The answers from the Mayor of Berat about blood feuds

Author: admin 18 September 2015

On September 7, the Mayor of Berat, Petrit Sinaj, replied to the questionnaire prepared by Operazione Colomba volunteers, within the campaign “A crowd against blood feuds”.
Below you can find the letter sent by the Municipality of Berat, with the answers to the questionnaire about blood feuds.

The letter and the answers from the Mayor of Berat

Dear,
I take the opportunity to send cordial greetings and thank you for the campaign against blood feuds, through which your association has undertaken concrete steps in the fight against blood feuds.
In this regard, please find attached the replies to the questionnaire completed by the Mayor of Berat Mr. Petrit Sinai.
Thanks you for for your cooperation, we remain at your disposal for any further detail.
Sincerely,
Mayor Petrit Sinai

Responses to the questionnaire

1. What is the spread of the blood feud phenomenon in the area where you are the mayor?
From the Department of Social Services in Berat, in the territory of our municipality, there are no cases of flood feuds recorded. Statistics show that this phenomenon is not present in our city and traditionally it has not been present either in the past.
• How is the phenomenon perceived by the population?
Citizens are aware of the negative effects of this phenomenon, taking into account the sensitivities of the phenomenon on the national level. Citizens condemn any form of blood feuds and support any initiative that will mitigate this phenomenon in Albania. In local terms, thankfully blood feuds have not been part of the reality of the city and citizens have not touched closely the phenomenon.
• How many cases of blood feud are there in the municipality/district where you are the mayor?
In Berat there are not  reported cases.
• Is there any collaboration between the local administration and the other organizations in the territory where you are the mayor?
There is a good cooperation between the Municipality of Berat and public institutions and civil society. The bodies responsible the law enforcement, such as the police, the Regional Directorates dealing with the treatment of social and community issues, have been in cooperation for the mitigation of any phenomenon which causes social wounds in the city. Berat Municipality also appreciates the cooperation with civil society and non-governmental organizations who work in the field of social issues and assistance to vulnerable groups.
2. Specifically, which concrete steps would you do for the complete eradication of the blood feud phenomenon, referring particularly to the territory of the town/district where you are the mayor?
The Municipality of Berat addresses this task to the Directorate of Social Services, which is responsible for identifying and prosecuting cases related to social issues. This Directorate will continue to support the structures in their work of identification and prosecution of any possible cases blood feuds, in cooperation with the central government bodies willing to perform the necessary steps to combat this phenomenon.
3. In 2005 Law no. 9389 of May 4th 2005 was emanated but it has not been applied so far because of the lack of the implementing acts by the Executive. What do you plan on doing to ask the Albanian Executive to apply this legal instrument?
The law nr.9389 envisages the “Establishment of the Coordination Council for the fight against blood feuds.” We are waiting the completion of the relevant regulations, then we could be fully committed to be an active part of national initiatives that the National Coordination Council will organize with the local government.

Thanks

We would like to thank the mayor of Berat for answering to all the questions of our questionnaire. Certainly we will compare our data with those reported by the mayor. We take this opportunity also to kindly ask for a more in-depth reply to the last question. How does the Municipality of Berat intend to ask the Albanian government for the implementation of law nr. 9389?