One of the arguments used by Mayor Veliaj for demolishing the current building of the National Theater is the presence of asbestos, a material banned in all EU countries for causing lung cancer.
“We have had more funerals than premieres”, Veliaj said.
But is the theater really killing artists? Two of them, Altin Basha and Kastriot Cipi, have different opinions.
“It is true that many actors have died the recent years, but not from lung cancer. This building has no asbestos”, Kastriot Cipi said.
“There has been such a discussion due to early deaths of many actors. The building has been repaired in the 2000s, but with a dangerous material, connected to lung cancer. I can’t say if it has anything to do with the death of some actors, but I support the idea of a new theater”, Altin Basha declared.
It is a fact that many actors, Kadri Roshi, Sulejman Pitarka, Violeta Manushi, etc, lived more than ’80, but in 2013, two actors, Fatos Sela and Roland Trebicka died both at 65. Two years later, Fadil Kujovska died at 63.
Are their deaths related to the presence of asbestos? This can be said only by an official report. Artists remain free to discuss if the building needs to be preserved or not, some keeping the same stance, some changing it.
“For me, what’s important in Veliaj has a decision for a new theater. This is very important for me. This is where the debate should focus”, Basha declared.
“Mr.Veliaj is trying to cover the fact that he has taken a decision to demolish a building without hearing the specialized institutions, without taking into consideration the technical situation of the building, without hearing engineers, architects, urban experts, etc. He is doing everything quickly and without debate, just by making up stories like this”, Cipi declared.
Sources say that the Municipality of Tirana is discussing projects with the government to decide on a final variant.
Top Channel
