By ANDI BALLA
When a group of Greek soldiers, participating in parade in Athens to honor that country’s independence day on March 25, started shouting anti-Albanian slogans of type more fit for 1910 than 2010, naturally there was some anger in Albania.
It was the top story on most Albanian television stations and newspapers, not simply for what it was, but also because it happened just as the Albanian parliament approved the establishment of official military cemeteries on Albanian soil to honor Greek troops who fell in Albania fighting Mussolini’s invasion forces back in the Second World War.
It wasn’t the first time that Greek soldiers had popped up calling Albanians pigs and shoe material either. Thanks to cell phone cameras and YouTube, videos of this nature had shown up in the past. But they were never before seen in a military parade about to walk in front of the Greek president in central Athens.
So there were immediate reactions both in Tirana and Athens. The leader of the soldiers was suspended and there is an investigation going on to punish others responsible. Also, Albanian media said the Greek ambassador had apologized for the incident.
Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas told a Greek radio station that the Greek government “unequivocally condemned this incident from the outset and took the necessary measures.” He added the facts had been conveyed to Albania’s government by the Greek ambassador in Tirana.
The Albanian foreign minister, Ilir Meta, called what had happened “scandalous.” But added that Albania needs to take the high ground and not respond with similar incidents, which are unbecoming of a NATO member.
However, Albanians as a whole were less forgiving and responded with a few protests, and, in a couple of cases, the burning of the Greek flag.
Despite all the anger in Albania, it must be said that Greek officials are handling this situation fairly well. At the end of the day, the incident is more of a commentary about Greece than Albania. In a way, it is their problem, not ours.
However, Albanian anger does not come from this incident alone. It is a mere symptom of a wider problem — that of the discriminatory treatment of Albanian immigrants in Greece. It also sheds light on how parts of the Greek population feel about Albanians and other neighbors. (Albanians were not the only ones insulted at the parade.)
Then, there is the issue of the properties of Cham Albanians. With newly found political and moral support, Chams led at least one of protests about the incident in Tirana. And they do have legitimate claims against Greece after they were brutally expelled from their homes in northern Greece during and right after the Second World War.
On the other hand, the burning of the Greek flag, or any other flag, is unacceptable. This is not the Middle East, and it’s unbecoming of Albanians to burn the flag of a NATO ally.
It is okay to be angry at the Greeks for real or perceived discrimination against Albanians, but at the end of the day, we don’t get to choose our neighbors. All we can do is focus on what Albanians and Greeks have in common, and there is a lot of that too, rather than what divides us. In 2010, there are more important things going on than bickering over national pride. Maybe the Greek nationalists the insulting soldiers represent can afford to hang on to 1910, but we must choose to live in 2010.
