08:36 pm
Albania: “We Seem to Have Lost King Zog, But Who Cares”
You probably missed it last week, but Sali Berisha, the prime minister of Albania, has formally requested the Indian government to “return Mother Teresa’s remains” before August 2010, the 100th anniversary of her birth. Berisha also asked France to return the remains of Ahmet Zog, who reigned as King of Albania from 1928 to 1939.
We’ll get back to Zog in a moment, but let’s start with Mother Teresa. There’s just one tiny little problem with Berisha’s request: although she was ethnically Albanian, she was born in Skopje, Macedonia. Nothing like angering the Macedonians, which has a significant Albanian minority (who haven’t necessarily been regarded warmly by their compatriots) and which has had a major diplomatic dispute with Greece over its name since its birth.
The Indian Government was matter-of-fact in its response to Berisha’s request, saying that “Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen and she is resting in her own country, her own land.” The spokesperson for the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s Catholic missionary, was a bit less circumspect, calling the request “absurd.” The Conference of Catholic Bishops in India also stated Mother Teresa’s remains should remain in India. Yet Berisha seems not to be bothered by these rebukes, saying that negotiations about her return would be intensified this year.
Then there’s Berisha’s request for King Zog’s remains, which borders on surreal. Before (or since) Zog, Albania has had no history of monarchical rule. In July 1928, then-President Ahmet Muhtar Bey Zogolli pushed a weak government to call elections for a constitutional assembly, which promptly created a constitutional hereditary monarchy and declared him Zog I, King of Albanians.
Zog ruled Albania for most of the interwar period, before fleeing during Italy’s 1939 invasion. He never returned, moving from London to Cairo to Paris (with an abortive attempt to live in the U.S.). In 1961, he died in Paris, where he is buried in the Thiasis Cemetery in a family plot. He did leave a heir, “King” Leka, but a 1997 voter referendum soundly rejected reinstatement of the monarchy.
I called the French for a comment on Berisha’s demand but they were too busy laughing to be able to answer any of our questions.
Didn’t Charlie and I just blog about Albania being a strong candidate to provide ports for U.S. ships for a new U.S. security missile system in Europe? Shouldn’t Albania focus on its new responsibilities to NATO and drill down on the necessary requirements for Council of Europe so it can join its EU neighbors?
But nooo. It takes a lot to out-wacky the rest of the Balkans. It’s not like the region hasn’t had more than its share of oddities. It is not everyday that a government manages to create a diplomatic incident and look deeply stupid all at once. As Balkan schlock goes, this is a a pretty superb can of crazy, something straight out of Monty Python.
Which is not that surprising, given that King Zog jokes were a regular feature of Monty Python’s Flying Circus:
Just how are the police combating the increase with the use of the occult? Ex-King Zog of Albania reports …(phone rings) Well we seem to have lost ex-King Zog there, but who cares.
Who cares, indeed. Perhaps Prime Minister Berisha should spend less time on stunts and more on things that really matter.
Like trying to get somebody — anybody — to take the remains of Enver Hoxha off his hands.
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