Albania Urged to Ban Glorification of Communist Regime

The Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture NGO launched a petition on Thursday evening in Tirana which will be presented to parliament calling for legislation to curb the enduring influence of dictator Enver Hoxha's former Communist regime.

The petition calls on lawmakers to adopt legislation that prohibits political parties from praising the country's former Communist dictatorship or glorifying its rhetoric, and to ban the use of symbols of the former regime in public.

The petition says that amendments to the criminal code should follow models established by EU states that have prohibited the glorification of fascist and totalitarian Communist regimes.

It also says that political functionaries and heads of state institutions should be vetted for ties to the former regime, and that the criminal activities of State Security and other institutions under Communism should be fully disclosed to the public.

It further demands that the names of schools, streets, squares and institutions should be reviewed, as should school curriculums.

Albania has already adopted two resolutions on the issue, condemning the crimes of the Communist regime in 2006, and condemning crimes against the clergy in 2016.

"But their implementation has been minimal," the Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture told BIRN.

"Since the birthday of dictator Hoxha is commemorated with nostalgia by groups that present themselves as veterans, since these groups still use symbols of dictatorship and relativise evil, the petition initiative is necessary," it added.

The initiative was launched as part of a series of events called Memory Days, which run until February 26, exploring issues related to the country's former Communist dictatorship.

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