TIRANA, April 25 /ATA/ The Political Leader of the Euro-Atlantic Coalition Lulzim Basha met with former political prisoners in Tirana to discuss their concerns and present a detailed program for their fair recognition and treatment.
Discussing the Euro-Atlantic Coalition’s program, Basha committed to several concrete measures, including granting official recognition to all individuals executed, imprisoned, or interned for political reasons; providing equal financial compensation as that given to former military personnel; and finalizing the review of over 2,000 unresolved cases. He also stressed the importance of revisiting unjust rulings, building a national memory, turning former prison camps like Spaç, Qafë Bari, Tepelenë, and the Burrel prison into museums, and educating future generations about this chapter of history.
He stated that another key commitment involves fully compensating former political prisoners, with the total amount estimated at 81 million euros, along with the restitution or compensation of confiscated properties.
“Fully aware that what you endured in Albania resembles less the drama of East Germany under communism and more the trauma experienced by the German nation under Nazism, we are drawing on these historical examples and experiences,” Basha stated. “Through close dialogue with representatives of former political prisoners and by taking into account the serious concerns of certain segments within this community, we have committed to several actions. First and foremost, granting official status as former political prisoners to all those who were executed, imprisoned, or interned for political reasons, as well as to their descendants.”
“Providing retroactive financial compensation to former political prisoners, equal to the benefits granted to former military personnel in the Republic of Albania.”
“Basha also proposed an immediate extension to complete the review of over two thousand pending and unexamined cases, which were left unresolved due to a clear lack of political will. He called for a review of the legal framework regarding the equivalence of executions with and without trial, in relation to the status of eight years of persecution, a situation which, according to our experts, constitutes an injustice. Furthermore, he emphasized the need to apply modern standards to the descendants of those executed, whether with or without trial.”
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