However, there is huge difference when racism is expressed in an official parade, in the presence of officials and done by people in uniform.

This is a repeated incident and Kadare did what every decent Greek intellectual would have done if something similarly offensive would have been done against the Greeks.

Kadare’s admiration for the Greek culture, tradition and literature is already known. So please don’t make this against the writer. He knows that his refusal to come will be displease many of those who were waiting to see him. But believe me, he is doing this for Albanians as much as he is doing it for the Greeks.

The Greek society must act more forcefully against those in its midst who forge a culture of non-tolerance, ridiculous extreme nationalism and xenophobia. This is not about Albanians, this about the Greeks. What kind of country do you want to live in. Intolerance comes back to bite you, even if you think it is directed only at foreigners. It is a lesson that comes directly from history of modern Greece and you should never go down that road again.