The tour of meetings with immigrants/ Popular Greek media reacts: Rama was asked not to visit Athens now, he was told that...

The Greek newspaper Kathimerini writes that the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, received a negative response to his request to visit Greece, through his spokesman, Endri Fuga, but again the head of the Albanian government insisted on carrying out the visit.

We are talking about meetings with Albanian immigrants who live and work in Greece. According to the article of the Greek newspaper, the Greek authorities have canceled the previously granted permission to hold the meeting in the Olympic lobby "Gallatsi", because other activities are also held there. Afterwards, the Greek Foreign Ministry informed the assistant of the Albanian Prime Minister, Endri Fuga, who is in Athens, that the visit should be postponed after June 9, since Greece is currently in the European elections.

The full text of the Greek newspaper Kathimerini:

The questions that arise are whether the visit of the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Athens will finally be allowed as the days of Saint Thomas Sunday (May 12) approach, when he is scheduled to address a gathering of Albanian immigrants, members and friends of his party. It is worth noting that initially the gathering was planned to be held in the closed stadium of Galatsi, but recently the Municipality removed the permission it had given initially, due to other activities that have been planned. Therefore, it remains to be seen if and where the meeting with Albanian immigrants will be moved for Mr. Rama.

Given that until yesterday no written request had been received both at the Foreign Ministry and at other competent bodies for Mr. Rama's visit (whether unofficial), no statement of intentions has yet been openly formulated by the Greek side. Mr. Rama unofficially announced his intention to visit Athens through his confidential spokesman, Edri Fuga, who was in Greece a few days ago. The Foreign Ministry informed Mr. Rama's spokesperson that, starting from the pre-election phase that Greece is going through due to the European elections, it would be preferable to postpone the visit to after June 9.

Since then, Athens' invitation has been ignored and the Albanian prime minister is said to be determined to carry out the visit. It is now absolutely clear to any honest observer that Mr. Rama made his decision immediately after the inclusion of the elected elected president of Himara, Fredi Beleri, in the European list of ND. It seems that the visit of the Albanian Prime Minister Rama also has symbolism, since on May 12, it will be exactly one year since the arrest of Mr. Beleri.

But given the charged atmosphere with the events in Himare, Rama's trip could fuel the pre-election internal political conflict, bringing the Beleri issue to the agenda of the public debate. Or even provoke reactions from certain elements in Athens, which the government definitely does not want.

Also, diplomatic sources in Tirana and Athens emphasized that the planned visit may objectively have the element of a show of force, where Rama tries to instrumentalize the vote in the European elections of tens of thousands of Albanian immigrants who have the legal right. to vote as Greek citizens, in response to Beler's candidacy. However, such an event, even if Rama avoids references to the European elections, would in any case constitute indirect involvement in the process. Based on the charged atmosphere with the events in Himarë, the trip of the Albanian Prime Minister may promote the internal political pre-election conflict.

The prime minister of Albania symbolically took care to start the early election campaign in the Albanian diaspora from Athens - it will continue with Rome, Milan and Berlin - excluding the elected mayor Fredi Beleri from the presidency of Himara and from the internal political game. this was his goal from the beginning. The entire judiciary (prosecutor's office) is completing investigations in the second degree against Beler.

According to the estimates of the political and diplomatic circles in Tirana, Beleri will be released from prison within the month of August. But not innocent and exonerated, but with a penalty, even a small one, so that he does not have the right to participate in the possible new elections for the Municipality of Himara. The information indicates that there is a possibility that the current vice president voted by the municipal council will remain in the post of temporary mayor. But if elections are held, as Rama has warned, the candidacy of the former minister and current governor of Vlora, Vangjel Tavos, who has already transferred his electoral rights to Himara, from Dropolli, should not be ruled out.

Since there will be no official meetings, the interest from Edi Rama's visit to Athens is focused on his speech about exiled Albanians and on the inevitable references(?) to Greek-Albanian relations and the Greek minority, with a focus on the developments in Himara . The (arrogant) feeling of being "triumphant" in the "Battle of Himara" will accompany Edi Rama to Athens as well.

What will happen in the future?

However, the question of the future in Greek-Albanian relations and the fate of the Greek minority, after the imminent conclusion, at least at the judicial level of the Beleris case, remains unknown. It remains to be seen whether and what the first steps will be from both sides to ease the tension and put bilateral relations back on the road to recovery.

The political-diplomatic conflict over the chairmanship of Himara municipality brought bilateral relations to their worst point since the highly acclaimed trial of five Omonia leaders in August 1994. Then it took the behind-the-scenes mobilization of the American agent (Holbrook – Shifter) to reopen the communication channels and "melt bilateral relations".

However, the development of things seems to exonerate those responsible for the management of the crisis (Giorgos Gerapetritis, Alexandra Papadopoulou) in the Foreign Ministry, who, as written, supported - not having faith in the fair trial in Albania - saying that consultations with Tirana are needed for the immediate release of Beler and finding a common person for mayor.