FLASH
Shkruar nga Alexandros P. Mallias
The former Greek ambassador in Tirana, Alexandros P. Mallias, has published an opinion regarding the relations between Tirana and Athens. Criticizing the attitudes of Edi Rama, he demands a tougher reaction from Greece in front of him. Apparently the Greeks still don't understand what happened to Beleri and Himara.
Of course, influenced by the message of fair play, noble competition and the unique honor of participation that the Olympic Games convey, I am reminded of the famous Olympic motto – now widely forgotten – introduced by Baron Pierre de Coubertin after the creation of the International Olympic Committee: " Citius, Altius, Fortius". It is conventionally translated: "Faster, higher, stronger." Moving away from the events in Paris, I wonder how this motto could be tested in our policy towards Albania.
A fundamental principle in foreign policy is to set the bar high. The desired height should be achievable, so you set it to the height you can jump. However, in our relations with Albania over the years we have learned to go under it.
We went down when some officials expressed their concern about the allegedly asymmetrical and unfavorable "involvement" of Greece in the case of the illegal arrest, imprisonment and sentence of the Mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri. An even greater mistake than insisting on this original incorrect position was its mutation into a "political line." Those in the know understand that these formulated positions ignored the aforementioned Olympic motto. Their worst version was when they tried to pretend that our allies and partners were upset or even indifferent to our complaints.
Albania and personally Prime Minister Edi Rama had a stronger case than Greece. This is a humiliating argument for Athens. The argument that our allies will be unhappy was heard again in the crucial 24 hours leading up to the nationally necessary and decisive decision for Greece's prestige vis-à-vis the ethnic Greek minority in Albania - by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to include Beleri on the party's European ticket in power. The internal reasons behind that decision make no difference to me.
Let's put this in the form of a question: Was the decision to take no action – no bilateral action by Greece – in our relationship with the Rama regime based on reports, recommendations and assessments of official services over the past year or on illusions and a perception that was based on a misjudgment of Rama?
The purpose here is not to repeat and highlight the mistakes of the last 15 months. We already know them. But at least we must prevent the next mistake, the predominance of the slogan "We are turning the page on Greek-Albanian relations", as "the only logical policy". Something that Rama wants and follows logically, starting from the UN meeting in New York. Will conditions be set for the talks? Unless we're thinking of lowering the bar low enough to make sure we pass it. Or better that Rama will not force us to go under it again, because none of the successive conditions we set during Beler's 15-month imprisonment was ignored by the leadership of our neighboring and NATO member country.
Bilateral relations with Albania are very important, as I have argued continuously for 30 years, and they need special attention. At this moment, Rama is convinced that his plans, his political pursuits and his plan for Himara have defeated the free and democratic will of the Greek ethnic minority. In his mind, the loser is not the minority, but Greece itself. With the conviction of a winner, he adopts the slogan "We're turning the page." Those who, with their silence, thought it was better to distance themselves from this issue before the elections also contributed to the formation of this perception. The result is exactly what they tried to avoid - unfortunately. We must understand that we do not become invisible when we bury our heads in the sand.
We have rightly understood that it is very difficult to transfer the ideals of Olympism – even in its most commercial version – to the arena of our bilateral relations. Here, where the noble hendiatris "Citius, Altius, Fortius" competes with the arrogance of the Balkan leaders and the unsuccessful 15-year prescription of "turning the page". /Adapted "Pamphlet" from " Ekathimerini "
*Alexandros P. Mallias, former ambassador of Greece in Tirana.
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