Ohrid on UNESCO's "black list", Zhupa: A slap in the face for the Albanian government and AADF

MP Ina Zhupa has reacted to the decision expected to be made by UNESCO to include Lake Ohrid on the list of World Heritage in Danger.

In a statement from the blue headquarters, Zhupa said that the government's decisions were made in function of clientelistic interests and construction plans that severely violate protected areas. 

Zhupa stressed that UNESCO has demanded the immediate halt to projects such as the Drilon-Tushemisht Water Park and changes to the urban planning of Pogradec. 

DECLARATION:

Unfortunately, what we had predicted happened. It's one of those cases where you don't want to be right, but no one paid attention to UNESCO's previous decisions and our hundreds of public objections.

In the draft decision on Lake Ohrid, which is being discussed at the 47th Session of the World Heritage Committee, UNESCO, after having repeated several times since 2020 its deepest concern over the approval of the Drilon-Tushemisht Water Park and having asked the government to immediately stop the implementation of the project, has come out with the position that: Lake Ohrid will be inscribed on the list of World Heritage in Danger.

Very bad news for Albania, a regression in the protection of world heritage properties. Every previous decision by UNESCO has fallen on deaf ears and in the blind eyes of the government and clients.

This situation comes from the increase in government construction plans thanks to the change in the law on protected areas and the unconditional handover to AADF, the concessionaire of Butrint, who own 7 of the 15 subprojects of the Water Park, including parking lots, and of course the Visitor Center.

The Kumbaro-Granoff propaganda, as you can see and some footage from the news reports about the show, spoke of protection, while UNESCO not only opposes it but has gone so far as to demand penalization as a way of reflecting and respecting standards.

UNESCO expresses deep regret over the construction of a five-story complex in Tushemisht and the establishment of development zones near Tushemisht, Drilon Springs and the Lin Peninsula without appropriate assessments of their environmental impact.

They clearly and firmly request the Albanian government to:
a) Review and reduce development in Tushemisht in accordance with the requirements for the preservation of Outstanding Universal Values;
b) Amend the General Local Plan of Pogradec to exclude possibilities of urbanization in ecologically sensitive areas, including those between Tushemisht and the Drilon Springs, as well as on the Lin Peninsula;
c) Rigorously implement regulatory measures for the protection of the UWU of the property.

So it demands that the Albanian government give up on construction in protected areas, stop concreted Pogradec, Drilon, Tushemishti, Lini and everything that comes to mind because this does not serve either the country or the protection of assets with extraordinary universal values. UNESCO demands what we have also demanded and continue to demand with the battle for the law on protected areas in the Constitutional Court. Precisely so that we do not face situations where we risk the non-existence of assets with extraordinary universal values ​​and they are declared in danger.

As the chairwoman of the committee responsible for culture, I demand the respect and implementation of UNESCO's recommendations without any delay. And I support UNESCO in its monitoring of Albania's protection of the national treasures inscribed therein.

On the scales are the AADF dollars, the profits of the oligarchs and the violations and benefits of the government, and on the other hand is the public interest and the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage and the intact VJUs. The citizens and we choose the latter and will stand to the end for their protection.

I also publicly call on the Prosecutor's Office to immediately open a criminal case to hold legally accountable all government, local or AADF actors who have intentionally violated UNESCO recommendations and the laws of the Albanian state and are knowingly destroying the Albanian cultural-natural heritage.