In the interview that the US Ambassador, Alexander Arvizu, gave for Top-Channel, he commented some of the most shocking events of this year, that of January 21st and the Meta-Prifti tape.
Arvizu declared that he expects to see justice, and as regards the
videos-scandal, after the Supreme Court rejected the US expertise of the
video file, he says that the experts contracted by the prosecution were
very reputable American firms.
Top-Channel: The public in Albania is not seeing justice, and this goes even for the January 21st events, when four innocent citizens were killed. What’s your opinion on this?
US Ambassador Arvizu: Well, the investigation is still ongoing, but I share some of those concerns as well. We all want to see justice served in the case of the turbulence of January 21. I stated before that I would like some day to wake up one morning, open up the paper and see that the three separate, but related set of indictments, one for the killing themselves, one for the possible obstruction of justice, if in fact is what the investigation uncovers, and one for possibly charges related to conspiracy, for the people who organized and carried out a very violent, a demonstration that was intended to provoke, a demonstration that was intended to be very violent.
Top-Channel: You think it was a coup?
US Ambassador Arvizu: That would not have been my characterization. But I think that, as I said, it was a very dark day for Albania, for anyone who cares about Albania. People are waiting for justice, and in that sense I think that all eyes are on the prosecutor’s office, and beyond that to the judicial system, to bring it to the people who suffered that day. In fact, the whole country suffered that day.
Top-Channel: Which is your opinion for the decision to not take in consideration the US expertise for the Meta-Prifti video, which you offered in support of the Albanian Prosecution?
US Ambassador Arvizu: The important thing to remember there is that the so-called American expertise was not any official assistance provided by the US Government, unlike the January 21st investigations, when we have used American taxpayer money to assist the Prosecutor General with the investigation. In the case of the so-called Meta-Prifti tape, the US government did not provide any official assistance. It was my understanding that the prosecutors consulted with the services of a reputable American firm, or maybe even more than one. I can really… again because it is not an official American Government endorsement, it’s a little difficult to speak directly to that, but based on my understanding, it was a very reputable firm or firms that assisted with some of the technical aspects of the investigation.
Top-Channel: You counted the last ballots for Tirana, but the situation deteriorated. How were the elections in Tirana?
US Ambassador Arvizu: It certainly took a long time to count all the votes. As you know, the US wanted very much to see the elections proceed as planned and in accordance with the President’s announcement that the elections would be held. It was this argument back and fourth, if those were political elections or administrative elections, and my simple answer was that they’re both. I think that when you look at the ODIHR report, you see a very balanced and objective assessment of the conduct of the elections. There were many possible elements to speak of, as far as the actual counting of the ballots, the election campaign, and media coverage. I personally would like to see more face to face debates, and I hope that’s something that can be addressed in the future. But of course, whatever one remembers is the outcome of the Tirana race.
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