The debate over the proposed sovereign Bektashi state in Tirana has taken an interesting turn after U.S. Presidential Envoy for Global Partnerships Paolo Zampolli visited the World Bektashi Headquarters and met with Baba Mondi.
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| Question of Sovereignty: U.S. Envoy Paolo Zampolli walks with Baba Mondi, spiritual leader of the Bektashi Order, during a visit to the World Bektashi Headquarters in Tirana. Addressing the proposal for a sovereign Bektashi microstate, Zampolli emphasized that the decision ultimately belongs to the Albanian people rather than foreign powers or government officials. |
“If the Albanians support such a project, that is a good thing,” Zampolli said, stressing that, ultimately, people decide and that the international community should respect the will of the Albanian people.
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| A Matter of National Sovereignty: U.S. Presidential Envoy Paolo Zampolli and Bektashi leader Baba Mondi discuss the proposed sovereign Bektashi microstate at the World Bektashi Headquarters in Tirana. Zampolli noted that the final decision rests entirely with the Albanian people—a sharp reminder that true political power belongs to citizens, not government officials. |
In other words, the question is not supposed to be decided by Washington, Tirana's government, or any foreign power.
The sovereign is the Albanian people.
And this is precisely where the political messaging coming from Tirana becomes interesting.
Government representative Taulant Balla, speaking about his meeting with Zampolli, said that they discussed “numerous and productive issues,” including Albania's role in peace and stability, the country's upcoming hosting of the NATO Summit and religious coexistence.
Balla also praised Albania as a model of religious harmony and highlighted Prime Minister Edi Rama's role in international initiatives.
All perfectly normal diplomatic language.
But there is one small detail that should not be forgotten: neither Balla nor the government is the sovereign.
The government represents the state. It does not own it.
And when the subject is something as fundamental as the possible creation of a new sovereign entity on Albanian territory, the final word cannot belong to a minister, a prime minister, a political party or a government meeting.
It belongs to the citizens.
That is precisely why Zampolli's statement is significant. Whatever one's opinion of the Bektashi state proposal may be, the principle he expressed is difficult to dispute: Albanians themselves must decide.
This is particularly important in a country where the current government has faced years of serious allegations and criticism over corruption, abuse of power and the concentration of political authority. Whether one agrees with those accusations or not, they make the question of who actually decides even more important.
The irony, therefore, is hard to miss.
An American presidential envoy comes to Tirana and essentially says:
“Let the Albanian people decide.”
Meanwhile, a senior government official speaks about what was discussed, what Albania represents and what its political leadership is doing — as though the government itself were the ultimate expression of sovereignty.
It isn't.
The government is not the sovereign. The people are.
And if the Bektashi state is ever to become more than a political proposal, the decisive question should not be whether Edi Rama, Taulant Balla, Washington, Belgrade or anyone else likes the idea.
The question is much simpler:
What do the Albanian people want?
That is where sovereignty begins — and where every government should remember that it ends.