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By:
Besarte Elshani
- December 5, 2024 20:46
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On the 20th day of the strike, the actors of the National Theater of Kosovo returned with a symbolic action in front of the building of the Ministry of Culture. With what the actors have called "The Minister's Monologue", a mannequin carries the figure of the Minister of Culture, Hajrulla Çeku, while a fragment of the play "1984" by the author George Orwell is unfolded. Regarding the situation as a result of the request for a salary increase, the strikers have said that the Ministry of Culture continues to be silent, while the strike and such actions will not stop
The striking actors of the National Theater of Kosovo have turned into spectators of their performance. They put the minister Hajrulla Çeku on stage as a character of the "monodrama". They returned before entering the Ministry of Culture facility on the twentieth day of the general strike. It is the second symbolic protest in ten days in the same place. The Strike Council has announced that the strike will not stop until their demands are met. The Ministry of Culture continues to be silent.
The performance "Minister's Monologue" installs the portrait of Minister Čeku on a mannequin with solemn clothes, accompanied by the audio of a fragment taken from the play "1984" by the author George Orwell, which was staged by the National Theater of Kosovo, at the end of September last year.
The symbolic protest of the actors makes the minister Čeku the performer and they themselves the spectators of a monologue that attacks and ironizes the government. The play directed by Igor Mendjisky brought the paradoxes of life and the concept of freedom. It had brought to the stage the ability of the rulers to manipulate and extend the totalitarian system.
In the show, this role is played by actor Adrian Morina.
He was not in the role on Thursday. As a member of the Strike Council, he said that the Ministry is silent on the strike, but the strike does not stop until their demands are met.
"The strike will not stop until our rights are realized, legal rights that have been flagrantly violated for 18 months. It is strange how it is possible that absolutely no effort is taken to address our requests which are even minimal. We are talking about millions of investments in culture, in cultural objects, in which objects their people are on strike. This infrastructure is being built for people", said Morina.
He said that more valuable for the institution was the cutting of a tree near the TKK facility, for which the Ministry reacted, than their requests.
"In addition, we see more difficult news than this, where a tree that is cut in front of the National Theater is written with three statements from the Ministry. Of course it is a sin to cut, but the reaction to a tree is much greater than to living people. I believe that they are renovating the theater, maybe when it ends after 15 years, for the oaks and not for the people", said Morina, continuing his speech.
Regarding the action of Thursday morning, he said that it is a sign of their activism to realize the demands.
"Therefore, we as actors have marked the 20th day on strike, wanting to show that we are not closed there, but we will use all city squares, not only in Pristina, but also beyond address our requests until they are fully realized", he said.
It has been announced that on Wednesday morning the legal mediator of the TKK Trade Union Association met with the secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Xheladin Krasniqi.
Actor Shkëlzen Veseli, also a member of the Strike Council, said that there were no other statements other than those that were told to the actors before.
"They were the same words we have been hearing for a long time. That 'it is being worked on, there is a will, it will be resolved, it takes time'. In a parallel situation, it is as if the Ministry tells us actors when the premiere will take place and we don't come out with the premiere, but say that we are working hard. There is no logic to this, hard work has an expected and timely result", said the actor Veseli.
He has warned that their shares will be expanded and distributed in other forms.
"Not only in the yard of the Ministry of Culture, but we will spread our strike and union reaction wherever we can to show that the dignity of the actor is being violated in the worst possible way. Let's not forget one fact: the salary itself is no longer in question in the sense of money, it is directly related to the dignity of the actors", said Veseli, stating that they had no choice but to strike.
"We have really leaned against the wall, wanting to be modest and not to come to these positions that are unenviable for us, such as closing the repertoire. More than the Ministry, we love the theater and respect our audience. But we are in a situation where we cannot do otherwise since all other steps have been exhausted and there has been no reflection from the Ministry", he said while warning that similar activities will also be published on social networks.
Ten days ago, the striking actors, in another symbolic action, distributed their portraits on the steps in front of the Ministry of Culture building. It was like a call to trample them as they consider themselves to be in reality.
Besides blocking the work of the highest theater institution in the country, the strike has caused the third edition of the Albanian theater festival "Moisiu" to be cancelled. It was supposed to start on the 20th of last month
On the day of the announcement of the strike on November 17, the actors said that the positive and substantive non-reaction of the Ministry of Culture has brought the situation to this point. They consider that they have been degraded by the Law on salaries in the public sector and demand "nothing more than a return to where they were ranked". They had this request even when the application of this law started 19 months ago. Their coefficient was determined to be 8, while the demands were for 11. Until the strike, the actors came after the first warning in mid-September, when the rehearsals started 10 minutes late.
