Marko Kepi: There Were Attempts to Block the Albanian Parade in New York, Preparations Had Begun a Year Earlier

Marko Kepi, president of the organization “Albanian Roots in America” (Albanian Roots), said that there were attempts by some individuals to stop and seek the cancellation of the Albanian Parade in New York, which this year was dedicated to Albanians from North Macedonia.

In an interview with Euronews Albania, he said that the calls for a boycott, as well as the protests held by some people who, according to him, are not known in the community, are not connected to the causes of Albanians in Albania, but instead present an image of a divided diaspora.

Kepi stated that the protests held in New York and their organizers have no connection whatsoever with the protest taking place in Albania, either in their messages or in the way they are organized. According to him, in Albania citizens have risen up to oppose the reasons that, as he put it while including himself, have forced Albanians to leave over the past 35 years, since the political system has given them no future and has brought only turmoil. He added that politics in the country has always been chaotic and that Albanians no longer engage with that politics.

According to him, the protesters in New York, instead of joining those in Albania, are in fact making their situation more difficult. He argued that the low turnout, with around 20 people, cannot be considered a protest. He also stressed that while in Albania protesters come out with banners against the regime, against the system, for change and for a better Albania, in New York, for three consecutive weeks, speeches have been held against the Albanian Parade and there have been calls not to take part in it. According to Kepi, in this way the Albanian parade itself was being targeted.

He also emphasized that organizations that have been operating in the US for decades cannot join individual initiatives when they, according to him, turn into personal attacks and attempts to damage national cultural activities.

Kepi said that during these protests there were also verbal attacks against him personally, which, according to him, is not right and only portrays the community as divided. He said that, in his opinion, this happened because two of the main organizers do not belong to the diaspora. One of them, he said, is not even from New York, but comes from Philadelphia to protest in New York, even though there are many Albanians in Philadelphia as well and he could have held the protests there.

According to Kepi, the organizers themselves have admitted that no organization joined the protest. He said the reason for this is the fact that these are two individuals unknown to the community. For this reason, he added, associations with 30 or 50 years of activity cannot join an unknown person whose purpose is unclear, especially when he comes out with messages against associations and against individuals who live there, but who have no connection to the Albanian government or Albanian politics.

In conclusion, Marko Kepi expressed his support for the demands of Albanian citizens, stressing that he will always stand on the side of the public interest and what is best for Albania.

He said that as an individual he will always stand by the Albanian people in what the Albanian people demand, for the good of Albania and Albanians. He also said that he has long expressed this position on his social media as well, including in English, with the call “let freedom ring,” adding: let there be justice.