[ALBSA-Info] US supports Albanian govt

[Kreshnik Bejko]

U.S. Throws Weight Behind Albanian Government

TIRANA, Dec 6, 2000 -- (Reuters) The United States has tacitly thrown its 
weight behind Albania's Socialist-led government, saying the country has 
made "impressive strides" in maintaining public order and resisting the 
threat of political violence.

In a speech to Albanian judges, the text of which was issued on Monday 
night, U.S. Ambassador Joseph Limprecht delivered an implicit rebuke to the 
opposition Democrats of former President Sali Berisha.

The Democrats have refused to accept the results of municipal elections in 
October won by Prime Minister Ilir Meta's Socialists, contending that they 
were rigged, and have been staging occasionally violent protest rallies in 
Tirana.

International monitors said the elections were generally fair.

Limprecht said there had been a true strengthening of Albanian state 
institutions -- government, parliament, police and judiciary -- in the past 
two years.

"Together these institutions have shown an increased ability to withstand 
the challenges of those who would undermine public order through violence 
and intimidation to try to gain political advantage," he said.

Limprecht said there was a persistent but incorrect image in Western media 
that Albania was still unstable.

The country plunged into anarchy in 1997 after the collapse of fraudulent 
investment schemes. Order was restored only after the intervention of an 
Italian-led multinational force and Berisha lost power in a snap general 
election.

The country saw another brief upsurge of political violence in 1998 when 
clashes following the funeral of a murdered Democratic politician nearly 
toppled the government.

"What may have been true in 1997 and 1998 is not true today," the U.S. envoy 
said. "Albania has demonstrated, especially in the past month, that it will 
not descend into chaos with the first political confrontation."

This was a clear reference to the government's handling of Democratic 
rallies in Tirana and the firm police response to an attack by Democratic 
supporters on a police station in the northern town of Bajram Curri -- a 
Berisha stronghold.

Two people were killed in that incident last week.

Limprecht said people had a right to demonstrate peacefully but the 
government had to step in to restore order if rallies turned violent.

"Only in this way can it give its citizens confidence that its democracy is 
strong and that the state will protect their most basic rights."

He welcomed the fact that the government was attacking crime more 
aggressively but said more needed to be done to curb corruption and 
organized crime.

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