Lucas, quoted by the Shqip newspaper, says that Alia was unable to understand what was happening, but that he should be thanked for leaving power without violence.
Lucas is the author of some books about Albania of the communist area.
“I was sorry to hear about Ramiz Alia's death. In the many occasions that I had met him, he was polite, with dignity and refined”.
I think that he was a good man, but that he also was imprisoned by Hoxha’s heritance, as he was imprisoned by Nexhmie Hoxha, Enver’s wife, and other leaders.
However, I found him unprepared for the changes that were happening in Albania and all over Southeastern Europe after he replaced Hoxha.
While the forces that were asking change were demonstrating on Tirana’s roads and other cities, and while the communist grip was fading, Alia seemed unable to confront it. He was blocked by the status-quo of the Communist Party.
He promised change, but it was too late and he was facing forces he didn’t understand. This made you feel sorry about him, in some sort of way. He inherited a house that was falling to pieces, and he didn’t know what to do.
I think that he was a good man, but I also think that he was imprisoned by Hoxha’s inheritance, Nexhmije Hoxha and other officials of the Communist Party who only wanted to keep their positions.
The final result was that all of them stepped asside. However, there was really no violence during the transition in Albania. There was no civil war or coup, no mass executions. This was very different to the period when the communists took power.
He moved away without bloodshed and he must be thanked for this. He simply disappeared like a mist, together with the dignity he could possess. I think that this was his character.
In other circumstances, he could have been a good leader. Unfortunately we cannot chose the time in which we find ourselves on earth”.
Ramiz Alia died this Friday in Tirana’s Sanatorium after a lung disease.
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