USA: Albania, no nationalist orientation

Initially he answered to the questions about the nationalistic rhetoric of Albanian politicians, including the Prime Minister. Moore declared that this rhetoric seeks to fill the vacuum left by the mistrust that the citizens have in the current system.

Jonathan Moore: I would note a series of things, since I have had the advantage to work in seven countries of the region. I think that we have seen horrible consequences, even war crimes, created by excessive nationalism, especially those that have included Serbia under the Milosevic regime. We have seen excessive nationalism under the regime of Tudjman in Croatia. Nationalism is something that we all must fight. I have heard people in Albania who are frustrated with the Socialist and Democratic Party, and are attracted by nationalist ideas. Allow me to say that I trust that Albania now has their sovereignty, and they don’t need nationalism and they will not do this. There is interest among the Albanians of the Diaspora and neighbouring countries, and this is understandable. But it was very important to hear from all of them that Albania has no desire to change its borders, and this is an important message for the people of this country and the neighbours.

Muhamed Veliu: In the past 20 years, the US government has shown a special attention to the stability in Balkan. Do you think that such declarations and policies in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece could destabilize the region? What will be the stance of the USA if this would happen?

Jonathan Moore: As you know, the United States are committed to the stability of this region. This is one of the reasons why Albania joined us in NATO. There are other NATO countries in the region such as Croatia and Greece. It’s true that there are extreme political views among them, but their behaviour is what counts, not the rhetoric of any individual or organization. From this point of view we trust that the region will continue to be stable. This is one of the reasons why NATO and the presence of USA is so important for us. You asked me why I am visiting Tirana, and this is part of the reason, to underline the importance that we in Washington give to this issue, and the interest that we have on this situation.

Muhamed Veliu: You are referring to the nationalistic politics?

Jonathan Moore: It’s impossible to completely remove the nationalistic rhetoric from political dialogue. The most important thing for us is what the government do, and we believe in their basic professionalism. It’s easy to drive attention to nationalism, especially in times when economy is bad. We saw it in Greece, with a very concerning movement. This is a movement that we cannot eliminate, and certainly, it’s part of the Democratic process. But what is necessary, is that such nationalist feelings should not affect the democratic process negatively or not allow people to exert their rights.

Muhamed Veliu: What are some of the US State Department concerns regarding the integration reforms? Albania aspires to receive the EU candidate status.

Jonathan Moore: First of all, I will quote the US Secretary of State at your Parliament one month earlier. Our greatest desire is to see Albania approach the EU and fulfil the requests set by Brussels before the meeting in December. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible. The opposition did not support the government with these three steps. This will now mean that we will face six months of electoral campaign, where there will be no more compromise than now and much more rhetoric and challenges. It is important for this process to start. I have heard many people express the need to fight corruption in different levels of the society, in order to improve the living standards and the future of the Albanian people by creating jobs, education and investment. All these are related with your future not only in the EU, but also the path to the EU. These are very important points that I tried to underline with all the political leaders and the persons with whom I have discussed. It is very important for this to happen as soon as possible. If this is impossible, due to the political stalemate before the elections, it must happen right after them.

Muhamed Veliu: I would like to return to what you just said about integration. What is more important for Albania, the Parliament passing nice laws, without implementing them?

Jonathan Moore: It is clear that the implementation is extremely important, but the first step is to make the laws part of your legal system. EU admits that there are occasions when the laws exist, but the implementation is undergoing. For example, Croatia will soon become a full EU member. They have achieved a lot and it took many years for them. they passed several phases. So far they have realized only one successful criminal prosecution, with a former Prime Minister recently sentenced to 10 years in prison. It takes time. The first thing is to have the laws, and then implementing them. Certainly, if you don’t have the laws, there’s nothing to implement. For as long that Brussels has set the standard for the law and its practice, it’s important to implement the first step.

Muhamed Veliu: Thank you for your time, Mr.Moore.

Jonathan Moore: Thank you. I’m glad for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to the next visit in Albania,

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