TIRANA, May 19 – American researcher of cultural heritage, Lori Amy, said that the demolition of the Albanian National Theatre is a continuation of the crimes of communism, but with a different name.
In an interview with VOA, Amy said that the violence and the demolition of the National Theater brought back national trauma which Albania still needs time to recover from. According to the researcher, Enver Hoxha began the unmatched terror exactly at this theater, when he ended the purge of his political opponents in the trials of 1945.
“17 people on the day they were found guilty, were executed on the spot and buried in a ditch outside of Tirana. Another 53 people were sent to the Gulag with their families in internment camps. Communism and its state crimes began at the National Theater as well as with the expropriation through the Gulag system and quite frankly today we are continuing the crimes of communism only under a different name,” Amy said.
She pointed out that the reasoning behind the demolition of the National Theatre is a twisted narrative, as it was part of the 800-year historical advancement which had remained right in the center of the city.
“In a few hundred meters lie eight centuries of the evolution of Western civilization: from Byzantium to the Ottomans and to the 20th century. It is a special advancement and we cannot destroy it,” she said, adding that
“part of the wounds of communism that continue to bleed, is the culture of recycling attacks and counterattacks.”
One of the main issues in the political arena, according to Amy, is that none of the ordinary citizens believe in whatever politicians say but they think that everything is a continuation of the performance of a political theater. She stated that international diplomats have continously called the government to wait and engage in dialogue with the people who have been protesting for over two years.
“I think it is extremely important that we do not fall into the cycle of which accusations, attacks and counterattacks. I also think we need to focus on what we can do in the future rather than on missed opportunities,” she said.
However, the researcher says that the National Theatre can be reconstructed and funds to do so are currently provided by Europa Nostra; they were primarily set aside for the restoration of the Theatre. Amy also pointed out that the area where the National Theatre used to stand could become a “conscience square” for the victims of the communist regime whose bodies are yet to be found.
“Therefore, having a “square of conscience” that finally serves as a place of commemoration, would help those families who to this day still grab shovels and dig in places where they have been told that perhaps their relatives are buried. It would give them a place to mourn, and that’s what the country needs to move forward,” she said.
