May 21st, Day of the Resistance against the Communist Regime

Platform of European Memory and Conscience

Resolution of Council of Members

Call on the Government of the Republic of Albania to Establish May 21st as a Commemoration Day of the Resistance against the Communism Regime

Introduction

The communist regime in Albania exerted brutal and continuous violence against the lives and freedoms of its citizens. Around 35,000 men and women were imprisoned, and about 60,000 people were exiled and interned. Thousands of others were executed, killed, or lost their lives in prisons, and their bodies were never returned to their families. We express our deepest respect for each victim of the Albanian communist regime and regret that even today, more than 30 years later, this tragedy has not been fully uncovered, and the massive human rights violations have not been condemned.
Albania has adopted two resolutions: one to condemn the crimes of the communist regime (2006) and another for the crimes against the clergy (2016). However, their implementation has been minimal.

Albania is the only country in Central and Eastern Europe that still does not have a memorial day for the victims of communism nor a national memorial in their remembrance.

Last year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Spaç revolt on May 21, 1973, a group of institutions engaged in the field of memory formally requested the declaration of May 21 as a national memorial day of Resistance against the Totalitarian Regime. This request has yet to be fulfilled and remains relevant. Additionally, we follow with concern the government's efforts to establish a museum not directly in the Spaç camp, which is an authentic place of memory, but elsewhere, arguing that it is more accessible via the highway.

Without respecting historical memory, honouring the victims, and ensuring transparency about the atrocities of the communist regime, there can be no social reconciliation and strong democracy.

Resolution

The European Platform of Memory and Conscience supports the efforts to declare May 21st as a commemoration day in Albania in honour of the victims and resistance against the communist regime, in a country that experienced one of the harshest communist dictatorships. The revolt of the political prisoners in camp prison of Spaç from May 21-23, 1973, is one of the most important symbols of the Albanian people's resistance against the communist dictatorship. The police and military violently suppressed it, 60 people were re-sentenced, and four of them were executed.

The Platform also welcomes the efforts of the Albanian government to address the issue of establishing a museum in the Spaç camp prison and invites all institutions and actors involved in this debate to collaborate in creating a museum that best serves the collective historical memory and raises awareness among Albanian society and the younger generation.

The Platform welcomes any effort to commemorate the victims of the communist regime in Albania, a candidate country for the European Union, because we believe that the history of each country is a part of the European values of justice, compassion, and reconciliation.

Done in Vilnius, on 16 May 2024