By FILIP GURAZIU
Memorie.al / There exists a paradox that cannot be overlooked by anyone who believes in the rule of law and in Albania’s European aspirations. This paradox is directly linked to the freedom of association and the future of the historical language of Albanians: Gheg.
To establish an association in defense of the Gheg language – with the objective of re-evaluating Gheg and placing it in its deserved position alongside the 1972 standard language (which implies a request for the revision of that decision) – has not been, and is not, possible in Albania.
This situation is not related to a lack of will, nor to bureaucratic obstacles, but to a fundamental reason: in Albania, the freedom of association remains conditional!
On paper, the Albanian Constitution guarantees this right. But in practice, every civic association must obtain court approval to be founded. Without judicial registration, the association is not recognized, it cannot function, and it does not exist.
This is not a thoughtless formality; on the contrary, it is a very detailed one, as it protects the ideological principles of those nostalgics who still hold the “leading voice” in Albania’s fragile democracy! In short: a mechanism is at work that transforms a fundamental constitutional right into a permit.
In European democracies, the freedom of association is a direct right. Citizens organize themselves through free will into an association, and the state intervenes only ex post (afterward) in cases of abuse or serious legal violations. When the intervention occurs ex ante – that is, before the association even exists – then we no longer have freedom, but control.
The case of Gheg brings this problem into full light. We are not dealing with a radical movement or a threat to public order; we are dealing with culture, with linguistic heritage, and with pluralism to prevent the loss of Albanian values. Yet, even so, this field remains vulnerable when its expression depends on the will of a judge.
The establishment of associations in Europe (for example, in Italy) does not represent a symbolic act of protest, but a democratic necessity. It is the only way to guarantee what should be normal: the right of citizens to organize without asking the state for permission to exist as a social entity.
This situation poses a fundamental question for Albanian democracy: a state is judged not only by its constitutional declarations but by the way it allows citizens to actually exercise the rights the constitution grants them.
When a persistent gap is created between the constitutional norm and actual practice, we are dealing with a political problem, not merely a technical one.
If Albania aims to be part of Europe, it must accept a clear principle: the freedom of association is not a favor from the state, or a judicial act. It is a civil right.
Until this is understood and implemented, the defense of Gheg – and with it, cultural pluralism – will paradoxically continue to be realized more easily outside Albania than within it. This is a truth that does not suit any democracy claiming to be European./ Memorie.al
