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<TITLE>Albanian Prime Min. Fatos Nano's Address to 1998 NATO Workshop, Vienna, Austria</TITLE>
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<BODY LINK="0000ff" BGPROPERTIES="FIXED" BGCOLOR="ffffff"><BASEFONT SIZE="3">
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="6" FACE="Palatino">Security
in Southeastern Europe:<BR>
an Albanian Perspective </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="4" FACE="Palatino">Prime
Minister of Albania Fatos Nano</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>OPENING
REMARKS</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">At a time
when the European security zone has been sensibly expanded, when NATO
represents the most successful political and military union in history,
and when our nations are taking responsibility for collective security and
for building a new security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic area, we all
feel more secure and more motivated to make our contributions, no matter
how modest. I am pleased to confirm that Albania is at the forefront of
these nations. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">I would like
now to touch briefly on some of the contributions Albania has made, as
well as some of the changes we are experiencing and our efforts to stand
convincingly on our feet. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>CHANGES
IN ALBANIA’S DIRECTION</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Though it
began in the early 1990s, the total transformation of Albanian society has
not yet been achieved. In fact, the profound and multidimensional crisis
of 1997 brought us back to ground zero. The rapidity with which state
structures were dismantled proved that a rebuilt state is only an illusion
if old practices remain in force, if state institutions are not based on
sound democratic foundations, and if the new society relies not on freedom
and sustainable economic progress but rather on the rhetoric of faked
success and old-style propaganda. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Albanians,
especially Albanian political leaders, will no longer buy into these old
and detrimental ways. The general elections of June 1997 revived our
energies, reopened the avenue to positive development, and re-established
cooperation with the international community to an extent never seen
before. And we know now that the primary responsibility for progress lies
with us. Any effort by the international community will be successful and
produce the desired results only if we join in with energy, efficiency,
and material and human resources. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Since the
general elections of ‘97, numerous and very positive efforts have
been undertaken. Normality has been restored throughout the country, the
authority of the state is felt everywhere, and the country is quickly and
convincingly developing. Not long ago we signed the ESAF 2 Agreement with
IMF and we are entirely committed to implementing it in spite of many
rigorous restraints. We are ready to sacrifice in order to fulfill our
mandate of stabilization. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>DOMESTIC-AND
FOREIGN-POLICY PROGRESS</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Several of
the efforts we have undertaken involve working closely with partners on
specific projects in a number of priority fields. For example, we are
restructuring and reorganizing our armed forces and our police together
with NATO and the WEU. We are also in the last phase of eradicating the
notorious financial pyramid schemes, closing a painful economic and social
chapter and enabling the return of some of the savings that were lost.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Though our
foreign policy is based on a number of essential elements, they are all
structured around a primary pillar: complete integration with the
Euro-Atlantic community. Such integration will give Albania the place it
deserves in the developed world and enable our citizens to play a role in
European and world affairs, which are more and more characterized by
multidimensionalism and interdependence. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Together
with our international partners we have drafted and approved the
International Strategy for the Development of Albania and are entirely
committed to its quick implementation, especially the conclusions reached
at the Rome and Brussels conferences and those by the cooperation
programs. In July 1998 we will host a high-level follow-up meeting in
Tirana to assess the strategy’s progress to date. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>RELATIONS
WITH NATO AND NEIGHBORING STATES</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">In all of
these efforts, special attention has been paid to our relations with NATO.
I have the pleasure to state that on all questions and issues we are in
accord with the organization. An intensive NATO-Albania cooperation
program, our Individual Partnership Program (IPP), was implemented in fall
1997, and another, enhanced program is underway in ‘98. To assist in
this work, a NATO/PFP office, the first of its kind, was opened in Tirana.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">At present,
Albanian and NATO experts are working together to focus the modern defense
concept on the specific circumstances in Albania, where political factors
predominate over classic military ones. This focus will serve as the basis
for our entire hierarchy of fundamental defense-related documents. To
enable this goal, Albanian and NATO teams are carrying out a bottom-up
review of our IPP in light of our current circumstances. This means that
the 16+1 process has entered a new phase and that Albania is conducting
itself as an active and a reliable partner. The decisions made at the NATO
Council Meeting on May 28, 1998, in the “Statement of Kosovo,”
as well as those made at the Alliance Defense Ministerial in London in
June ‘98, make us hopeful for quick and positive progress. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Our policy
toward our neighbors derives from our desire to build good relations and
mutual trust. It demonstrates that we are ready to discuss what unites us
and those issues of mutual interest. I am pleased to be able to say that,
for the first time in our history, outstanding efforts have been made and
major steps have been taken to reinforce good-neighbor relations that, in
our view, are major contributions to peace, security, cooperation, and
stability in our region. There are many examples of such work that I could
mention, but I will only note the most recent and a very encouraging
development, namely, the creation of the Multinational Peace Force in
Southeastern Europe. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Since
Albania is ready to take part in any good-will initiative aimed at
resolving any problem, using democratic means and in accordance with
international agreements to which we are a party, we have undertaken
serious efforts to establish a dialogue with the Yugoslav Federation. To
our regret this genuine offer has only resulted in total disappointment.
Moreover the monstrous attitude of the Serbian political-military machine,
demonstrated lately in Kosovo, has made direct communication quite
impossible. This unfortunate situation is the Serbian choice, not ours.
</FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>ISSUES
SURROUNDING KOSOVO</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Regarding
Kosovo, I must say that the ongoing events there do not surprise anyone,
certainly not Albania, which for years has warned of the risk of
explosion. Unfortunately, those who predicted the tragedy we are
witnessing today have been proved right in their assessment. Did we not
learn the right lessons from the Bosnian nightmare? Isn’t calamity
once again about to engulf the Balkans and perhaps an even wider area? The
international community has the means to prevent tragedy from striking
again. But time is running out—we are already in crisis. The punitive
military operations that Milosevic ordered in Kosovo are a tragedy. They
are a direct threat to all Albanians in Kosovo and the region as well as
an open provocation to the international community, to preventive
diplomacy, and to the concepts and practices of common security. Strong,
unified, and immediate action, not words or empty threats, are needed to
deal with Milosevic, a man the West wrongly believed to be an
indispensable peace broker but who is actually the best qualified
candidate to be tried by the Hague International War Crimes Tribunal.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The Albanian
public and the political leaders in Kosovo have made it clear that the
only acceptable solution to the problems is independence. But the Albanian
government is in a very delicate position: on the one hand there is a
legitimate request by an entire people for self-determination, which is
one of the principles of the Helsinki Final Act; on the other hand there
is the international community, to which Albania belongs, which has until
now not accepted independence as a solution. Acting as we do to support
peace, progress, and cooperation in the region, Albania is of the opinion
that the problem can be resolved by respecting the people’s right to
self-determination as well as the wish of the international community to
preserve existing international borders by offering a solution within FRY.
This opinion is shared by many. But the present course of events will only
generate more conflict and further radicalize those Albanians who are
demanding independence. The so-called terrorists are actually only simple
people who are doing as much as they can to resist the monstrous Serbian
war machine. The current shift in the balance of power is enabling them to
enjoy not only the sympathy but the full support of the population. In the
bloody land that is Kosovo, diplomacy, especially the so-called preventive
diplomacy, is useless if it is not backed up by appropriate
peace-enforcing means. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>The
Need for an International Military Presence</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">We believe
that the current situation in Kosovo requires an international military
presence. We have come to this conclusion after a thorough,
multidimensional review of the situation over the last two months.
Large-scale war broke out in Kosovo when NATO hesitated to respond to the
Albanian government’s request for a physical NATO presence on
Albanian territory. We are certain now that such a presence is
indispensable, because we don’t wish to see Albania, Macedonia, and
perhaps other areas become battlefields. Milosevic is using the same
tactics in Kosovo as he did in Bosnia: shelling remote villages inhabited
by unarmed civilians in an attempt to carry out ethnic cleansing. The
result of these heavy-artillery and aviation attacks, besides many
casualties, is the forceful displacement of more than 50,000 people who
are now heading to Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, wherever they can, or
hiding in the mountains; it should be mentioned that some of these people
may carry the conflict with them and spread it to other areas. It is
certain that large portions of the population will continue to move away
until the international community intervenes. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The decision
to quickly organize the air exercise Determined Falcon in Albanian and
Macedonian territories has been a welcomed first step. However we remain
skeptical about the announced results of Milosevic’s meeting in
Moscow, which in no way comply with the important requests to immediately
end military actions and withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>The
High Costs of the Conflict</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">In addition
to high civilian and territorial costs, the continuation of the conflict
is causing serious problems for the Albanian economy. The costs to house
and assist those displaced from Kosovo are increasing not only because of
their growing numbers but also because of the need to re-establish a war
infrastructure. But events tell us that the time for diplomatic preventive
efforts is over. Firm military intervention seems to be the only choice.
Bosnia and its outcome were bitter and costly in many respects. They were
also testimony to the fact that any war begun by Milosevic will fail. Our
common imperative is to make that day come in Kosovo as soon as possible.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>MOVING
AWAY FROM THE PAST</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">I would like
to conclude by recalling an old saying: “Nature abhors a vacuum.”
Albania’s governing policy, as well as our foreign policy, is to try
to prevent a security vacuum from returning to our region, since that
would mean a return to the ugly past of totalitarianism and national
conflicts. To that end, we are ridding ourselves of the ghosts of the past
and are working to build a society that responds to current development
needs, and one that is prepared for future challenges and is compatible
with Western societies. </FONT></P>
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<P ALIGN="LEFT">Copyright © 1998 Center for Strategic Decision
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