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Lazarat

Coordinates:40°3′N20°9′E/ 40.050°N 20.150°E/40.050; 20.150
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lazarat
Municipal unit
Lazarat
Lazarat
Lazarat is located in Albania
Lazarat
Lazarat
Coordinates:40°3′N20°9′E/ 40.050°N 20.150°E/40.050; 20.150
CountryAlbania
Population
(2011)
• Municipal unit
2,801
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
Postal Code
6004

Lazarat(Albaniandefinite form:Lazarati) is a village inGjirokastër County,in southernAlbania.It is located in the Dropull valley.[1]Formerly functioning as amunicipality,as part of the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the municipality ofGjirokastër.[2]The former municipality consisted of the villages Lazarat andKordhocë.[3]

The population at the 2011 census was 2,801.[4]

In recent years, Lazarat had gained the reputation as thecannabiscapital of the country due to its large scale growth of cannabis by the local population.[5]However, in June 2014, the Albanian government cracked down and destroyed the local production and transit of the drug.

Name[edit]

Its name contains the Albanian suffix -at, widely used to form toponyms from personal names and surnames.[6]

Geography[edit]

Lazarat is a village just outsideGjirokastër,situated on mountain slope ofMali i Gjerë.

History[edit]

During the Ottoman period, following the emigration of village inhabitants toThrace,Labs from the nearbyKurveleshregion were placed in Lazarat by Kaplan Pasha.[1]Amidst thesocio-political turbulenceof the late eighteenth century in the area, Lazarat had bandits and it became a shelter for outlaws and criminals.[1]

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.[7]

Crime[edit]

Lazarat in 2020

In June 2014,Albanian policelaunched a major operation against the village, involving over 800 officers.[8][9]Heavily armed locals shotRPGsand fired mortar rounds at the officers, who returned fire.[10]Police took control of most of the village, with Interior MinisterSaimir Tahirisaying 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.[8]

On 24 June 2015, a member of the Albanian counter-terrorist forceRENEAwas shot and killed in the town, and two other soldiers wounded.[11]A car containing gunmen had been stopped at a checkpoint, with attackers then opening fire on the soldiers from a nearby house.[11]Ibrahim Basha was a RENEA officer who had previously served withNATOinAfghanistan.TheUnited StatesAmbassador to Albania,Donald Lu,expressed condolences at the soldier's funeral, calling the incident a "national tragedy".[12]Additional police andRENEAofficers were sent to reinforce the town and locate the attackers.[11][13]

Population[edit]

Lazarat is inhabited by MuslimAlbanians,[14]many of whom have traditionally beenBektashi.The villagers speak with theToskdialect of theAlbanian language.

Economy[edit]

The main activity isagriculture,especiallyanimal husbandry.The area is known for itsdairy products.

Cannabis[edit]

The village produced 900 tonnes of cannabis annually, worth €4.5bn, equivalent to around half of Albania's gross domestic product.[8]

Popular culture[edit]

The eponymous filmThe Brave(2019) (previouslyLazarat) is centred on the conflict between locals and the police.[15][16][17]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcKonstantinos., Giakoumis (2002)."The monasteries of Jorgucat and Vanishte in Dropull and of Spelaio in Lunxheri as monuments and institutions during the Ottoman period in Albania (16th-19th centuries)":46–47.Retrieved8 July2018.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  2. ^"Law nr. 115/2014"(PDF)(in Albanian). p. 6371.Retrieved25 February2022.
  3. ^Greece – Albania Neighbourhood ProgrammeArchivedMarch 27, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  4. ^2011 census resultsArchived2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Besar Likmeta (17 August 2013)."Is Albania Europe's new marijuana capital?".Retrieved25 June2015.
  6. ^Çabej, Eqerem (1976).Studime gjuhësore: Hyrje në historinë e gjuhës shqipe. Fonetika historike. Parashtesat.Biblioteka Linguistikë (in Albanian). Rilindja. p. 210.Retrieved2022-08-06.
  7. ^Albanian Village Europe's Weed Capital,Carbonated TV
  8. ^abc"Albanian police battle cannabis growers in Lazarat".BBC News.19 June 2014.Retrieved25 June2015.
  9. ^"Albanian cannabis growers and 800 police battle in lawless village of Lazarat".The Guardian.17 June 2014.Retrieved25 June2015.
  10. ^"Grenades fired at Albanian police during cannabis crackdown".The Guardian.16 June 2014.Retrieved5 April2019.
  11. ^abcKoleka, Benet (24 June 2015)."Albanian policeman shot dead in former cannabis stronghold".Reuters.Retrieved5 April2019.
  12. ^"2015 Remarks | Embassy of the United States Tirana, Albania".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-07-11.
  13. ^"Albania Police Comb Lazarat, Hunting Cop killer".26 June 2015.
  14. ^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.
  15. ^"The Brave (2019)".IMDb.Retrieved2019-04-05.
  16. ^"Albania Villagers Fear Lazarat Movie Will Stereotype Them".Balkan Insight.12 September 2016.Retrieved5 April2019.
  17. ^"The Brave, il film che racconta la lotta contro la criminalità al villaggio di Lazarat, Albania".Albania News(in Italian). 5 October 2018.Retrieved5 April2019.

External links[edit]

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