“Sad day for cultural heritage in Albania and Europe,” Europa Nostra has called the demolition of Albania’s National Theatre by the government.
In their reaction, Europa Nostra underlined the illegality of demolition, stating that this is a “sad day for democracy and rule of law in Albania and Europe.”
The organization whose work focuses on protecting Europe’s endangered heritage and cultural sites also condemned the detention of artists and activists protesting against the demolition.
Sad day for #CulturalHeritage in Albania & Europe.
Sad day for #Democracy & #RuleofLaw in Albania & Europe.
Early this morning, Albanian authorities arrested #civilsociety activists & started demolition of protected #NationalTheater in #Tirana#7MostEndangered #NotOurEurope pic.twitter.com/MPaex9YUEW
— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) May 17, 2020
Albania’s National Theatre building is included in Europa Nostra’s 7 most endangered sites for 2020.
The government started the demolition at 4.30 on Sunday morning, amidst an emergency situation and lockdown it has imposed due to coronavirus. Albania has been under an emergency situation since the November 2019 earthquake.
