Albanian Prime Minister Calls for Balkan Unity

UPDATED: October 16, 2014, at 11:45 p.m.

Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, drew attention to the need for modernization in the Balkan countries and addressed a recent Albania-Serbia soccer game incident at a John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Thursday night.

Throughout his speech, Rama emphasized the importance of changing systems in improving people’s lives. Addressing the issue of corruption in Albania, Rama said that systems, not individuals, are responsible for intransparency in the government.

“It is in fact real that corruption had [held] back progress for many years…. People cannot corrupt a system that works. Systems that do not work corrupt people,” Rama said.

Rama said many people around the world know little about Albania. He hopes, however, that Albania will soon be recognized as a modern and vibrant nation.

“They say the U.S. is a place where dreams come true. Obviously it’s not the only one. I hope that among the other places where dreams come true, Albania is one of them,” Rama said.

Addressing a question from the audience about ethnic discrimination in the nation, Rama said that even though Albania is a diverse country, people live in harmony together. To illustrate his point, Rama mentioned that while he is Catholic, he has a Muslim wife and Orthodox Christian children.

“If there is a strong reason I would say loudly  ‘I am proud to be Albanian,’ it is that there is no type of discrimination in Albania towards anyone,” Rama said.

Rama also spoke about an incident that took place on Tuesday during a Serbia-Albania soccer match in Belgrade. The game was suspended after a drone with a modified Greater Albanian flag—created by Albanian nationalists—appeared at the stadium, causing a clash between the soccer players on the field. The flag display aggravated tension between the two soccer teams due to the respective countries’ disagreements over Kosovo, a region which some Albanian nationalists consider as part of “Greater Albania”.

Rama said it is up to the Balkan countries to move forward from this incident and demonstrate that they are ready to be “partners” with the European Union.

“Our problem is to make sure that this fantastic opportunity we have should not be missed, and that we can show the world, we can show Europe, that Balkans are able to move forward and Balkans do not deserve to be isolated as they were,” Rama said.

Audience members reacted positively to Rama’s address.

“I think he was very open and honest about everything,” said Gerta Dhamo, a program coordinator at the Kennedy School who is originally from Albania.

Rajko Radovanovic ’16, an international student from Serbia, said he was “very happy” after hearing Rama’s comments on the recent incident during the soccer game.

“He was able to rise above [the soccer game], and I was really happy with his attitude of not pointing fingers, because that’s what most politicians in the region have been doing,” he said.

Lorena Gjino, an Albanian-American living in Boston, agreed.

“Unlike previous Albanian leaders, Prime Minister Rama has the public’s best interest in mind. Albania has a lot of room for growth and development and Mr. Rama is leading the country towards reaching that goal,” she said.

—Staff Writer Zara Zhang can be reached at zara.zhang@thecrimson.com.