Document #1251974
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
In telephone interviews on 1 and 3 December
1997, a research associate in the anthropology/sociology department
at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, who specializes in the
social customs of Albania and other Balkan countries, has written
on the Kanun (the traditional laws which are still operative) and
has assisted in the establishment of a Peace Studies and Conflict
Resolution Centre in Shkodra, provided the following
information.
Following the killing of a person in
Albania, the perpetrator and his family and relatives have
traditionally been immune from acts of revenge by the murdered
person's family for a period of 24 hours, particularly in northern
villages and towns (including Shkodra). This period of grace
permitted the funeral of the murdered person, an event which the
murderer was expected to attend. It was only after, not during the
period of grace, that the male children of the murderer were
susceptible to being targeted for revenge by the relatives or
family of the murdered person, although the most likely target
would have been the murderer or an adult member of the murderer's
family. The research associate added that because of the recent
anarchy in Albania, she is unsure whether the period of grace
continues to exist in Shkodra and elsewhere in Albania. The
research associate stated that the above information is based on
her reading and understanding of the Kanun, conversations with
Albanians and other scholars in anthropology, and on her travels
and field work in Albania, which she visited most recently in the
summer of 1997.
Corroborating or additional information on
whether there is a tradition that children could only be targeted
in blood feuds during the first 24 hours after a killing, as well
as whether this tradition is currently adhered to in Shkodra, could
not be found among the additional sources consulted by the Research
Directorate. For the section of the Kanun pertaining to a truce of
24 hours after a murder, please consult section 856 of the
attachment.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the
list of additional sources consulted in researching this
Information Request.
References
Research associate, Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York. 3 December 1997. Telephone interview.
Research associate, Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York. 1 December 1997. Telephone interview.
Attachment
The Code of Leke Dukagjini.
1989. Translated by Leonard Fox. New York: Gjonlekaj Publishing
Company, pp. 166, 168.
Additional Sources Consulted
CSCE Digest [Washington].
Monthly.
Electronic sources: IRB databases,
LEXIS/NEXIS, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World News Connection
(WNC).
News from Helsinki Watch [New
York]. Monthly.
Resource Centre country file on
Albania.
Transition [Prague]. Twice
monthly.
Uncaptive Minds [Washington].
Quarterly.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact other
oral sources.