Yesterday Prime Minister Edi Rama gave an interview to Greek journalist Alexis Papahelas on Greek television channel Skai. The conversation, held at a moment that relations between Albania and Greece are tense, focused on the recent events between the two countries, the arrest of the two Albanian drivers from the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MPB), and the photo of the Acropolis posted by Rama.
The arrest of the MPB drivers
The two Albanian drivers of the MPB had been arrested after a Greek border guard had allegedly found a map of Greater Albania in one of the school books. Rama denied that there was any map of Greater Albania in any school book, and that any such map would only have indicated where the Albanians used to live. He also stated that there was no plan to combine all Albanians from Kosovo, Montenegro, and Macedonia into one country.
“I don’t think that it is irredentist,” Rama stated, “to tell children where Albanians have lived and I don’t think it is irredentist to tell people that there has been a zone that was called Çamëria, and that Albanians used to live there.”
The “Acropolis photo”
On October 31, during the protests against the destruction of houses of the Greek community in Himara, Rama posted an engraving of the Acropolis, asserting that Athenians used to speak Albanian.
In the interview, Rama surprised himself about the commotion this caused in Greece, stating that it was “just [part of] a chronicle with photographs that I keep on my Facebook […] that has to do with history.” “What I wanted to say is just that our lives are so intermingled and our people and peoples have had so much in common with each other during different periods of time.”
EU integration
Regarding the EU integration process Rama stated that supporting the integration of Albania is not generosity from the Greek side, but is in its own interest. He also asserted that “it would be smart, even to think [that Greek could veto the beginning of accession negotiations in December]. Veto for what? That’s unbelievable.”
