TIRANA, Sept. 1 – Albanian authorities and the OSCE office in the country held this week a ceremony in southern Tepelena region to commemorate thousands of missing people and victims of the communist regime.
The ceremony was held on the location of a notorious camp where anti-communist families were sent to live and to perform forced labor.
“Camps like the one in Tepelena bear witness to painful truths from Albania’s Communist past: the relocation, interment, forced labor, torture and murder of countless people,” said OSCE’s Robert Wilton.
The ceremony served to remember the suffering that the people forced to go there experienced.
“We should also remember the approximately 6,000 people buried in unmarked graves throughout Albania during the Communist period. It is important to find these disappeared persons and to strive to uncover the whole truth, both for the families of the disappeared and for society at large,” Wilton added.
Officials also said that the families of those who were killed or who disappeared have a right to know what happened, to hear the stories of survivors and to be able to grasp the extent of violations under the former regime.
The International Commission on Missing Persons was first in contact with the Albanian authorities in 2010. They held a follow-up visit this year.
“We strongly encourage the Albanian authorities to work with this organization regarding disappearances. It is also crucial to listen to and collaborate with the families, and to make sure the public is aware of the process,” Wilton added.
Authorities have started to transform some sites associated with the Communist era into sites of remembrance, such as the House of Leaves in Tirana as well as Spaৠprison.
The OSCE Presence is providing advice and expertise on initiatives to encourage fair and transparent access to the files of the former Sigurimi secret police, in addition to supporting the fair compensation of people persecuted by the former regime.
The OSCE, with support from Germany, has launched an initiative to promote an inclusive national dialogue about how to deal with Albania’s past.
