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The head of the largest opposition party in Greece, SYRIZA, Stefanos Kasselakis visited on Thursday some areas of Dropulli in Gjirokastër, inhabited by the Greek minority, while a meeting announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama with Albanian immigrants, on Sunday in Athens, has raised controversy in Greek political circles.
Mr. Kasselaksi held meetings in the municipality of Dropulli and then with entrepreneurs and citizens of minority areas, where he spoke about financial support and political protection for the Greek minority in Albania. " We are here in Dropull next to the Greek ethnic minority to express our unconditional support. For us it is a deeply national issue and I am a son of the minority and I know very well what it means to be Greek outside of Greece, moreover, here we are talking about a minority community that has many needs for political support ", said Mr. Kasselakis told the media at the end of the meetings.
He explained that " many issues were discussed with the local representatives regarding financial support for the minority, so that it is not at the family level, but as a right for every citizen. The issues are numerous, but under no circumstances should they be politicized or appropriated by certain parties ", said Mr. Kasselakis.
While the meetings of the senior Greek politician in Albania took place normally, Prime Minister Rama's expected visit to Athens has become the subject of many debates in Greece. In the background of the case of the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, sentenced by the Albanian Court for Organized Crime and Corruption to two years in prison under the charge of "active corruption in elections" and the election atmosphere for the European Parliament, next month, Mr. Rama's visit was seen as a provocative move. Arrested two days before the local elections on May 14 of last year, the Beleri case provoked an immediate deterioration of Athens' official relations with Tirana.
SYRIZA and other Greek opposition parties have severely criticized the government and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, regarding the meeting of Mr. Rama. The opposition blamed the Greek prime minister for the government's foreign policy, which it considers responsible for the "Albanian provocations".
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in an interview in the Greek media, said the day before that Rama's visit was not a visit with bilateral characteristics, but " he comes to talk to his compatriots." He has the right to do so. Beyond that, I think that this is also an option that at the moment, in the conditions of the European elections, seems quite unnecessary to me ", declared Mr. Mitsotakis, whose party has included Mr. Beleri in its list of candidates for the European Parliament.
The Greek Prime Minister announced that the Greek authorities will neither stop the meeting of Prime Minister Rama nor facilitate it. " We are a democracy, we do not ban the right to assembly, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, for this reason the government will not ban the assembly organized in Athens. Of course, it is not something for which we have any special reason to facilitate , "said the head of the Greek government.
Regarding the reactions in Greece, Prime Minister Rama said on Wednesday that " the visit to Athens has nothing to do with the internal affairs of Greece, the elections for the European Parliament in Greece, or any specific narrative that may arouse the interest of Greek politicians, but which does not are on the agenda of the Albanian government ", Mr. Rama wrote in a post on social networks.
" This visit is part of a long-planned series of visits to several European countries, including Athens, to engage with Albanians living abroad and to share Albania's pride in them and Vision Albania 2030. This is about with my visit to our friendly neighbor Greece ", underlined Mr. Rama.
According to reports in the main Greek media, the meeting of the Albanian Prime Minister in Greece is finding obstacles to take place due to the lack of a hall, since the local authorities in Athens have not yet given permission for an open or closed environment. Meanwhile, neither Prime Minister Rama's office nor the representatives of the Albanian community in Greece have yet announced the place where the meeting with the Albanians will be held in Athens on May 12. /VOA
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