Lazarat

Lazarat
Administrative Unit
Lazarat
Lazarat
Coordinates: 40°3′N 20°9′E / 40.050°N 20.150°ECoordinates: 40°3′N 20°9′E / 40.050°N 20.150°E
Country	Albania
Population (2011)
• Administrative Unit	2,801
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal Code	6004
Vehicle registration	GJ

Lazarat (definite Albanian form: Lazarati) is a village and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, in southern Albania. As part of the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the municipality Gjirokastër.^[1] The population at the 2011 census was 2,801.^[2] The municipality consists of the villages Lazarat and Kordhocë.^[3]

Lazarat had become known for the cannabis cultivation.^[4] However, in June 2014, the Albanian government cracked down and destroyed the local production and transit of the drug.

Geography

Lazarat is a village just outside Gjirokastër, situated on mountain slope of Mali i Gjerë. It is one of the largest villages in Epirus.

History

The village is believed to have been founded in the 16th century.

Since the Albanian Government's attempts to stop the illegal cultivation of cannabis, there have been a growing number of activists from around the region demanding a special status for the small commune. The activists demand the right to legalize production and selling of cannabis inside municipality borders. The Albanian government has rejected the demand.^[5]

In June 2014, Albanian police launched a major operation against the village, involving over 800 officers.^[6][7] Heavily armed locals shot RPGs and fired mortar rounds at the officers, who returned fire. Police took control of most of the village, with Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri saying the operation would continue until "every square centimetre in Lazarat is under state control". Smoke rose from the village as locals reportedly burned cannabis plants.^[6]

In June 2014 a group of criminals shot and killed Ibrahim Basha, an Albanian NATO special forces soldier who had served five tours in the Middle East for NATO. The criminals had set traps to provoke and induce retaliation with police forces, because of the stringent actions the police had taken against the illegal drug activities in the mountainous village. After the murder, the police responded quickly by deploying RENEA special forces and the army to surround the village and arrest the suspects. On June 27, 2015 all alleged suspects were detained and jailed.

Population

Lazarat is inhabited by Muslim Albanians.^[8]

Economy

The main activity is agriculture, especially animal husbandry. The area is known for its dairy products.

Cannabis

The village produced 900 tonnes of cannabis annually, worth €4.5bn, equivalent to around half of Albania's gross domestic product.^[6] Now the village is free from drug production.

Notable people

Iljaz Bobaj

References

1. Law nr. 115/2014
2. 2011 census results
3. Greece – Albania Neighbourhood Programme Archived March 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
4. Besar Likmeta. "Is Albania Europe’s new marijuana capital?". Retrieved 25 June 2015.
5. Albanian Village Europe's Weed Capital, Carbonated TV
6. "Albanian police battle cannabis growers in Lazarat". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
7. "Albanian cannabis growers and 800 police battle in lawless village of Lazarat". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
8. Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995). "Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography." In Nikolakopoulos, Ilias, Kouloubis Theodoros A. & Thanos M. Veremis (eds). Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας [The Greeks of Albania]. University of Athens. p. 51. "AM Αλβανοί Μουσουλμάνοι" p.56. "LAZARATI ΛΑΖΑΡΑΤΉ 2909 ΑΜ.