The OSCE Urges Albania to Stop Delaying the Opening of its Communist Files

Tirana, Oct 27 (Tirana Echo) – Albania is failing to act on its communist past as the head of the OSCE Presence in Albania Bernd Borchardt has accused the Albanian Parliament for not acting to vote on the implementation of the communist files law.

Borchardt’s comments were made during a Conrad Adenauer foundation conference organised in Tirana today on opening the communist files of the past.

“It is regrettable that a year and half after the entry into force of the law on communist files, despite the fact the Parliament has received a list with 11 candidates for the 5 members of the special authority to deal with the issue, the Parliament of Albania has yet to vote for its members”, said OSCE Ambassador Bernd Borchardt.

In 2015, the Albanian Parliament passed a law to open up the communist-era secret police ‘Sigurimi’ files in what used to be the most isolated country in the world.

Since the death of Albania’s communist dictator Enver Hoxha in 1985 and later the fall of the totalitarian regime in 1991, many ‘Sigurimi’ files have been destroyed. However, those in favor of opening the files claim that surviving documents could reveal unknown secrets of the past which would lead to several key people in Albania’s public administration and civil society removed from duty.

Experts estimate that at least 7,000 opponents of the regime were killed and more than 100,000 deported to labor camps. The harsh conditions there often proved fatal.

The new law, which calls for the creation of a Public Authority by the Albanian Parliament, will also prevent former ‘Sigurimi’ members from holding public office in the future.