The "bellerization" of Greek-Albanian relations and the consequences

2024-05-30 08:45:00, Aktualitet CNA

In April of this year, when the debate about the punishment of the elected mayor of Himara Fredi Beleriishte was at its peak, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the party he represents "New Democracy" officially proposed the name of Beleri as a candidate for the Euro-deputy. News sparked debate on both sides of the border, where the neighbors have technically still been under martial law since 1940. Mitsotakis was also criticized for his candidacy by his country's largest opposition party, SYRIZA a candidate for the European Parliament is in the cell.

"Beleri" – Pros and cons

"This is an unprecedented act, which has not happened before and I do not believe that it will bring any result in the expectations of Mr. Mitsotakis to wake up the sleeping Greek nationalist votes and even more to realize the release of Mr. Beleri from prison If a part of the opposition made a mistake when they nominated Beler for mayor of Himara, Mitsotakis is making a second and even bigger mistake, by nominating him as a member of the European Parliament boomerang. There are hundreds of other honorable figures who have Albanian and Greek citizenship, who could be selected as candidates and would help the expansion of the electoral base of this party more than a problematic figure like Beleri" - says Arben Çejku to DW , former ambassador, head of the "Albanian Center for Good Governance".

The "bellerization" of Greek-Albanian relations and the consequences

For Marin Suli, representative of Omonia, Beler's candidacy is good news. "I see the candidacy of Mr. Beleri as a member of the European Parliament as a positive approach in relation to the denied democracy in Albania. Also, I see it as a normal process within a democratic and European country such as Greece, a candidacy which originates from the proposal and passing through the filters of the candidates within the New Democracy and clear reading of the preliminary polls, which show Mr. Beleri as the winner, even with a large number of votes. Contrary to those who are skeptical, I believe that this election it is good news first for the opposition, but also for the Albanian people in general".

Braka: Beleri is being used by the Greek Prime Minister's party

Panajot Barka has worked for years as a correspondent from Albania for the Greek News Agency. Beleri's personal stance on the issue has cost him his job. "Beleri as an individual and presented as a defender of the rights of the Greek ethnic minority, is used by the party of the Greek Prime Minister to create a shield preventing the flow of votes of this party towards the extreme right. So, an issue which was promoted as a "Greek national asset", is used for internal political and ideological purposes. This has sparked a strong political debate in Greece. First, both it and the political group that represents, they do not have the real support of this minority. But even if we accept this, then the protection of these rights takes place here, by this minority, and not by exporting it, even to the European Parliament second, New Democracy's published intention to run identifies Beler with the extreme right, even with significant influence there. This hurts the minority a lot!" – says Barka for Deutsche Wellen.

Christopoulos: Beleri didn't come out of nowhere

For the expert of political sciences, human rights and minorities, Dimitris Christopoulos, at the same time dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the "Panteion" University in Athens, the expression: 'It takes two people to dance the tango', best suits this situation .

The "bellerization" of Greek-Albanian relations and the consequences

"Of course, Mitsotakis bears his own personal responsibilities for the selection of Beler to the European Parliament, but this decision must be seen in the context of the previous actions of both parties. If Beler were not in prison, he would never be a candidate So, if we want to be fair about this issue, then no one is innocent. Although sharing the responsibilities does not mean that both sides have the same amount of responsibility. The "Belerization" of Greek-Albanian relations is mainly an initiative of Athens . And if we really want to understand what is happening in the region today, we must read impartially and without national passions what happened in Himara during the last century and especially after the end of the Cold War. Himara turned into the battleground of clashes between Greek and Albanian nationalism. We are paying for this today. Albania must accept that there are Greeks in Himare who are looking for their properties. This doesn't help the plan to turn Himara into a mega-tourist paradise, but it's not the end of the world. Beleri didn't come out of nowhere. If we really want to understand who made him a strong political figure, then we say both sides, the Greek side and the Albanian side".

Deutsche Welle also contacted representatives of the Greek government and opposition on the matter, but they did not respond to our request for comment.

Legal or political trial?

From the first moments after Fredi Beler's arrest in Himare, he himself, but also representatives of the Greek minority in Albania, have claimed a political rigged process. These claims have been repeatedly rejected by Prime Minister Rama, who has insisted that the "Beleri" case belongs only to the judiciary.

"We no longer have claims, but we have written and scientific evidence given by SPAK itself, that Mr. Beleri is the victim of a political process mounted and manipulated by Mr. Rama" - says Marin Suli.

According to him, the prosecution has falsified documents and openly violated the law. The only faith they have, according to Sul, is the Strasbourg court.

The "bellerization" of Greek-Albanian relations and the consequences

"If the Albanian Prime Minister wanted the world to believe that this is a court case, he should stick to the statements he made on television against Beleri, a few days before Beleri was arrested. I am not in the position to know what actually happened, but what I know is that such practices for which the elected mayor of Himara was imprisoned, are not rare in Albania. Let's talk seriously... I am the last one who would say that the mayor of Himara is innocent. However, there are many who are free and successful. On the other hand, Athens bears a major responsibility to protect the interests of minorities of Greek diplomacy is the expectation that the European Union and the United States of America will respect Athens' claims on this issue, but this is not the case and we are already in a deadlock," analyzes Professor Christopoulos.

For ex-diplomat ?ejku, the accusation of vote-buying should be investigated and punished, but he draws parallels with the past, when characters of the current ruling majority were accused of vote-buying on an even larger scale, but were not punished.

"Couldn't he be caught precisely because he "bought a few votes", while other characters of the majority "bought a lot of votes" and maybe for this "merit" they are neither investigated nor punished? On the other hand, I think that Greece was hasty in its involvement and intervention, prejudicing the investigations and the judicial process from the beginning. Athens had to be content with monitoring the process and in the end, based on the facts, draw up a report on all the claims. But, with the frequent emotional reactions, the political statements at a distance, the investigation and the trial against Mr. Beleri fell into the trap of a prejudiced and politicized legal process. "Who politicized this more will be analyzed by others in the future, but the tactless interventions of official Athens did not bring any benefit either to Beleri or to the climate of relations between the two countries".

Deadlock (un)resolvable?

For Panajot Barka, the election of Beler would further complicate the relations between Albania and Greece, especially in relation to the European Union. "Beleri with three criminal convictions, two for ethnic issues on both sides of the border and one now for electoral corruption, creates a handicap or a deadlock, not easily overcome".

"I think that any act that undermines democracy, the freedom of human rights and the Constitution of the country, makes Albania's European path difficult. In this particular case, the serious violations of a part of the population that enjoys dual citizenship, the Albanian one, are involved and Greek" - argues Marin Suli.

However, Prime Minister Rama expressed his determination a little while ago, when he was asked about the obstacles that Greece may set again for the country's EU membership. "I don't believe that the concern of Greece will continue until 2030 and if this work will remain in Beleri, let us be done, let us never join the EU".

"Over the last years, the Greek behavior towards the Albanians in Greece and the Greek minority in Albania has provoked and cultivated a lack of trust on the Albanian side. I do not hesitate to say that Athens bears a higher weight of responsibility in this escalation, being stronger and the one from which more prudence is expected. The Albanian side now feels that it has the power to react through national pride. I understand, however, that a well-intentioned national pride can easily be transformed in fierce nationalism and arrogance. And these are not good "advisors" in international relations. Greece and Albania have more and more good reasons to find an agreement and start a new chapter. There are much more important things to deal with in the future" - concludes Christopoulos./ DW