Danger coming from extremism, Sewall: Thanking Albania for organizing regional summit

Mrs.Sewall answers to questions regarding anti-corruption and mentioned the June 21st elections, especially for problematic candidates.

Journalist Muhamed Veliu interviewed Mrs.Sewall

Top Channel: You have arrived in Albania as part of the summit against violent extremism. How is the US government helping Albania in this area?

Sewall: We are here to support Albania, which is playing a leading role by organizing this regional summit. This summit comes after the one of the White House on violent extremism, which was held in February. Albania is organizing the first regional summit that comes after the White House summit.

We are pleased with the initiative of Albania and its leading of this important discussion on how these causes are treated from its roots, the encouraging factors of violent extremism and how we can some together in a regional and global level to treat this threat.

Top Channel: 70 Albanian citizens have joined ISIS. What danger do they pose when they return and hwo can the Albanian government treat these people when they return home?

The issue of foreign fighters who travel abroad has been a concern for many countries. We spoke at the regional summit with organizations from the civil society, which are very important for opposing violent extremism, and who have carried out researches on the reasons why people might want to turn into violent extremists.

One of the points that was discussed in the regional summit, was that there is a number of reasons that people chose this. The type of answer that a government might have towards a returning fighter might vary based on the initial motives of the fighter. This is a problem noticed in many cases, and also one of the hottest topics of these regional summits and of the White House Summit.

These are ares in which all countries are offering different approaches and trying to learn from each other about the best approach, keeping in mind the types of issues that face specific foreign fighters who may return to their countries.

Top Channel: Do you think they pose a threat when they return to their homes?

Once again, it depends a lot on the reason why they left and the reason why they returned. It is clear that there are differences. Someone might go due to economic compensation promises, others might be lured by the fanatic ideologies. Certainly, most of them are disappointed because the reality is not as shown by the recruiting lies. It depends on the cases, and this is one of the reasons why this is a challenge for all countries.

“Rule of law, main challenge”

Sewall: The USA are on the same line with the EU regarding Albania’s criteria

Top Channel: Another topic is the priority of the Albanian government, fight against corruption. It is one of the five priorities that the European Commission has given Albania. What is the position of USA in this issue? What should Albania do better to win this fight against corruption?

This is a good question. The US completely go side by side with the European Union on this topic. It is a consensual view that the encouragement of the rule of law and fight against corruption are critical challenges for Albania, as in many other countries. The Prime Minister was speak0ing this morning at the conference for Opposing Violent Extremism, regarding the importance of the Rule of Law in Albania, and we couldn’t agree more with him.

One of the topics I have heard from many Albanians with whom I have spoken during my time here, is that there is a consensus for the need of having a judiciary reform. This is an area in which I think everyone feels that the government should simply take care of it, in order to progress with the wide issue of reinforcing the rule of law and the fight against corruption.

We are encouraging the government and all government members to approve the legislation. A strong and reforming legislation is a precondition in this very important war. There are many other campaigns that require reform and attention, starting from the people from the people who are chosen as candidates in the local elections, and to the way how corruption in higher and lower levels is treated. This will be a long-term battle, but we see this as the first critic step and we have hopes that the Albanian government will face it this year.

Top Channel: We are 31 days from the local elections and there is already a lot of voice. How do the US see the local elections in Albania?

It is clear that they are very important for a number of reasons. But most importantly, they should build on the success of the past elections. As I said, it is one of the most important things that we require in the US. Meanwhile, the Albanian parties take candidates in the elections to treat the corruption issues or the illegal activities on the candidates that are running.

This is a very important sign for the Albanian citizens, so that they know their parties require their representatives to not have a criminal past and not be suspects for corruption. This is a very important first step that we hope will be taken in a near future.

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