This was followed by the
achievement of several agreements
on 13 September 2013, where one
of them and the most important
was the Resolution of the UN
Security 2118. This is set by the
UN and EU as historic resolution
which should be served as a
standard for the international
community, in context of the
threats. Tirana officially stated to
contribute to peace and national
security and the Albanian
government considered to take
part in the Syrian weapons to be
disposed in our country.
Once this news was made
public in Albanian media, I
remember that there were many
reactions. Environmentalists and
toxicologists expressed that we
didn’t fill the capacity and lacked
technicians, students organized
massive protests. The thing that
led us to gather was social media.
Everyone expressed their opinion
on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
etc. It was calling the rest of the
people to stop the implementation
of this decision.
What made it official was
drafting an online petition where
everybody who disagreed had the
right to sign on their behalf. AKIP
petition (No to Assat Chemical
Weapons in Albania) was created
by Gjergj E., directed to the
Albanian government. The reason
was clear: “Albania does not have
the capabilities to store necessary
hazardous waste and it lacks
necessary stability to guarantee
the security of such waste”. The
Prime Minister Edi Rama shared
on his Facebook to announce the
final decision in his speech on 15
November. My friends and I, all
of who have abandoned school
for many days, gathered in front
of the prime ministry building
that day to hear the final decision.
The government decided not to
dispose hazardous waste in the
country.
This was my first experience of
this kind, which resulted positively
thanks to our online accounts
that enabled us to participate in
the decision-making on such an
important issue.
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