TIRANA TIMES EDITORIAL
Albania has a marijuana production and smuggling problem. It has had one for years. It’s an issue Albania must resolve in an all-inclusive process, and playing politics with it is the wrong approach.
Albania has been a producer of marijuana for years. It’s the type of criminal activity that happens in many regions of the world when you have a poor country sitting next a rich one and in an environment where rule of law is weak. But if you listen to the political discourse in recent weeks, it makes it appear that problem has just started.
Just eight months after handing over power after a landslide defeat in the general elections last year, Albania’s center-right opposition has now taken on the anti-drug flag, accusing the government and segments of the state – including the military – of cooperating with drug traffickers, at worst, or not doing enough to fighting trafficking, at best.
Grasping for straws in its political fight for a comeback, the Democratic Party is holding rallies in front of parliament and the government headquarters to ask that the prime minister resign. In one of them, the opposition leader, Tirana Mayor Lulzim Basha said, “The resignation of this government is the imperative of the day Što stop the sinister wave of narco-trafficking and crime.”
The Socialist-led government has cried foul, saying its doing its job in fighting trafficking and cultivation that flourished under previous administration. The current government says has achieved better results than the previous Democratic Party-led government against drug trafficking, conducting major busts on an almost daily basis.
Prime Minister Rama said the opposition is trying “to dirty the image of the country” through its accusations in order for Albania not to be granted candidate status for membership in the European Union.
In all of the this, shortly after the opposition accused state structures of facilitating marijuana trafficking through small planes, a small Piper flown by an Italian pilot crash-landed in a beach with a vehicle full of marijuana caught nearby.
The opposition said its allegations had been proved and it withdrew from an investigative commission in parliament that had been formed upon the opposition’s request. Left-wing media outlets close to the government, on the other hand, suggested the plane incident was set up by the opposition for political reasons.
Political accusations and conspiracy theories aside, it is clear both sides are playing politics with the fight against drugs.
All Albanian governments, regardless of what side of the political spectrum is in power, are and should be committed to fighting marijuana production and trafficking. While there might be corrupt officials who profit from such trafficking, accusing the entire government and other state institutions like the military for being involved is clearly a long stretch of the evidence and does Albania an injustice. The current government should be blamed if the trend continues this year into the next, but the previous government is not without fault either — it obviously allowed today’s crop to be planted last year.
The country needs to make the eradication of marijuana cultivation and trade a priority through implementing full rule of law in every corner of the country, balancing punishment of crimes with economic development in areas where drug cultivation happens.
While there will be plenty of time for the current government to face up to current and future mistakes, there is also growing concerned about the Democratic Party’s approach to being in opposition. Basha, who many perceive as a modern, balanced, smart and capable leader, is actually not the one steering the opposition’s efforts to capitalize on everything negative going on in Albania to lower support for the ruling coalition.
Albania’s former prime minister and Democratic Party historic strong man, Sali Berisha, continues to be in the picture. He continues to dominate the debate in parliament and media speaking in the name of the Democrats using language that makes progressive, well-educated and young Albanians cringe.
If recent polls are to be believed, Berisha is hurting the Democrats rather than helping them. He is also overshadowing Mr. Basha, the man he himself hand picked as successor.
While it is the duty of any political opposition to hold the government accountable, the Democrats are clearly missing the message given by voters last year: Out with the old. In with the new.
