November 1998

• Nov 03, - NAAC organized a community meeting with Senator Torricelli’s (D-NJ) office to discuss Albanian issues with the Albanian constituency in New Jersey.

• Nov 06,- NAAC meets with the offices of Senators Harkin (D-IA) and Lautenberg (D-NJ), to discuss more involvement by their offices on Albanian Issues.

• Nov 06,- NAAC sends a letter " Thirrje" to the Leadership in Kosova urging unity and one voice in deciding the fate of the Albanians in Kosova.

• Nov 12, -NAAC members meet with Ambassador Eileen Malloy , State Department and Stephan Flanagan, White House, and Andrew Hyde, Albania Desk Officer to discuss the current political situation in Albania. A new group has been formed called the Friend of Albania (FOA), they provided us with first-hand information about America’s efforts to coordinate and enhance western assistance to Albania. We have also begun to explore the possibility of NAAC providing direct assistance to human rights and political watchdog organizations in Albania to strengthen civic organizations there and solidify Albania’s fragile democracy.

• Nov 12,-NAAC met with Macedonian Desk Officer, George Frowick, to discuss the progress being with the Macedonians and Albanians working together to build a strong democracy. Although, there are improvements there is still quite a bit of work to be done to have full democratic rights and integration.

• Nov 19, NAAC and Illyria Newspaper organized a community meeting with Dr. Ferit Murad, winner of the Noble Prize for Science due to his work on the drug Viagra. Dr. Murad is an American of Albanian descent who wanted to meet with the Albanian American community, especially students, to help inspire and show that goals can be achieved with hard work and determination.

October 1998

• Oct 01, - NAAC participates in a roundtable discussion with Albanian political leader in Macedonia, Arber Xhaferi. Mr. Xhaferi stated that the Albanians in Macedonia were not looking to break away but wanted to become fully integrated into Macedonia as an equal partner with full political and human rights.

• Oct 02,- Albanian Foreign Minister, Paskal Milo, to discuss political instability and the effects of the Kosova crisis on Albania.

• Oct 04 - 09, -The beginning of week long all day and all night vigils in front of the White House in a show of solidarity for those refugees in the mountains exposed to the elements. They were urging NATO intervention and prevention of major humanitarian crisis with the coming winter months. The Candlelight vigil received local media attention as well as a great deal of interest from passers-by.

• Oct 07,- The Prime Minister of Kosova, Dr. Bujar Bukoshi, speaks at a forum at the Brookings Institute in which NAAC participates, addressing the conditions in Kosova and the measur s need to ensure stability. NATO and military intervention were the only feasible options left since shuttle diplomacy failed to secure anything lasting.

• Oct 15,-NAAC attends a USIP policy forum with Bishop Artimje, Milan Panic and Dr. Dragoslav Avramovic. Both Panic and Avramovic are members of the leadership of the Alliance for Change Party. They felt that promoting democratic change is the only way to have just and lasting solutions. Mr. Panic went to further state that democracy is not easy for an emerging nation and requires attention both educational and financial for a country to become democratized through confidence building initiatives with other democratic nations like the United States. They denounced Milosevic’s brutal handling of Kosova and stated that it is not just the Albanians that are suffering at the hands of Milosevic but the Serbs and the Serbian nation as well. The Bishop had softened his rhetoric a bit concerning the Albanians. This time around he referred to the humanitarian disaster in progress and what was to come as opposed to his earlier statements of Albanians being backwards and not deserving of a nation.

• Oct 16,- NAAC met with the First Secretary of the Polish Embassy in Washington to discuss the situation in Kosova and relations between the Poles and Albanians. The Polish Foreign Minister Broislaw Geremek had just been appointed head of the OSCE thus being largely responsible for the verifiers going into region.

• Oct 17, - Former Peace Corps workers in conjunction with Amnesty International and assistance from NAAC held an all day and all night Candlelight vigil in front of the White House to protest the human rights atrocities committed in Kosova. The earlier part of the vigil was a petition signing session and information dissemination followed by a march to the White House and all night vigil. The event received local media attention and had a very good turn out.

• Oct 23-25, -NAAC was part of the Kosova Action Network (KAN) in Cambridge, MA. KAN discussed ways in which we all can make a difference by organizing and pooling our efforts in a combined front in order to obtain the maximum results. Pertinent information was distributed and network was created in order to keep each of the individual organizations apprised to each others respective activities.

• Oct 29,- NAAC organizes a meeting with different Albanian American organizations with Deputy National Security Advisor, Jim Steinberg. Other Administration Officials on hand included Jim O’Brien, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, Walter Slocombe, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Marc Grossman, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Stephan Flanagan, White House Senior Director for Central and Eastern European Affairs, Lawrence Rossin, State Department Director for South Central Europe. Administration officials spoke off the record but indicated a NATO activation order will remain in effect and the NATO will accept nothing less than full compliance. NAAC stated that US efforts were appreciated in playing role in trying to bring about a cease fire but that NATO action needed to come eight months ago.

• Oct 29, - NAAC was invited to a State Department briefing discussing US policy and the crisis in Kosova. Eileen Malloy, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, outlined the policy objectives and problems in regards to the political aspects and Julia Taft, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration focused on the humanitarian situation and what the US was doing as far as assistance.

• Sept 04,- Briefing on the Status of Kosova by Ambassador Chris Hill, U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia. The Ambassador discussed the diplomatic situation and the current status and the difficulties in achieving a lasting peace.

• Sept 09,-NAAC was the central coordinating point for a rally in DC. As well as having community leaders speak at the rally, several Members of Congress along with other prominent members of the Washington community working on Balkan issues.

• Sept 15,-NAAC participates in a roundtable discussion by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) with Bishop Artimije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Momcilo Trajkovic, President of the Serbian Resistance Party, Father Sava Janjic, Senior Monk of the Decani Monastery. The panel condemned the violence in Kosova and stated that not all Serbs agree with Milosevic. However, their statements were quite derogatory when it came to the Albanians, categorizing most as "terrorists" and "backwards".

• Sept 22, - Members of NAAC attend a tribute to Robert Dole given by the International Republican Institute. The evening focused on the Former Senators career and the Senator focused completely on the turmoil and the looming humanitarian crisis in Kosova. The Senator urged immediate attention by the US government and the only solution left in which Milosevic would pay careful attention to is that of air strikes.

• Sept 25,- The International Crisis Group held a policy forum on the Balkans with journalists and analysts Chuck Sudetic, Anna Husarska and Chris Bennett. All discussed the crisis in Kosova and Milosevic’s role in heightening tensions . One of the major obstacles was the inability to confirm information or to obtain appropriate information. A factor to bringing greater stability to the region, they thought, was the implementation of greater democratic institutions and outside assistance in stabilizing these institutions through confidence building.