TIRANA, July 21 – Albania’s politicians have withdrawn support to the legal proposal which outlaws discrimination based on sexual identities as part of the initial constitutional amendments introduced in the justice reform.
The chairman of the Ad-Hoc Commission of Justice Reform Fatmir Xhafaj and junior governing partner MP Petrit Vasili considered that the amendment to articles 4 and 18 of the Constitution about non-discrimination was not covered by the mandate of the Committee and as such they argued that it should not be concluded in the draft constitutional package ahead of the expected vote in Albania’s parliament on July 21.
The LGBT community and organizations that protect their rights reacted to the news and argued that “extremism and religious intolerance in Albania have intensified beyond all expectations.”
According to the Pink Embassy, the change in the ruling majority’s position was due to pressure from the religious communities in Albania and “discriminatory and hate language used in the last meeting of the Parliament by the MP Mesila Doda, an open and major defender of the catholic religion in Albania.”
LGBT organizations warned that Albania is seriously threatened by religious intolerance and extreme impact that traditional religions have on secular public life in Albania. In the meantime, representatives of the Muslim community in Tirana have reiterated their stance against all legal means that pave the way to gay marriage.
The Party for Justice, Integration, and Unity, PDIU, which is in coalition with the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama, supported the decision of the committee to withdraw the amendment from the reform which changes Albania’s traditional social model.
The ad-hoc committee that wrote the basis of reform proposed to include constitutional protection against discrimination based on “sexual orientation” in addition to gender, race, religion and others.
Last May, activists from Albania’s gay and lesbian community rode through Tirana’s main boulevard in bicycles, in their fourth rally of this kind, carrying the community’s rainbow flag and other symbols, seeking greater acceptance by the society at large and better measures by the government to protect their freedoms.
LGBT organizations have asked the government to improve the Labor Code and other laws to protect them from discrimination and social exclusion.
Activists said young gay and lesbian Albanians face discrimination in schools, and they are often kicked out of their homes when they come out to their families.
In many cases, these young people fall prey to violence, abuse and were not given the opportunity to live freely and with dignity, activists said.
