FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
One of the most important cultural monuments in the south of the country, the Spiles Cave in Himara, also known as the "Odysseus Cave" and declared a First Category Cultural Monument, is being destroyed day by day before the eyes of the authorities and the local community.
Journalists from the investigative show Fiks Fare have discovered that the entrance to the cave has been concreted, sewage pipes have been inserted inside, old furniture, such as armchairs, and an electric clock has been installed outside, as if it were private property.
Local resident Alex Bala publicly denounced the illegal interventions being made in the cave. He accuses that behind this activity are two people who have a parking business near the cave (a place that previously functioned as a car wash), who work for the Himara Municipality, one as a forest inspector, the other as a member of the Municipal Council.
Fiks Fare requested information from the Municipality of Himara, whether it has granted permission for private entities to carry out works or exercise activities in the premises of the Cultural Monument.
The Territory Protection Inspectorate at the Municipality of Himara states in its response that any intervention in the Spila cave area requires specific approval and permission from the competent central institutions.
The Municipality of Himara has not issued any construction permits for concreting or intervention in the cave area.
In fact, no entity has a permit issued by the municipality for economic or construction activities in this area.
The constructions in the areas surrounding the cave were built many years ago and are not related to recent activities or permits issued by this municipality in recent years.
Alleged activities such as the placement of inert materials and the discharge of sewage, according to IMT, have not received authorization from the structures of the Himara Municipality. The municipality also confirmed in its response to Fiks Fare that the owner of the entire area surrounding the cave is the state alone.
Fiks Fare also inquired with the Ministry of Culture, which provided documentation confirming the declaration of this cave as a First Category Cultural Monument and the area around it as a protected area since 2007.
The decision to declare it a Cultural Monument and a protected area was signed by the then former Minister Bujar Leskaj after the proposal made by the former Director of Cultural Monuments, Prof. Dok Apollon Baçe in 2006.
Former director Baçe proposed in 2006 that the entire area included in the 20-meter space from both sides of the cave entrance to the sidewalk of the Saranda-Vlora national road be declared a protected area.
The Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation explained that there is an agreement between it, the Albanian Development Fund and the Himara Municipality, for the revitalization of the Spiles Cave, which will now be implemented.
This project foresees the placement of protective fencing, the installation of information panels, and decorative lighting.
Regarding the interventions that have been made near the cave, the ministry said that the support of local government and other law enforcement bodies will be sought.
In an interview for the show Fiks Fare, renowned cultural heritage researcher Auron Tare reacted harshly to the situation in the Spilesa Cave and the way it is being managed by state institutions.
Tare says that after a concern raised by a local resident about illegal encroachments on the cave, he officially approached the Ministry of Culture for information on the status and protection of the monument. But the response he received, according to him, was disappointing:
“The ministry sent me a response that included some photos of a cave in China, a Chinese project, that had no real connection to the Spile Cave. This is completely unserious. We have Albanian institutions with 100 years of experience in the field of heritage, and we cannot allow such projects to be delegated to inexperienced NGOs.” Further, Tare reveals that the project envisaged for the Spile Cave has been given to an NGO from Serbia, which he considers absurd and unacceptable: “How is it possible for an organization from Serbia to come and deal with an Albanian monument like the Spile Cave? This is an object of extraordinary historical and cultural value, not a project for experiments. The Albanian state must be serious, take responsibility and engage national expertise, not allow foreign interventions without any concrete experience in our cultural terrain.”/ TCH
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