Families of sea calamity asks government to punish those responsible

VLORA, Jan. 10 – Family members of the victims of the sea calamity three years ago threw flowers in the seas near Palase village, Vlora district to commemorate their deaths three years ago. They also walked for sometime passing the place where the boats left the shore. They asked Prime Minister Sali Berisha to punish the proper persons who are to be blamed for the incidents which took the lives of their beloved ones. Nikoll Mehillaj, head of their Jan. 9 association, reminded the premier to keep the promise he made while in opposition. “If he does not punish the persons to blame we shall take the case to Strasbourg,” said Mehillaj, whose son Marlen sank together with 27 others three years ago in the Adriatic waters near Vlora while trying to go by speedboat to Italy. “Until now they have hidden the real authors who brought about the death of 28 persons,” he said. Eight other persons were declared lost and have still to be found. The court has declared them dead. The families say they have documents which show how policemen were involved in the incident. “Berisha and the then-opposition exploited Jan. 9 to topple Fatos Nano’s power and now that they are in power they are not keeping the promise.” The speedboat was only three kilometers from the Vlora shore but the delay of assistance and the bad seas took them either deep into the sea or to death on the boat in the cold weather. Eight persons or the would-be immigrants managed to save their lives together with the two boat drivers, who have also been imprisoned. In total 13 persons have been sentenced for human trafficking. Last year the government and parliament passed a moratorium banning the use of speedboats for the next three years in an attempt to stop human and drug trafficking in Albanian waters.