Professional Documents
Culture Documents
We are American citizens of Albanian decent. We are writing now to protest against
property rights violations in Albania, an issue that has caused great and continuing
hardship in our native country and to ourselves.
Albania, long under communist rule, was notorious not only for human rights
violations, but the violent expropriations of private properties throughout our country,
without appropriate compensation. Owners, persecuted, condemned and exiled, rarely
dared seek a vindication of their rights. When the Communists were overthrown,
Albanias political parties remained by-products of their past and, unsurprisingly, their
policies supposedly instituted to return property to rightful owners were ineffectual.
Agricultural land, for example, was distributed to families residing in villages on the
theory that land belongs to those who work it, not those who own it and similar
principles were applied in the context of privatization of economic and trade
enterprises, to the great damage of owners.
Political parties encouraged or directed the build-out of massive residential and trade
buildings on the land of other people. Illegal builders forcibly ejected owners but the
state remained indifferent, refusing to intervene to protect owners. In 2006, illegal
constructions numbered roughly 400,000 but Albania did nothing to punish the illegal
occupants. Instead, the government legalized the illegal constructions and excused
the mass expropriations on the basis of purported public need. Compensation for the
occupied lands was wholly inconsistent with their actual values and the owners were
paid mere fractions of the actual value of their property.
For a small fraction of owners, compensation was supposedly going to be set at market
price rates, but allocated funds turned out to be inadequate. Albanian owners sought
justice in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court ruled for the
owners. Financial bills that were required to be paid by the Albanian state mounted but
the government refused to pay appropriate compensation. Such refusal was found to be
a human rights violation. Penalties imposed upon the Albanian Government by EUHR
were severe and could have resulted in a state bankruptcy.
In December, 2015, the Albanian Parliament, by majority vote, enacted a law changing
the manner of property valuation and reducing property assessments. This law has been
challenged in the Albanian Constitutional Court, by the President of the Republic of
Albania and numerous associations, as well as Albanias Democratic and Republican
Parties. The government is currently pretending this law is necessary to protect the
public interest and claims that it accords with the decision-making of the International
Court of Freedoms and Human Rights. To the contrary, on November 10th, 2015,
March 17th, 2016 and April 7th, 2016 this same court issued rulings directing the State
of Albania to pay fines amounting to over 24 million Euros. The Court approved the
owners compensation claims in accord with market rates as determined in 2008 and
not under the new laws, confirming the owners were and are entitled to real
compensation.
Justice reforms do not end with the removal of corrupt judges, prosecutors, police or
employees. Real justice requires that a lawless mindset which encourages people to do
as they please, regardless of how ones conduct impinges on other peoples rights, be
replaced. Without real rights of ownership and protections that real and substantial,
Albania will continue to be plagued by the failed and unjust system the Communists
long imposed.
Albanian
Maxhoranca e sotme e cila mori pushtetin duke premtuar drejtesi, e ndodhur para
vendimarrjeve te Gjykates Nderkombetare te te Drejtave te Njeriut si dhe e zhytur ne
korrupsion dhe etje per tu pasuruar, e futur ne rrugen e gabuar per zgjidhjen e
problemit si dhe duke trasheguar nje mentalitet te vjeteruar e te deshtuar, miratoi ne
Dhjetor 2015, vetem me votat e maxhorances, nje ligj per gjoja zgjidhjen perfundimtare
te ceshtjes se pronesise.
Megjithese u hartua pa asnje bashkepunim, pa asnje transparence por duke u nisur nga
mentaliteti i kaluar, arrin deri atje sa i vlereson thuajse haptazi si armiq ata qe kekojne
kthimin fizik dhe kompensim te pronave conform detyrimeve kushtetuese . Ky qendrim
u pasua me nje propagande te shfrenuar sikur ky ligj mbron interesin publik para
interesit te pronareve dhe se po te zbatoheshin te drejtat e pronareve, Shteti, do te jete
ne prag te falimentimit.
Qe ne prezantim projekt-ligji u kundershtua ne menyre kategorike nga grupet e
interesit, nga Presidenti i Republikes, nga partite politike ne opozite dhe nga Avokati i
Popullit. Pas miratimit te tij, Presidenti i Republikes, Avokati i Popullit, Shoqata
Kombetare e te Shpronesuarve Pronesi me Drejtesi, Shoqata Bregdeti, Shoqata
Dukati, Shoqata e Pronareve Legjitime si dhe nje grup me 30 deputete nga Partia
Demokratike dhe Partia Republikane e kane kundershtuar kete ligj ne Gjykaten
Kushtetutese (GjK) Shqiptare duke kerkuar shfuqizimin e tij si antikushtetutes, ndersa
Qeveria, me ane te Ministrit te Drejtesie i ben presion haptazi GjK per te mos e gjykuar
ate.
Me ane te ketij ligji kerkohet te ruhet statusi quo ne prona duke mbrojtur korrupsionin
politik dhe ekonomik, duke u premtuar pronareve gjoja kompensim te drejte. Ligjvensit
shqiptare kane justifikuar moskthimin e prones me gjoja interesin publik, si me ligjin
komunist 7501 (qe zbaton parimin toka i perket atij qe e punon), ligjet e privatizimve etj.
Ne Shqiperi eshte krijuar nje klase te pasurish qe jane pjese e politikes ose te aferm te
saj dhe keta nuk duhen prekur. Ligji i legalizimeve qe ligjeron parullen se toka i perket
atij qe e zapton. Korrupsioni me pronat eshte i dukshem. Nga pronat tona nuk ka
perfituar publiku, por klasa e re politike, trashegimtare e ish pushtetit komunist. Pse
prona most e kthehet tek pronari dhe zaptuesit te kthehen nga kane ardhur? Pse te mos
shemben ndertimet e tyre te bera pa leje dhe ne toka te vjeedhura kur shume bukur
qeveria ka nderrmarre aksionin e prishjes se ndertimeve pa leje. Kur hidhen ne toke
pallate disa kateshe, pse nuk mund te shemben kullat dykatese dhe kacollet e bagetive
dhe vreshtat e ndertuara pa leje ne tokat e pronarit legjitime? Pse nje pjese e popullit te
mbroje pasurite e veta nga zonat qe kane emigruar dhe nderkohe zoterojne pronat e te
tjereve qe presin ti marrin si njerez dhe jo me dhune pronat e tyre legjitime?
Sot ne Shqiperi po ndihet nje ere e forte e rivendosjes se sistemit te kaluar ne fushen e
pronave. Sot jane miratuar deri ligje qe pronari shpronesohet me cmime qeshrake dhe
toka ju jepet investitoreve vendas ose te huaj me nje euro per meter katror. Pse?
Ka disa kohe qe ne Shqiperi po flitet per reformen ne drejtesi e cila propagandohet si nje
domosdoshmeri per pastrimin e sistemit gjyqesor, te prokurorise, te policise apo te
administrates publike nga njerezit e korruptuar, por kjo nuk mjafton, nuk mund te kete
reforme ne drejtesi me ligje qe shkelin te drejtat e njeriut dhe nuk zbatojne standartet e
vendosura nga sistemi perendimor i vendeve te zhvilluara. Ne bejme vetem nje thirrje,
zbatoni ato orientime qe percakton Strasburgu dhe jepini pronareve legjitime te kthehen
ne pronat e tyre. Shqetesimet tona jane drejtuar ne zyren e Presidentit Barack Obama
dhe do te adresohen ne ditet qe vijojne, ne zyren e Secretarit te Shtetit John Kerry dhe
ne zyren e Bashkimit Evropian.