I have read a lot, I read, you understand, and I try to be up to date with the events that are happening in my country. But where are these intellectuals? Which intellectual has stood up with a group of people and said, people, I need your help. We will do this, this, this, this, this. Where, where are these people? Have you heard anything about intellectuals standing up? No. I said one thing, intellectuals, and then when we were protesting in the theater courtyard, they would come, stick their heads out, take a photo or a video, send it somewhere, they know where they were sending it, and then they would leave. This had to do with money. They did their own thing," Malkaj said. /CNA