Albanian media: Thaci's perverted game to move “to Tirana”

Albania's President Ilir Meta, who has long had frozen relations with his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci, found himself surprised when he saw previous agreement and without even announcing it, Kosovo's president cracked the device bomb with passports of his citizens. Thaci's idea was simple: Europe is penalising us with visa liberalisation, has turned into a ghetto in the region, so Albania should help us. It should equip Kosovars with Albanian passports so that they can move freely to the west.

Taken by surprise (the threat occurs one thing at such meetings where, for all issues, Albania's president has managed to stutter that this is not the right way to get to the goal.

But, it seems Hashim Thaci did not give up. He has reiterated his idea even in an interview for German radio Deutshe Velle, stressing even that the Albanian state has a constitutional obligation to do so. This may be a decision that is more noble and human in nature. My request is not pressure on Albania, but it is a need, a noble request and a lot of humanity. Albania, I think, will act responsiblely and again my request is even more powerful today that both President Meta and Prime Minister Rama are in carrying out constitutional and legal obligations but also of national responsibilities to facilitate Kosovo's citizens' free movement across the Schengen” area, he told German radio.

So he repeated this call again by addressing Eddie Rama's request this time.

And shortly after that in the press on the other side of the border, the headlines began to abound: “Why is Rama silenced for equipping Kosovars with visas”?

The idea is simple, the leaders of the state make propaganda with Kosovo, play with patriotic feelings, with somboles and flags, but when it comes to the interest of Kosovo citizens they don't put water on fire.

In fact, history is not that simple. It is true that Brussels is denigrateing Kosovo for free movement. True, he is holding it hostage, though it has met 94 of the 95 conditions met. It is true that the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro is an absurd alibi to prevent free movement.

But all these are problems Pristina must solve with the EU. It must negotiate with the EU and not pressure it through Tirana.

Better than anyone knows that, Hashim Thaci. He is aware that countries like Albania, which because of their criminalisation, have raised voices in Europe for the revocation of free movement, cannot play this wheel.

But Thaci has another problem. He has personally promised voice and figure, since running for prime minister 7 years ago, that visa liberalisation would take place ever since.

And today, when he has not yet completed an electoral promise, he is seeking to transfer the problem to Tirana. He's just doing this as a perverted game of looking at Kosovars. He's doing this to avoid the problem from asking: “Why Brussels isn't giving us promised visas”, to the next dilemma: “Why Albania isn't helping us”.

That is where the outcome of recent statements by the president of Kosovo lies. /Lapsy.al/