DAY 66 PART 2 - MEETING THE PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENT OF ALBANIA

Tuesday June 28, 2011 (Part II)

Tirana, Albania

Total: 716 miles (Total: 1,365,091 steps)

“Democracy is the worst form of government, apart from all other forms that have been tried.” Sir Winston Churchill

We arrived at the presidential palace for a meeting with President Bamir Topi. I was looking forward to this as I had the privilege, as a member of the British-Albania, All Party Parliamentary Group, of having lunch with President Topi in the House of Commons when he had visited London in November last year. He is a tall, good-looking man, with an imposing presence in his presidential court. Like many Albanian political leaders, President Topi had had a distinguished career before entering politics; in Bamir Topi’s case, that was as a leading research scientist in molecular biology. As president it was possible to detect the frustration at the current political gridlock, a deep desire to see the situation resolved, and to get back on track for the real goal of EU membership.  I talked about the Olympic Truce, but in comparison to the immediate political pressures, it seemed almost irrelevant. I suggested that it could be that if the parties could come together to agree a response to implement the truce, then in agreeing in a small thing, they might demonstrate that it was possible to agree on greater things. “Maybe.”  As I left, I felt almost guilty that I had raised the issue of the truce with him, as he was clearly a man wrestling with urgent matters of state, but who knows…

From the presidential palace, we went briefly to the parliament and sat in the chamber, which looked strange given that half the chamber that should have been occupied by the Opposition, was empty; so votes went through 74—0. The Speaker, Jozefina Topalli, with whom we would meet the next day, kindly acknowledged our presence in the chamber and there was a polite round of applause. As I observed the parliament, I reflected that this institution was only twenty years old, and if there were a few teething problems along the way then that was to be expected and we shouldn’t panic; second, I rather liked the ‘theatre-style’, rather than the confrontational arrangement of the seating that we have in our own parliament. It seemed more appropriate in reminding members that they are together as the legislature of the nation whatever their differences—though the argument was slightly shot through by the half empty chamber. I find that the addition of the crossbenches in the House of Lords facilitates this more reasoned and less adversarial approach—perhaps that might be the first change in the Commons—the addition of crossbenches? Finally, I was a big fan of the electronic voting systems, which recorded the results within seconds and showed who had voted which way, without the need for division bells, voting lobbies and reading the breakdown of votes in Hansard the next morning.

Next we made the short walk across the road to the residence of the prime minister, Sali Berisha MP, where we had been invited for a private lunch. It was an amazing experience to have such access to political leaders; I recalled how I had tried for nine months to get a meeting with our Olympic’s Minister to discuss the truce at Westminster and that his office still couldn’t find a slot before I left. Of course this is not a reflection on him, but on me—I recall one colleague who described me astutely as ‘too diffident to make a difference’. On one classic occasion, which made the case, I had a meeting in October 2010 to discuss the Olympic Truce with Andrew Mitchell MP, our outstanding Secretary of State for International Development, who agreed to see me in Central Lobby, Westminster. I had carefully prepared for the meeting and then waited and waited past ten o’clock and no sign of the minister—I immediately assumed that something else had come up. As I was sitting looking dejected, a brilliant new MP and supporter of the truce, Rory Stewart, came to enquire how the campaign was going.  I said that I had been hoping to meet Andrew Mitchell, but he hadn’t showed: Rory immediately took out his mobile phone, found the Secretary of State’s private mobile and called him, asking him where he was—“Waiting for Bates in my office!” came the reply. A simple miscommunication about meeting point resolved and a very positive meeting was rescued. Well I am no Rory Stewart, that is for sure, but the next best thing is to be in Tirana with Anthony Cordle.

Again the prime minister is a man of impeccable credentials, a heart surgeon who had been part of the team that had been responsible for the health of previous Albanian dictator, Enver Hoxha. Now Sali Berisha was, following constitutional changes, all-powerful in Albania; although even the prime minister is unable to make politicians attend parliament. Before entering the private dining room, Gerti mentioned that the prime minister tended to eat each course quickly, and that when he finished, then all the plates were removed; so if I was hungry then I better eat quick then talk. That seemed to come naturally, so I followed the advice and had a good lunch. Sali Berisha is a charismatic leader, with the charisma coming less from a hyper-activity, and more from such a vast understanding and awareness of politics – not only in Albanian, but around the world. In response to my rather tentative presentation of the case for the truce, Professor Dr. Sali Berisha, MP (to give his full titles) gave a brilliant exposition of the nature of violence and conflict—I just sat in awe, though still eating quickly. We then discussed what an Albanian observation of Olympic Truce might look like.  The prime minister expressed his desire to do more in promoting the rights of women in Afghanistan, where Albania is part of the NATO forces, focusing on working with educational opportunities for women.  As we talked, an idea took shape – a logicalextension for the truce, could be looking to do something in Afghanistan to promote opportunities for sport amongst women. It was the first concrete idea of the walk and I was hugely uplifted as I left the residence.

Could this have been the breakthrough moment I wondered? Perhaps, but a potentially even greater one was about to unfold back in Westminster …

DAY 66 - TIRANA AND THE FIRST SOLID COMMITMENT TO THE TRUCE

Tuesday June 28, 2011

Total: 716 miles (Total: 1,365,091 steps)

“Everything is in a manner the seed of that which will be.” Marcus Aurelius

Tirana is in the grip of a political deadlock, as a result of disputed election results in May which are currently being contested through the constitutional courts and one might think that in such turmoil it would be impossible to engage with policy makers.  However, they hadn’t counted on a remarkable public diplomat called Anthony Cordle, who has patiently built relationships with senior politicians of all political persuasions across the Balkans over the past twenty years. It is a remarkable investment in lives, which I am privileged to be able to draw down on for the purposes of advancing the Olympic Truce.

At the core of the team in Tirana were: Gerti  Bogdani, MP with the Democratic Party; an extraordinarily talented politician who had served as a political adviser to the prime minister before entering parliament in his own right and had recently won a key mayoral election in Tirana against the national trend. Dorian Ducka is a member of the LSI Party, part of the ruling coalition with the Democratic Party and consummate politician/diplomat who seems to be able to find a way around, over or even through the most foreboding obstacles—to travel in a car with Dorian is to forgo the need for an in-car stereo as the harmonious ringtone on his mobile phone is constantly audible. The final member of the troika is Klodi Gradeci,  a member of the opposition Socialist Party. To see these three young men of different political parties act and inter-act together to open doors without any agenda other than to help a friend, was an awesome and humbling experience. To sit in a hotel foyer or a restaurant with them is to invite constant attention. What keep them real, is that they enjoy a cutting sense of humour which punctures any pretence or pomposity that might otherwise understandably inflate the ego. With Anthony Cordle, Gerti Bogdani, Dorian Ducka and Klodi Gradeci  and the ‘Walk for Truce’ project manager Michael Green, I felt like I was playing with a midfield that would grace Barcelona and leave me the fairly simple task of tapping in the opportunities provided.

Our first meeting was with Edmond Haxhinasto MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Edmond received us well, despite having just flown in from one summit and about to depart for another—he is an educated and cultured man, schooled at major universities in Europe and the US, and an astute observer of the international scene. We spent the first few minutes eulogising David Lidington MP, the British Minister for Europe, who had recently visited and greatly impressed. I said that if I were ever in the position of having to pick a political ‘dream team’, then David Lidington would be a ‘first pick’.

I then pitched the idea of the Olympic Truce and within about two minutes, he had got it, as might have been anticipated from the Co-founder of the Centre for Peace, Development & Integration. As a seasoned diplomat, he wanted to spend time to discuss process, and I said that initially it would be a matter for the Albanian Mission to the UN General Assembly to pick up with the UK Mission. Then to work with the Albanian Olympic Committee to make sure that the International Olympic Committee were aware of the desire to implement the truce. Finally, it would be good to discuss ideas with the British ambassador who would be able to feed those back to London. With a minimum of fuss it was a quick handshake, photo, and then were off to the next meeting  . . . and off the mark……

DAY 64 - DURRES TO TIRANA: 24 MILES (47,976 STEPS)

June 26, 2011

Durres 24 miles (Total: 716) 47,976 (Total: 1,365,091)

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

This is the reality of writing a travel blog: I am supposed to be updating the blog every day—you know, that idyllic picture of arriving at your charming guest house at 5PM after a gentle stroll through a strange land; having a warm shower, supper and then rattling off four hundred words of incredible insight and observation before turning in. Well for the benefit of my master’s back home—it ain’t like that.

Firstly, I cannot just write off the cuff; I can answer emails and texts in that way, but not writing 400-500 words. To write a blog piece, I need to be in the right frame of mind and in the right place. Secondly, when/if I find somewhere to stay, I often arrive late at night and just collapse into the bed—yes that means I didn’t have a shower, probably because there wasn’t a shower. Then at other times there are meetings/interviews/conversations, because the purpose of the walk is not to write a travel blog but to promote the Olympic Truce. Then let’s say you find that great cafe with Internet access you were dreaming about and just as you are about to start the phone rings and then a few more emails arrive; before you know where the time has gone, it is lunchtime and the waiter is hovering wondering whether you are really going to make that espresso last for eight hours. Then it dawns on you that you haven’t posted an update for nearly ten days and you pour through your notes trying to find interesting things to write.

That brings me to 7^th July, 2011 and I am to be found in the Conference Room at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Tirana, which has been generously made available to me for six hours to try and catch up on my blogs…I am fed up…I am behind with my walk, the phone keeps going with great potential meetings in Tirana—some of which I just can’t resist—such as with the Albanian Olympic Committee and a group of parliamentarians who want to initiate a project on the truce, but I must keep my head down and grind out the blog pieces in order to record some of the amazing encounters which I have been privileged to have had over the past two weeks. It is a bit like writing a dissertation—the fieldwork may be fantastic, but you only get the marks for writing it up.

I look at the clock, it is 11:22am—I have had two meetings this morning, answered emails, phone calls, but I haven’t produced a single blog entry. Silvana, the Ambassador’s wonderful housekeeper comes by to ask if I want a coffee (it’s now 11:35am). Christine Costantini, the Ambassador’s PA, who introduced me to her cousin who had walked through Albania, calls by to say hello (it’s now 11:50am). I recall Ambassador Fiona Mcilwham saying she would call back at 12 noon to see how I am doing … I start to panic.

I get a flashback to Breckenbed’s Secondary Modern School, Gateshead and Mr Burton is walking between the line of desks…I can hear his heavy footsteps and the creaking of his leather shoes, but there is not one word written on the page of my text book…I pray for the bell to go and in return promise God that I will not daydream in any more lessons, but will be assiduous (or ‘work my butt off’ as I would have said before I got my Grade II, CSE in English). It’s no good, God has heard it all before. It’s not as if I hadn’t been warned. Mr Burton arrives and his enormous hairy hands pick up my text book as, slightly for effect, he turns every page to see if there is anything written–he knew fine well there wasn’t. He then displays my effort to the rest of the class; shouts a few words the gist of which were that he appreciated the contribution I had made to his class in recent weeks and would like to spend an additional hour after school that day getting to know me a little bit better if that was okay with me.

The flash back works……I hear the gates of the Residence creek open, it is 12 noon precisely,  and the tyres of the official Range Rover crunch the gravel path, sounding like a drum roll before the axe falls.

I have an adrenalin rush…..

I begin…

Having spent 61 of 64 days walking alone, it was great to be back in a team for the walk from Durres to Tirana. Pastor Akil Pano, Gesi Hysenaj are new friends and wonderful hosts from Tirana, and Michael Green and Anthony Cordle who are ‘old’ friends from London joined me also. We set off from Hotel Skampa at 6AM and arrived out our hotel, Qendra Stephen, at 8PM which made for a long day, but the time went very quick because of the conversation along the way. Pastor Akil told us how his mother was required to do a hard march along this road under the Communist times to teach discipline—by the end of the day I kind of knew how she felt. Along the way I did an ‘in depth’ interview for News 24 TV at Ndroq and we were hosted to a fabulous tea by the Peza family beside Lalm. At night we were taken out for dinner at the impressive rooftop Xheko Impreial Restaurant.

“How are you doing?” enquires Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the esteemed Republic of Kosova

“Very well…just finishing off another piece now.”

Fortunately she hasn’t been fully briefed by Mr Burton, is dashing straight into another important meeting and so doesn’t stop to scroll through Microsoft Word to test the veracity of that claim…

“Phew….that was close. 1 down 9 to go!”

God shakes his head in disbelief.