Transcript of Press Conference of US Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Countryman
Tirana, April1, 2011 NOA – ”It’s wonderful to be in Albania again, especially on a lovely spring day. I will not give you a long speech today. I just want to make three important points and then take your questions.
First, the United States continues to coordinate very closely with the European Union and the OSCE, because we share the same hope about the future of Albania. As the visit of Commissioner Füle reminded all of us, Albania’s future is in the European Union. And I hope that all Albanians keep in mind that this is the bigger story, the bigger challenge, than even the elections that are coming up next month. The success of these elections can accelerate – or a lack of success can slow down – the EU accession process. Obviously, we want to see an acceleration. It is what the people of Albania deserve.
And that brings us to the second point that I want to make. As I said before, these elections for local governments do not belong to the parties – they belong to the people of Albania. And Albanians need to claim ownership by turning out to vote, by insisting on a clean campaign, and by providing civilian observers at election places. In addition, the people need to insist – and we expect the parties to respect – the need for a mechanism, a clean mechanism, to resolve any disputes that arise on Election Day.
The third point, very briefly, is that the United States continues to insist upon respect for the independent institutions under the constitution of Albania. And this includes the Central Election Commission, even though it is not an independent institution in exactly the same way that the Prosecutor General is. I met with Mr. Ristani today. I emphasized first that the commission must be fair and objective and transparent in all of its decisions. Second, that we expect all of the commissioners to honor their obligation to participate in the work of the commission. Third, that the United States, like the European Union and the OSCE, respect the role of the commission in setting the standards for a fair election and fair resolution of any disputes.
Those are my three main points. You had my promise to be brief for the first time. So, please, I’m happy to take your questions.
Have the parties requested from you, post elections, transparency after the election date? Second, have you presented, during your meetings with the Prime Minister, perhaps, the importance of respecting the freedom of the media, especially when they are critical towards the government?
On the first question, both parties say that they believe in transparency before, during, and after the elections. And I believe them. They still have a difference of opinion, as you know, on how to achieve transparency after the elections. And that is an issue that can only be addressed by direct dialogue amongst the parties. If the U.S., or OSCE, or the international community can generally be helpful in resolving that disagreement, we will try.
On media freedom, I’m very glad you raised this question, because media freedom goes together with media responsibility. There should be no attempt, by any government, either to suppress the media or to dominate the media for favorable coverage. At the same time, I strongly believe that the media have a responsibility towards the Albanian people. And that is to avoid the kind of political rhetoric that increases the heat, but does not increase the light. And I did discuss this today with President Topi. I made clear that we respect his efforts to remind the Albanian people of their responsibility to participate fully in the elections and to have the right amount of skepticism about what they hear from the parties or the media.
You said that transparency is an issue that has to be treated and addressed through political dialogue. This is the division line between the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party. Mr. Countryman, should this dialogue happen before the elections, or after? The OSCE Commission said that now, a month before the elections, the electoral code cannot be changed. What does the United States think about this?
First, transparency is a value that is very important to a democracy, and as I said, both parties share this value. The specific procedure to achieve it is still in dispute between them. I’m not sure if it should be called a political dialogue or a technical dialogue, or if it should be held between the parties in the parliament or within the Central Election Commission, but it is a dialogue that should happen urgently. The OSCE is correct that it is too late to make any major changes to the electoral code. But it is not too late for the parties to agree on fair rules of campaigning and procedure when those are outside the electoral framework.
During your past visits, you said the parties should sit down and start a constructive dialogue. But this has not occurred thus far. Have you received any signal that we will have a constructive dialogue before the elections? That was the first question. The second question is the Enlargement Commissioner said that Albania risks not joining the EU if the elections are not held fairly. What does Albania risk, if there will be no fair elections on May 8?
To take the second part first. Commission Füle is the top expert on this question. And if he says that failure to hold credible elections is a setback for Albania’s EU accession, I don’t think there’s anything an American diplomat can add or subtract from that assessment. But the question is not just a technical one about the standards for joining the EU. And so I do have an opinion on what else Albania risks if these elections are not clean. This country has not succeeded on moving forward on a reform agenda that can make this country more prosperous – and a place where Albanians are even prouder to live. Failure in these elections – a failure to resolve any disputes – risks a continuation of that lack of progress, and lack of action by the parliament. As in any other country, people will find a way to move forward to make their own lives more prosperous, their own towns and communities more prosperous, even if the parliament is not doing that job. But that’s not what we, any of us, want to see happening in Albania. We want to see progress.
On dialogue between the parties, I agree with the statement that Baroness Catherine Ashton made on behalf of the European Union that the absence of direct contact has been a source of concern for us and has caused a failure for Albania to progress. There were a couple of hopeful signs this week, in terms of contacts between the parties, both within the seminar led by Mr. Füle, and in discussions about a code of conduct for the local elections. And that’s good, but it is clearly not enough. And I think the Albanian people are able to tell the difference between a meeting that is organized to satisfy Brussels or Washington, and a meeting that is sincerely going to talk about the issues and make progress.
In general, how do you see the future of Albania, not only the next elections?
Very optimistically. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to many different friends in many different parts of the European Union over the last couple of months just about Albania. And as I said, we all share concern that the issues around the local elections get resolved and do not become worse. So there is something to worry about in the short term, but in the long term we share a very positive perspective. And there are two points to emphasize here. First, that we share the assessment of many people in the European Union that the progress that Albania has made socially, economically, and politically in the last ten or twelve years is dramatic. And if the political system can be unfrozen, we should be optimistic about retaining that rapid rate of progress. And the second point I would emphasize is that, like my friends in the European Union, we are very impressed with Albania’s foreign policy. That through successive governments – and no matter what the political situation was at home – Albania’s policies towards its neighbors and towards the wider world have been positive, productive, and have contributed to stability in this region and globally. So we are optimistic.
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