PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF ALBANIA
Press Release
PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF ALBANIA
19980203 At a Headquarters' press conference this morning, the President of Albania, Rexhep Mejdani, characterized his morning meeting with Secretary- General Kofi Annan as fruitful, "not only for me, but for the Albanian people". President Mejdani said that there had been complete support for the democratization of Albania, as well as for the establishment of a "new, European Albania".This past year, Albania had passed through a deep crisis, one that had been institutional, political, economic and social, the President said. After the June 1997 elections, Albania had seen a new coalition Government. That Government was composed of five political parties, that ranged from central- left to central-right. After six months, order was beginning to be restored in Albania, and an economic recovery was being attempted.
Albania's main concern was to have a Constitution with clear separation of powers, he said. With the new Constitution, the powers of the President, Parliament and Government would be separated. At the same time, the independence of the system of justice would be ensured. That was particularly important as Albania's justice system was "corrupt and quite sick". A system that would be trusted by the Albanian people was essential.
The other problem that he had discussed with the Secretary-General was that of disarmament, the President said. Many Albanians had been armed during the crisis. The United Nations and other European countries would assist Albania in resolving that problem.
There was a large Albanian population in Kosova, the President said. Ninety per cent of the population in that region were Albanians. As there was potential for conflict in that region, the President had asked the Secretary- General to help increase international pressure on the Serbian party to resolve the problem as soon as possible. The way to approach the matter was through dialogue and implementation of various initiatives -- German/American or German/French initiatives -- as well as through respect for international convention. The situation in Kosova was quite delicate. Time should not be wasted.
Albanians were optimistic that, soon, Albania would become a real democratic country in the European family, President Mejdani said. The only ideology of Albania would be that of human rights and freedom.
A correspondent asked what President Mejdani would like the Secretary- General to do regarding the process of democratization in Albania. The President said the assistance of specialists in economic reform, constitutional law and disarmament would be welcome in Albania. Albania had no experience in
Albania Press Conference - 2 - 3 February 1998
disarmament. In the past six months, it had realized only 20 per cent of its disarmament goals. Consultation was needed. One way to achieve disarmament was to buy the arms in question. However, Albania could not afford to do that. Regarding the region of the Balkans, which was a complicated region, more freedom for human beings, as well as a new standard of living, was needed. That would help in the process of democratization.
Another correspondent asked whether, during his meeting with the Secretary-General, there had been a discussion of preventive diplomacy for Kosova, and what would the position of Albania be in a possible conflict in that region. The President said that the matter had been discussed, and, as he had said at the beginning, a new international pressure was needed. Also, the presence in the region of different organizations and countries, as well as of the United Nations, had been discussed.
Asked to comment on the recent formation of the so-called Liberation Army of Kosova which had committed terrorist activities during the last six months, the President said that that had been the subject of some of his discussion with the Secretary-General. "The problem is that Milosevic of today is weaker than before. At the same time, also, Rugova -- maybe I am wrong -- is weaker too. So, radicalism is rather present now in this region." If the problem was not dealt with quickly, there might be a tremendous explosion in the region. That explosion would involve the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. If time was lost, a "second super-Bosnia" might be the result.
What was the role of Greece and Italy -- which had played a key role during Albania's crisis -- in Albania now? Was the United Nations going to do anything specific regarding the prevention of a conflict in Kosova? a correspondent asked. President Mejdani said, "I have to say that the contribution in the crisis in Albania was a general contribution." There had also been an important contribution made by the United Nations. Two partners in that effort had been Italy and Greece. Albania was grateful to all countries -- as well as the United Nations -- for their role in saving Albanian lives. In collaboration with those countries, there was an effort to rebuild democratic institutions and to make an economic recovery. It would be quite positive if there could be a permanent United Nations mission in Kosova.
Asked to clarify whether he meant he would like to have United Nations soldiers in Kosova, the President said, "I think the first step is a diplomatic one."
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