INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

• LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

• IN WASHINGTON

• IN OUR COMMUNITIES

• FUNDRAISING

• ZHERKA APPOINTED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

• CONTRIBUTIONS TO NAAC ARE NOW DEDUCTIBLE

• NAAC MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE ON KOSOVA

• WHITE HOUSE MEETING ON KOSOVA

• AMBASSADOR MALLOY HOSTS MEETING ON ALBANIA

• NAAC ORGANIZES CONGRESSIONAL MEETINGS IN COMMUNITIES

Albanian Americans, representing the National Albanian American Council, the Democratic League of Kosova, Plav Guci Association, the Albanian Fund, and the Dibra Association met on Thursday 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, Stephen Flanagan, Senior Advisor to the President, and Lawrence Rossin, State Department Director for South Central Europe.

The Albanian American group made the following statement: "We appreciate the role the United States played in bringing about the cease fire, although we would have liked to have seen NATO action come eight months ago. We are concerned, however, that Milosevic will violate the cease fire agreement and will try to rewrite the agreement at every turn. Our hope is that NATO will insist on full compliance and will take military action to ensure compliance. We are also particularly concerned that the Serbs will try to prevent Albanians outside of Kosova from returning home. We urge NATO to take every step to ensure that all the refugees can freely and without threat return home. Milosevic must not be allowed to achieve his goal of ethnic cleansing. As for the future status of Kosova, we believe that there is agreement among Albanians here and in Kosova that, in the interim, Albanians must receive the same rights and privileges as those enjoyed by the Serbs and Montenegrins. Albanians cannot be treated as third class citizens. After a three year period, the Albanian people must be allowed to choose for themselves their own destination and future through a referendum, which must include independence as a choice."

Although the Administration officials spoke off the record and could not be quoted directly, they indicated that the NATO activation order will remain in effect, and that NATO will not accept anything short of full compliance on all aspects of the agreement, including the return of all the refugees. Additionally, the officials stated their desire to work to help Albanians obtain their full rights to democratic self-governance. But they also asked that the Albanian American community send a message to the Albanian leadership in Kosova that the time to engage in the negotiation process on the status of Kosova is now. We have sent that message and are taking steps to help the negotiations on the Albanian side.

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear NAAC Member:

As you know, I recently joined NAAC as the Executive Director. I strongly believe that we, as a community, need an organization in Washington that can provide timely information to decision and opinion makers, advocate on behalf of our brothers and sisters back home, and involve Albanian Americans in the political process here in this country.

For years, as decisions were made and opinions formed in Washington, our collective voice was not being heard. That all changed in 1996 when we founded NAAC. In the last two years, we have created alliances and contacts at the highest levels of government and within the mainstream media. The result of our work is that when a senator, a reporter, or an Administration official wants information or to meet with community representatives, they come to NAAC because we are viewed as a credible, rational, and effective voice for the community.

In Washington

Given the devastation in Kosova, we have been actively working to alleviate that crisis and achieve a just result. We are hoping to focus our energies on promoting independence for Kosova, help to draw attention to the tremendous humanitarian needs of the refugees and the greater Albanian population, and work to gain the release of political prisoners. But, while we fight for Kosova, we are also continuing to seek ways to strengthen Albania's democracy and economy, while staying on top of problems in Albanian areas controlled by Macedonia and Montenegro.

In an effort to continue our efforts on Albania, we met recently with U.S. Ambassador Eileen Malloy, who 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.

Additionally, we are hoping to increase the involvement of our community in the political process here in America. On March 24, we will host the first annual "Congress Day." All members of the community will be invited to come to Washington to lobby their members of Congress and to attend a dinner with a special guest speaker.

ZHERKA APPOINTED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

On November 16, NAAC appointed Ilir Zherka as its Executive Director. Zherka will direct all of NAAC’s operations.

Zherka is an activist on Albanian issues. He has written numerous articles concerning the repression of Albanians in the former Yugoslavia, which have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Illyria, and Liria. Zherka has appeared on television and radio programs to discuss Albanian issues, and has organized and led community protest rallies in Washington. Between 1992 and 1993, he and his wife, Linda, lived in Albania, during which time he assisted in rewriting Albania’s criminal procedure code and taught seminars at the University of Tirana’s Law School.

Zherka also has considerable organizational experience. In 1996, Zherka was instrumental in helping create NAAC. He also serves on the executive board of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee, a leadership organization within the National Democratic Committee. In 1996, Zherka joined the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign, where he was responsible for organizing Americans of European and South Mediterranean descent and served as the spokesperson for the President during rallies, and for ethnic radio, television, and newspaper interviews.

Zherka also has significant experience in Washington politics. In 1997, he was appointed by President Clinton to the Department of Labor and served until 1998 as Senior Legislative Officer. Between 1994 and 1997, Zherka worked as Legislative Counsel to Congressman George Miller (D-CA) for labor, judiciary, and foreign policy issues.

Zherka was born in 1965 in Krushev, an Albanian town in Montenegro that borders Kosova. Together with his family, he immigrated to the United States in 1968 and settled in the Bronx. He went on to graduate with distinction from Cornell University and received his law degree from the University of Virginia. He has five brothers and one sister. Zherka is married to Linda Kinney, who is an attorney at the Federal Communications Commission. Their son, Alexander, was born in 1997.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO NAAC ARE NOW DEDUCTIBLE

While our voice in Washington has grown tremendously, our presence in our communities has been nearly non-existent. We are now turning that around. Already we have hosted meetings in New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Bronx between community leaders and members of Congress. These meetings have provided leaders with an opportunity to question their representatives and NAAC about Albanian issues. In the next two months, we will continue our "road tour" with meetings and/or conferences in Boston, Chicago, and Detroit.

We are also creating a "Rapid Reaction Force" of community members who can help us generate letters and telephone calls to policy-makers in Washington.

Lastly, we have decided on a specific date -- the first Saturday in June -- for our annual National Assembly Dinner. The dinner will follow our annual elections and will be open to the public. We are hoping, by setting a date in advance, to secure a good turnout and celebrity speakers. As in the past, we will honor Albanian Americans for their significant contributions and a student for his or her academic achievements.

Fundraising

We are the only Albanian American organization in Washington. Therefore, raising funds for the organization is not only key to NAAC's survival, it is also crucial to our community's efforts to maintain a voice in Washington.

For better or worse, we are reliant on individual donations for our existence. To date, those donations have allowed us to operate on a "shoe-string" budget. But, if we are to ensure our organization's existence and our community's voice into the future, we need to be more targeted and committed.

To achieve that goal, we are launching at least three initiatives. First, we are planning on focusing our fundraising efforts around the annual National Assembly dinner so that our members will know when to expect a request for a donation and can plan accordingly. Second, we are hoping to develop a list of individuals who can either donate themselves or collect $5, 000 or more each year. Lastly, we are beginning to explore applying for government and foundation grants to carry out part of our work.

I firmly believe that if we commit ourselves to achieving the above goals, and we continue to involve the community in our activities, while thinking creatively about how to best use our limited resources, we will ensure NAAC's viability into the future.

NAAC MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE ON KOSOVA

During this past summer and fall, NAAC met in New York on several occasions with United States Ambassador Richard Holbrooke to discuss the war in Kosova.

At those meetings, NAAC conveyed to Holbrooke our objection to the Administration’s handling of the war, our concern with the capitulation to Milosevic in the cease-fire agreement, and our strong opposition to the initial American proposal on the status of Kosova. We also expressed our opinion that by coddling Milosevic and denying the rights of Albanians to self-determination, the U.S. is planting the seeds of future repression of Kosovar Albanians and greater Balkan instability, and will only serve to continue the radicalization of both Albanians and Serbs.

Although Ambassador Holbrooke's comments were "off the record," he indicated that there is not yet an agreement and that the United States is continuing to discuss the future of Kosova with both sides. NAAC believes that our Nation's interests can be best served if the United States mediates negotiations between the Serbs and Albanians in an effort to achieve independence and self-determination for the Albanians and real peace in the Balkans. We are actively working with the State Department, the White House, and the Congress to achieve that goal.

AMBASSADOR MALLOY HOSTS MEETING ON ALBANIA

U.S. Ambassador, Eileen Malloy, hosted NAAC at a State Department meeting. Also in attendance were Stephen Flanagan, Senior Advisor to President Clinton, and Andrew Hyde, the Albanian Desk Officer.

Malloy called the meeting to provide us with a first-hand account of the U.S. government’s efforts to create the "Friends of Albania" (FOA). FOA has over 30 member countries, and is chaired by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union, although the U.S. remains the driving force behind the scenes. The purpose of FOA is to coordinate the assistance efforts of the member states and to provide Albania with a consistent, single point of reference for help.

The State Department hopes that FOA will result in new resources of assistance being provided to Albania and will allow the West to identify which needs are not being adequately met. FOA launched its work with a Tirana conference in November and plans on holding other conferences in the near future.

NAAC ORGANIZES CONGRESSIONAL MEETINGS IN COMMUNITIES

New Jersey. On ***, NAAC organized a question and answer session in New Jersey between a dozen Albanian Americans community leaders in and Senator Bob Torricelli. The group pressed Torricelli on his position on Albanian issues, including the status of Kosova. Torricelli voiced support for the human rights of Albanians, but stopped short of endorsing independence. He promised to meet again with the community discuss this and other issues.

Connecticut. On Monday, November 23, NAAC organized a community meeting in Connecticut with Congressman Sam Gejdenson (D-CT). In January, Gejdenson will be the "Ranking Member" of the House International Relations Committee and will function as a vice-chairman. Gejdenson will be in a pivotal position to influence Clinton Administration policies on Albanian issues.

The purpose of the visit was to begin a dialogue between the Connecticut Albanian American community and Congressman Gejdenson on how best to deal with the problems that plague Albanians in the Balkans. During the meeting, Gejdenson expressed sympathy with the plight of Kosovar Albanians and promised to raise the issue in upcoming meetings with Chairman Gilman and Secretary Albright. Gejdenson also told the group that he is interested, in his new capacity as Ranking Member, in going beyond passing resolutions to forging a bipartisan substantive policy on Albanian issues.

Bronx. On Saturday, November 28, Albanian Flag Day, NAAC organized a visit by Congressman-Elect Joe Crowley (D-NY) to the Arthur Avenue (Little Italy) section of the Bronx to meet with Albanian American community leaders.

Crowley, a member of the New York State Assembly, was recently elected to represent the 7^th District, which includes Pelham Parkway in the Bronx and Astoria in Queens. Albanian Americans live in both neighborhoods. Crowley, an Irish American, has been heavily involved in pushing US Administrations to help resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland. Crowley toured the area, stopping for coffee in Gurra Café and meeting with community leaders in the offices of Democratic League of Kosova. Crowley pledged to join the Congressional Albanian Issues Caucus. Crowley’s predecessor, Tom Manton, had previously declined to join the Caucus.