Albanian Actors Denounce Govt Plans For Theatre
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| Buildings of the National Theatre now. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN |
Albania’s government has come under fresh fire over a proposed law that will transfer the public property currently occupied by the National Theatre to a construction company, Fusha sh.p.k., in exchange for it erecting a new theatre building.
The government claims it is a solution to the problem of providing the National Theatre with a new home – but many artists say the new building will be worthless as a theatre.
On Sunday, activists noticed the new law on a government website designed for public consultation.
A protest group, the Alliance for the Protection of the National Theatre, immediately criticised it as unlawful. The group has protested repeatedly over the last months against government plans for the theatre, calling for the preservation of the existing building as part of Albania’s heritage.
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| Printscreen from Government run ERTV showing the plan for the development of the area currently covered by the National Theatre in Tirana. The four black-delineated buildings on the right shows privately owned towers. The first building from left shows the projected National Theatre. |
Arben Derhemi, an actor and one of those protesting over the government plan, denounced the proposal on Facebook.
“We disagree!” he wrote. “How can public property be transferred to a private company without competition, outside public procurement or public-private partnership laws?” he asked, calling for renewed protests.
Protesting artists gathered at the National Theatre on Sunday night, joined by other citizens, after being alerted to the news of the proposal.
Mirush Kabashi, a veteran theatre actor, protested in verse. “This is a time fit for scoundrels; however, the National Theatre and Albania belong to us,” he said.
Derhemi added: “We will never let it happens; they will have to pass over our bodies.”
The opposition Democratic Party, meanwhile, called the plan “a typical act of clientelism” by the Socialist-led government of Edi Rama.
“The Ministry of Culture, violating the constitution, has published a proposal awarding the historic centre of Tirana to a private businessman for free, to build apartment blocks,” Albana Vokshi, an opposition MP, said on Sunday.
“The law’s only aim is for a client of the Prime Minister to obtain land outside of any constitutional or legal procedure,” she added.
Built by Italian architects during the Second World War, the twin buildings situated in the city centre have been home of the National Theatre since 1945.
The government claims the buildings are worthless in terms of cultural heritage and says it does not have the money to build a new theatre. It says it has no option but to resort to a public-private partnership, in which the company receives several thousand metres of land to build about four tower blocks in exchange for erecting a new theatre building.
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