Albanian Blogger

Albanian Journalists Protest Attack on Colleague, report by BalkanInsight

Elvis — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:03:29 +0000

I was appalled when I learned about the beating of a well known journalist in Tirana by a well known businessman with ties to the current government. The incident was condemned by all major public and international institutions in the country. For more info I’ll just post the text of the article published by BalkanInsight.

A group of Albanian journalists and civil society activists protested on Wednesday in front of the office of Prime Minister Sali Berisha against the brutal assault of Tirana publisher Mero Baze by oil magnate Rezart Taci.

Following the symbolism of the Iraqi journalist that attacked U.S. President George W. Bush with a shoe, the protesters threw shoes at the office of the prime minister, while accusing him of being responsible for the violence against the journalist.

Baze was beaten late on Monday evening in Tirana, following a series of reports in the publisher’s media accusing the businessman of tax evasion.

According to witnesses present in the Capriccio Bar in the center of Tirana’s upscale Bllok neighborhood, Rezart Taci and his bodyguards attacked the journalist, kicking and beating him for roughly four minutes, leaving him unconscious.

Present during the assault were also two other journalists; political commentator Andi Bushati and the editor-in-chief of Vizion Plus TV Arban Hasani, who later testified on the assault on the journalist.

Baze recovered in Tirana’s military hospital on Monday evening and was released in the early hours of Tuesday. He had ran a series of critical reports on his TV Show, Faktor Plus, on Vizion Plus TV accusing Rezart Taci and his company, the ARMO oil refinery of massive tax evasion.

Apart from the TV show, Baze also publishes the Tirana daily Tema, a publication that is very critical of the government.

Rezart Taci is known as one of the Tirana businessman in Prime Minister Berisha’s inner circle. His other company, Taci Oil International has spent millions of euros organising charity football matches, with the proceeds donated to a children’s charity ran by Berisha’s wife.

The businessman through a statement for the media, admitted he had been present during the assault, but denied he had participated. Police so far have arrested two of his bodyguards and issued a warrant for Taci’s detention, but have not yet arrested him.

On Tuesday a journalism organisation, offered a 10,000 euro reward for information, leading to Taci’s arrest.

Source: BalkanInsight

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue…

Discover the Albanian Language and Dialects with Robert Elsie

Elvis — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:23:23 +0000

If you are Albanian or someone working on learning the Albanian language then I would encourage you to delve a little deeper into understanding the roots and the development of this ancient language.

To help you with this process, out of the many different sources out there I would direct you to one scholar whom many would recommend highly for his wonderful work, translations, study and research regarding the Albanian language and literature. His name is Robert Elsie and is one of those few people that has contributed and continues to contribute so much to this ancient language that I is my mother-tongue.

A most recent and very interesting development on one of his websites is the publication of audio recordings of the Albanian language spoken in different dialects in all the major areas where Albanians live today.

This is how Robert Elsie introduces the Albanian Dialects section, “This website offers the listener audio recordings in Albanian from various regions where the language is spoken. Though the dialects of Albanian are usually mutually intelligible to the listener with an ear for language, regional differences, deriving largely from the historical development of the language, can be substantial, and they are quite fascinating. You can thus listen here to people speaking in a wide range of Albanian dialects. Some of these individuals are good dialect speakers, others were recorded at random to give an idea of how modern Albanian is used in various areas.”

To listen to the recordings please visit: Albanian Dialects on AlbanianLiterature.net

Do you think this kind of research is worthwhile? Post your comments below. Thanks.

Do you notice any similarities with Albanian TV channels?

Elvis — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:53:14 +0000

As I do every morning, even today I was roaming around the net to some of my preferred sites when I stumbled upon this post by Seth Godin, who is well known marketer. Anyway, the topic of his blog post was “the problem with cable news thinking”. In his post he goes on to give an example of what cable news channels do often, then provides a list of how such channels “amplify the worst elements of emotional reactions” in their viewers!

Here is the list:

Focus on the urgent instead of the important.

Vivid emotions and the visuals that go with them as a selector for what’s important.

Emphasis on noise over thoughtful analysis.

Unwillingness to reverse course and change one’s mind.

Xenophobic and jingoistic reactions (fear of outsiders).

Defense of the status quo encouraged by an audience self-selected to be uniform.

Things become important merely because others have decided they are important.

Top down messaging encourages an echo chamber (agree with this edict or change the channel).

Ill-informed about history and this particular issue.

Confusing opinion with the truth.

Revising facts to fit a point of view.

Unwillingness to review past mistakes in light of history and use those to do better next time.

My first reaction was to agree with him. Though I do not live abroad any more, the issues that he points out are so reflective of the pervasive reality conveyed everyday by the media in Albania. Now there are variations, and while I cannot say that no. 5 is always true, the rest the topics seem to be right on the money.

Just some food for thought!

Sorry, I can’t hear you, I’m deaf and I stink – of smoke!

Elvis — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:36:39 +0000

Well, though that is not true for me, it can be so if you hang around Tirana’s pubs and bars, especially around the Block area at night time.

Elevated levels of music noise and smoke-filled rooms are an all-year-round problem which gets worse in the colder seasons of the year.

Meanwhile, music noise levels are a ‘thorn in the flesh’ for the inhabitants of the apartment buildings around or above such places of “zombie like” entertainment!

In the past several weeks a couple of newspapers have given special attention to this issue by voicing the concerns of the inhabitants in their daily pages. The issue has gotten to the point that now the Tirana municipality and other related authorities are intervening to remedy the situation by issuing warnings and fines to those who break the rules.

On the one side, I can sympathize with the bar owners and managers who due to increased competition have to come up with ways to attract more customers, though their methods are always the same. If it’s not some band or special singer, then it’s just the DJ blasting loud music. But even for those places that may choose to keep their volume low, the surrounding sounds of other bars tend to intrude at which point the only solution would be to raise their volume as well. In this cacophony of mind-numbing sounds everyone is left deaf or close to it. But in my judgment the source of the problem lies elsewhere.

The obvious lack of entertainment venues such as theaters, galleries, etc., makes it almost inevitable for people to resolve going to such places such where the only language spoken is loud music and smoke.

Earthquake shakes Tirana at 11:50 PM

Elvis — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:50:56 +0000

The night of Sunday, September 06, 2009 at exactly 11:50 PM an earthquake shook the buildings in Tirana. It was not strong enough to destroy anything, but it could definitively be felt on the 4^th floor of the apartment building where I live.

To me this was my first experience aware during an earthquake. The other times I have not felt it at all or have not been awake to experience it. It was somewhat of a scary experience especially as I have always been concerned over the construction quality of apartment buildings in Tirana. And times like tonight bring those thoughts rushing in.

I was very tempted to leave the house, run downstairs and wait until it passed, but it did not last more than 10-25 seconds, may be longer for those who are more sensitive.

Anyway, since I was awake I did not want to miss the opportunity and write something about the experience. Friends all over Tirana are telling me that they felt it too. While just now, someone told me that the epicenter was near Elbasan at about 2 kilometers of depth.

Hoxha’s writing through an Englishman’s eyes

Elvis — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:56:07 +0000

I cannot say that I have read much of anything that the former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha has written, but it was almost refreshing to read about one of his some 70 books from the perspective of an Englishman writing for the Guardian online.

Also the picture of the statue of the dictator in the main square, which was pulled down by protesters about 19 years ago brings back memories for me. I was very young then, but I did witness the event at less than 100 meters from it.

Another comment which I appreciated was made by another reader who had this to day about the context of the book, which the review did miss.

Hoxha’s book ‘With Stalin’ came out at a crucial point for the Communist government. A year earlier, it had broken relations with communist China because, according to Hoxha, Beijing had moved away from the Stalinist ideology. Hence, his memoires were more a recofirmation of Hoxha’s devotion to Stalinism on which legitimised his power. The book was meant as a reminder to the people that they needed to stick with the government and put up with the harsh economic times that laid ahead rather than a true representation of what was going on in the country. In this context, the book is a window to Hoxha’s mind rather than on Albania.

- “Mospyt”

Enjoy Tirana while you can!

Elvis — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:26:41 +0000

It’s the end of the summer season and the weather has started to cool a little bit. But more interestingly, majority of the people are either on vacation or out of town. This is quite visible by the reduced number of people and cars on the streets everywhere you go.

Yes, even the city gets to take some days off from the intense, chaotic and noisy routine of everyday Tirana.

You should be able to enjoy it till the end of the month of August. It is then that people start to make their came-back and from then on things are never the same, at least till the next summer season!

If there are parts of the city that you want to visit or just to walk around the streets, at ‘reduced risk’ of being run over by cars, you may just notice that the city has trees, some quiet streets, some interesting hidden-away house, building or even a small park that you might just be surprised by.

Enjoy it while you can, that’s all I will say!

Wanted Albanian Criminal Kills Five in Shootout

Elvis — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:26:44 +0000

This past week I was so sad to see how one of Albania’s most wanted criminals, Dritan Dajti, killed five people in a shootout on Friday, including four police officers.

The fact that he knew about the police going to arrest him and could even “ambush” them, just tells a sad story about how these criminals have infiltrated the police. Anther thing that saddens me is the fact that the four policemen who went to arrest him were not even wearing bullet-proof vests.

EU free-visa travel postponed again for Albania! Is our mentality to be blamed?

Elvis — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:09:11 +0000

If you have been following the news lately then you must have heard about the European Commission’s decision to grant visa-free travel to three Balkan countries – Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, while Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo where left out for technical reasons.

From the people that I have been talking to as well as from my own opinion of this issue, I have to say that the news did not come as of a particular surprise to most. However, the fiasco of the general elections might have had something to do with the general disregard for the news. There is that sense that in a time of regular disillusionment by politicians and the government what can one more bad news do to us?

Well, for starters, there is a new sense of being left out almost to the point of direct discrimination by the European Commission. I say this, not only for Albanians, but also for Bosnia & Herzegovinians and Kosovars in particular as well.

But is this destiny, “fate”, or are we always making the wrong decisions at the wrong time?

As I bring this thought out, I purposely am reminded of the two different worldviews that dominate this region. There are those that due to their eastern cultural and religious influences from past centuries tend to view things as just ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’! However, there are an ever growing number of people who are of the conviction that ‘we decide our own destiny’ or that ‘we are responsible for it’. Both however present a very interesting pessimistic view.

If the first view is true, then we might as well give up and just go on back to survival mode. If the second view is true, then may be our efforts are not good enough for the EC!

Though I sense that there is more truth in the later than the prior, the fact remains that we cannot afford to be overcome by a sense of pessimism, but rather should focus on getting things right on our part and pushing with the EC to bring about the desired results.

Times have changed and we as Albanians need to search out for a new ‘fate’ if you will. The new sense of discontent and perception of discrimination lets me know that we as Albanians are starting to view things differently, though very slowly, I must admit.

Albania General Elections 2009: The Process has Improved but Violations Persist!

Elvis — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:18:22 +0000

The final numbers for Albania’s general elections are not yet out, in my perspective the most important issue is the election process itself since the political options presented by both the right and left, do not present any improvements. At least not sufficient since what they have to offer is already old repackaged stuff.

With regard to the success or not, of the process there is no one else better the OSCE to issue a statement or final verdict, that is why I would like to forward on to you a preliminary statement made today:

In a statement issued today, the International Election Observation Mission concluded that Albania’s election process demonstrated improvements, but also noted that violations persist.

The observers said the elections marked tangible progress with regard to the introduction of new voter registration and identification procedures, and the adoption of an improved legal framework.

But the observers also noted that these improvements were overshadowed by the politicization of technical aspects of the process and violations observed during the campaign which undermined public confidence in the electoral process.

Election day was overall calm and peaceful and the atmosphere was improved. Observers assessed the voting process slightly more positively than in previous elections, but noted procedural violations related in particular to inking procedures and widespread family voting.

The mission said it was too early to make a definite assessment, as the vote count and tabulation of results have yet to be completed.

“The country has matured, it has made progress, and many of the fears we had only some months ago have not materialized. I’m certainly happy about the progress we saw, but there is also a considerable number of issues that need to be tackled, in particular the polarized political climate,” said Wolfgang Grossruck, Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission.

“These elections demonstrated that the Albanian people has the whole potential for building a democratic society alike that in other European countries. Now there is a huge responsibility of the authorities and main political stakeholders to work hard in order to establish confidence among the citizens for a democratic electoral process,” said Corien Jonker, Head of the delegation of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.

“Our report reveals positive but also some negative developments in the conduct of these elections. Progress has been achieved since the last parliamentary elections in 2005. However, greater efforts still need to be made by all political forces in order to meet demanding international standards,” said Bruce George, Head of the delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The new electoral code agreed to by both main political parties introduced a number of important improvements and safeguards, in particular with regard to voter registration and identification. It is unfortunate that the high level of distrust among parties, the use of official events for campaign purposes and allegations of pressure on voters did not increase public confidence in the election process,” said Ambassador Audrey Glover, Head of the long-term election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR).

This is the link to the original text: Improvements in Albania’s election process, but violations persist, observers say.

Albanian Blogger

Albanian Journalists Protest Attack on Colleague, report by BalkanInsight

Other interesting posts

Discover the Albanian Language and Dialects with Robert Elsie

Other interesting posts

Do you notice any similarities with Albanian TV channels?

Other interesting posts

Sorry, I can’t hear you, I’m deaf and I stink – of smoke!

Other interesting posts

Earthquake shakes Tirana at 11:50 PM

Other interesting posts

Hoxha’s writing through an Englishman’s eyes

Other interesting posts

Enjoy Tirana while you can!

Other interesting posts

Wanted Albanian Criminal Kills Five in Shootout

Other interesting posts

EU free-visa travel postponed again for Albania! Is our mentality to be blamed?

Other interesting posts

Albania General Elections 2009: The Process has Improved but Violations Persist!

Other interesting posts