WHERE DID THE ITALIAN AID BOUND FOR KOSOVARS VANISHED ?

AIM TIRANA, October 30, 1999

The Italian daily Panorama has published the recent scandal on the Italian aid bound for Kosovar refugees, who came in Albania during Kosovo crisis. Panorama's news has stirred up a commotion in both sides of the Adriatic sea, especially in Italy. The scandal has to do with Arcobaleno Missione (Rainbow Mission) during which, over 5 million Italians offered something to the victims of Kosovo war, a contribute estimated worth 128 billion Italian liras, which should be used to buy food aid for war refugees. According to Panorama, while some 1050 containers with food aid for refugees have been delivered, another 1250 have vanished in the streets, ports or warehouses by being looted are neglected by the persons in charge. Bari's chief prosecutor, Riccardo Dibitonto, announced the starting of the investigations, meanwhile a Parliamentary Commission has been set up to investigate the aid misuse. From the 128 billion lire collected some ended up in Albania, part of it is blocked in Italy and the rest is misused... For all this, the Italians of Protezione Civile justify themselves: "We didn"t know the war was going to end that soon." While the Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema responded with an article published in the daily paper "La Repubblica", where among the others he writes "Rainbow Mission is a page of nobility written in hard days". The scandal, though it primarily shook Italy, didn't pass without consequences also for the relationship between Tirana and Rome. Before the scandal blew up in Italy, in Tirana had started the first political reactions against the raids in Kukes town airport and in the Kosovar refugee camp in Vlora town . According to many Albanian politicians, including ex Public Order minister and the Democratic Alliance President, Neritan Ceka, the plunders were encouraged by Italians. According to the Albanians the Kukes airport was left unprotected and in the nearby camp, the Italian soldiers started to deliver the remain aid, after the Kosovars departure, attracting so the mass of people. The same thing might have happened in Vlora camp, where the town police chief said last week that he has been an eyewitness of Italians opening up the containers and delivered the aid to the crowd, making them to act violently and in chaos. While the Italians responsible for these two centres said that Albanians are violent people, even when their brothers from Kosovo are to be assisted. The investigations in Italy, mainly for the plundering of Vlora town camp on July 10, 1999, when the last Kosovars had left, are trying to prove that everything has happened when the responsibility has shifted to the Albanian side. While the Italian press is proving the opposite: the looting are carried out under the nose of Italian police and soldiers based in the camp. They didn't do a thing to stop them. But why all this tension, precisely when the peak of it (the refugee rush) was over and the war has finished. Many people in Tirana and Vlora think that the attitude of Italian forces reflected a kind of dissatisfaction noticed during the bombing campaign, when the Albanian leaders openly neglected the traditional relationship with the neighbouring countries, Italy and Greece, propagating every hour close relations with the United States and the great support Tirana had from Washington. "The plundering and the following declaration willy-nilly reinforced the idea that in Albania still reins the uncertainty and the Albanians do not deserve the international community support," said a high official in Vlora town. Three days later, in July 13, precisely on security grounds, US Defence Secretary William Cohen, cancelled his visit in Tirana. That was an unexpected blow for Tirana government. It was the hightime, when official Tirana lined up alongside the NATO countries, had gained points from the international opinion for admirably coping with the influx of some 500,000 Kosovar refugees. The undertaking investigations by the Italian press (Panorama also dispatched a video cassette of an Albanian volunteer, showing footage of the Vlora's camp plunder and the Italian soldiers contemplating it) show that the Italian excuse, that the camp was attacked when they were not there, do not hold truth. The footage clearly shows Italians, who unexpectedly declared on July 10 in the morning they finally will leave Albania, were present while the crowd raided the containers. "It somewhat strange the way Italians left the camp, without carrying out the necessary procedures. The Italian soldiers themselves opened up the food containers in order to deliver them to the people close to the camp," said Vlora's Prefect Tare Hamo, after the event. Is it the unexpected departure of the Italians a kind of protest towards the Albanians ingratitude ? Furthermore how can react the Italian opinion if the started investigations put the blame on the Rainbow Mission and Protezione Civile located in Albania at that time? Although it is a lateral element in the scenario of the geo- political changes in the region, the scandal of the Kosovars refugee aid is related with the recent political developments. After the war in Kosovo and the big projects preparation related with the Stability Pact, the Albanian leaders due to their young age, naivet÷ or euphoria, who were convinced they had won the war, clearly underestimated the relationship with the neighbours. Forgetting that a great deal of the reconstruction money would go through them. Furthermore the Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko, in a meeting in early July with the Italian delegation headed by State Secretary for Foreign Relations, Piero Fasino, had clearly demonstrated that the future projects with Italy will not start, before the Italians finish the ones they had promised in the Donors Conference, in Rome on October 1997. But as an old maxim says "stretch your legs as your quilt permits you" the worst is that the Albanians becoming more poor economically from the war, lack the quilt at all. And are waiting for it to come from abroad. Of course from America, transportation costs a lot. So it remains to come from the old route, which means coming through the neighbours gates, who "are not asking for much", but let's say for example they want to hear: "Albanians are grateful to the Italian government, people, military and police who were present in these hard days." And the gratitude words be accompanied with the Albanian government's priorities in co-operating with the neighbours. This is the price you have to pay when you are poor. And it is not advisable that instead of the above phrases, we should formulate charges of misuse and appropriation. This should not happen. And the Albanian prosecutorûs office has commenced the investigations to prove the Vlora camp was looted by Albanian police (?!). It seems that in this new post war reality, the words of George Fred Williams ex-US ambassador in Greece and Montenegro during 1914- 15 sound so recent: "It is true that all Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia and Greece have interests in Albania, but it is more true that none of them wants the other to be victorious." And the victims are Albanians again.

ARMAND SHKULLAKU (AIM)