Author: admin 19 June 2015

The answer of the candidate Vullnet Xhevdet Elbasani of the party “Democratic Movement for the Values, Wellness, Progress” for the city of Shkodër

 

1. What is the spread of the blood feud phenomenon in the area where you are a candidate?

The territory where I present myself as a candidate is the territory with the greatest number of families self-isolated in the North part of the country and even in the whole of Albania. This is due to the large territorial extension, to the mentality, to the lack of coordination among the relevant structures, to the economic level, to the cultural (education) level and to the lack of a law enforcement in cases where the Criminal Code provides penalties ceilings, etc. I stress that religious institutions have a crucial role too.

 

a. How is the phenomenon perceived by the population?

By the meetings that are organized in towns and door to door among the inhabitants of the new part of the territory, we found that all the inhabitants recognize the phenomenon as an old social plague (deplorable), which has very serious consequences and should be discarded in coordination between all the organizations to begin to identify all cases, the specific reasons in each case and dividing tasks among the various communities, religious institutions, the State Police and the posses’s authorities.

 

b. How many cases of blood feud are there in the municipality/district where you are a candidate?

The identification of the cases requires a particular service (which will be established after I will become the Mayor of Shkodër) starting from the specificities that this phenomenon exhibits, there are families who do not denounce, families who, because of it, move away from their place of residence and that hide such cases, we refer to the statistics presented by the relevant authorities up to the end of 2014 related to about 200 families self-isolated.

 

c. Is there any collaboration between the local administration and the other organizations in the territory where you are candidate?

From the conversation I had with the inhabitants of this territory and the Competent Authorities, I have seen that collaboration exists but a lot to be desidered and that should be further strengthened, starting from the community, the religious institutions, the State Police, the Prosecutor and the Court to the punishment for the perpetrators through the courts and not using private justice. As were also identified cases in which the court sentenced the offender to the maximum punishment as provided by the Penal Code, while the author was paying the penalty, a member of his family was killed. That kind of things makes you realize that the phenomenon is deeply rooted and that can not be eliminated only with this collaboration. We can defeat this phenomenon and the consequences that this phenomenon creates in the community but to eliminate it, it takes time.

 

2. Specifically, if you were elected at the end of these administrative elections, which concrete steps would you do for the complete eradication of the blood feud phenomenon, referring particularly to the territory of your town/district?

– I require a concrete periodic report to the  Coordination Council against the phenomenon of gjakmarrje and hakmarrje but also to other organizations.

– The establishment of a specific service for the identification of cases of blood feuds and revenge (specific, case by case). The representatives of this service will be in this area.

– We will take measures to ensure that each family is offered the service of education (books and learning materials available for free by the city hall) for the children self-isolated which must follow the school, depending on the various cases and the areas by sending teachers in their femilies or grouping them where it’s possible. We can offer this service through online lessons in internet. We believe that education can curb this phenomenon.

– We will prepare a detailed plan for the family members self-isolated to ensure their living conditions or treatments of social assistance even when the condition of a low level of poverty is met.

– The Municipality will be a coordinator among others (communities, religious institutions, state authoritires like the State Police, the Prosecutor and the Court).

 

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?

Law nr. 9389 of 4 May 2005 for the creation and operation of the Coordination Council  against the phenomenon of blood feud.

This law aimed at creating a National Coordination Council in the fight against the blood feuds and revenge. From this place we will receive concrete and detailed periodic report which will serve to allow the coordination with the activities of our organizations at the new municipality. I think the relationship with the community, identifying cases and causes, case by case, with our presence in the community can prevent revenge and even blood feuds and this phenomenon will gradually extinct until it was eradicated. Since this serious social plague leaves unrecoverable consequences and which has been condemned unreservedly by all the inhabitants of the new territory, but also by their own families who suffer the consequences, this phenomenon will go toward its elimination. The role of the municipality will be the presence in the community, case by case, as well as the coordination between the community, the specific organization and our activities to settle the consequences of this phenomenon which have been mentioned above.