Controversy in Tirana as Meta’s visit to Athens disturbs majority allies

The widely popular visit of Albanian Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta to Athens where he met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras this morning, has disturbed relations within the governing centre-left governing coalition led by Edi Rama’s Socialists.

The smaller member of the Rama-Meta coalition, the PDIU which has slowly grown into a parliamentary party through votes of the Cham community whose representatives want Greece to return their lands and homes back in the so called Chameria region in north-west Greece, have accused Meta of being too soft on the Greeks regarding the Cham issue.

Albanian Speaker Ilir Meta told Tsipras that although the history of Albanians and Greeks is dominated by peaceful coexistence, like all neighbors history has left the two peoples with some wounds. ‘And we know that even when you caress a wound, it still hurts’ said Meta.

Meta was referring mainly to the cham issue of the Albanians forcefully kicked out of Greece in 1944, which the third ally of the current majority Party for Justice, Integration and Unity (PDIU).

Its representatives have criticized Meta for being too soft on the Greeks who need to recognize the massacre and abuse of human rights that took place against their people after World War II. The PDIU became a real player in the Albanian parliament during the last elections and has since entered the centre-left coalition led by socialist Edi Rama and kept in power by his ally Ilir Meta who chairs the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI).

PDIU prominent MP Aqif Rakipi criticized Meta on his ‘anti-Albanian’ stance.

“The Cham issue has been raised by Brussels, while Meta says we have to look at the future. It is not normal that the Cham issue is not raised by an Albanian Speaker of Parliament” – said Rakipi.

The existence and political performance of PDIU led by Shpetim Idrizi and the support he is currently getting from Edi Rama who is using all his power to promote the Cham issue as far as Brussels, is seen with increasing concern from Athens, fearing a rise of nationalism and anti-Greek sentiment within Albania.

Tsipras told Meta after the meeting in Athens this morning that “it is of huge importance to protect the prospect of good relations from nationalist voices that always want to create problems, the cost of which the citizens are called to pay”.

According to Albanian analyst and close ally to the Albanian PM, Mero Baze of Tema Online, Tsipras congratulated Meta in standing against ‘these voices’ as a signal towards Rama from Athens, which has noticed that PM Edi Rama has in fact taken a distance from Greece pushing relations into a cooler phase.

Analysts in Albania alledge that Greece is trying to promote Meta as a counterbalance against Edi Rama to make sure that Tirana maintains a pro Greek line. ‘I welcome you and wish your visit to be constructive hoping that the developments in Albania in the next period will promote democracy as well as the Albanian people’s will to solve the problems.” said Tsipras while he met with Meta today in Athens.

Despite the known sensitivities in Tirana, Meta preferred to give positive messages from Athens, saying that any inherited issues from the past should be solved with calm, responsibility and positive will from both sides, adding that ‘a strong Greece is also good for Albania and Albanians’.