FLASH
Shkruar nga Andi Bushati
If the country's sovereignty was violated without any problem to serve Meloni, if the law on protected areas was changed to please Trump's son-in-law, in the case of Netanyahu, the red line of the traditional stance of Albanian diplomacy on the Israel-Palestine conflict was crossed...
After the propaganda about the special place that Edi Rama held in Donald Trump's heart burst like a soap bubble, following the invitation that the head of the White House sent him to participate in the Peace Board, another fable immediately tried to take its place. The respect that our prime minister was being shown by Israel, welcoming him with a 'sui generis' ceremony and opening the doors of parliament to give a speech before local MPs.
At first glance, this seems like a special honor, which very few Western leaders, such as Merkel, Macron, or former President Biden, have had the opportunity to exercise (at least before the genocide in Gaza).
But the fact that this event rarely occurs has nothing to do with the inviting party, but above all with the refusal of the invited to perform this act. Some EU countries categorically refuse to hold their ground before the Knesset members, because it is located in Jerusalem, which, like Albania, they do not recognize as the capital of the country and out of reluctance that this could be interpreted as acceptance of the occupied territories of the holy city. In their unwritten diplomatic rules there is a special “article”: speaking in the Jerusalem parliament means having taken a position even when you claim that you are not doing so.
Thus, countries like Belgium, Spain, Sweden or Ireland have always spared themselves this "honor". While in the codes of those leaders who have dared to take this step, there has always been an obligation for a well-considered, balanced speech and having within it two clear messages: the unwavering conviction for a solution with the existence of two states and the emphasis on the unresolved status of Jerusalem.
This has been the unspoken rule to avoid any misunderstanding. If you go back to what Merkel, Macron or Biden have said, in none of them will you find a position before Israeli MPs where the creation of a Palestinian state has not been mentioned.
Now, where does the problem lie with the "rare honor" bestowed upon our prime minister?
He was invited to that hall at a time when no European leader has set foot there since January 2024, when the European Court of Human Rights certified the accusations of genocide in Gaza as credible. So this Monday's appearance was more needed by Netanyahu's propaganda to show that the siege is being broken, than by the honor of Albania or its prime minister.
And Edi Rama performed the role of the actor he had taken on in the best possible way.
He spoke the most choice words about his Israeli counterpart, who is accused by the International Criminal Court in The Hague of crimes against humanity, for ordering disproportionate attacks on civilians, using starvation as a weapon of war, and collective punishment of the population in Gaza.
Of course, in the place where our global leader had agreed to be invited, he could not mention these things.
But, he went to the point of disgusting servility by blaming the murders and tortures inside that open-air ghetto solely on Hamas. He also ignored the positions that are a constant line of Albanian diplomacy, such as those for the two-state solution. He never mentioned the need for the recognition of Palestine. He went so far as to indirectly use the term “Jude Samaria” instead of the West Bank, which is unacceptable in international documents that seek to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Arab territories.
So, it's enough to take a close look at the context in which it was delivered and the content of Rama's speech in the Knesset, to understand whether, in this case, he was the "honored friend" or the "used client."
But here the point is not even about the reception, the grandeur, or the oratory. Even in this case we are dealing with the same repeated phenomenon of the trampling of the state in the name of the person. If to serve Meloni the sovereignty of the country was violated without any problem, if to please Trump's son-in-law, the law on protected areas was changed, in the case of Netanyahu the red line of the traditional stance of Albanian diplomacy on the Israel-Palestine conflict was crossed. And unfortunately this will continue to happen as long as we live in a country where there are a majority of those who are willing to see charlatanism as grandeur.
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