[ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=AB?=ALBEUROPA=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BB?=} NEWS: Albania official warns Belgrade over Kosovo (Prague Post, October 18, 2000)

[Wolfgang Plarre]

http://www.praguepost.cz/news101800g.html

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

Albania official warns Belgrade over Kosovo 

Foreign minister, in Prague, says situation uneasy
By Jeffrey Donovan 

Albanian Foreign Minister Paskal Milo has admonished the new Yugoslav
leadership over the future of Kosovo. 
     In Prague to meet with Czech officials, Milo responded to Zoran
Djindjic, an official close to President Vojislav Kostunica. Djindjic
said Belgrade might station Yugoslav army troops and police officers in
Kosovo. 
     "That's really dangerous if they start thinking this way," Milo
told The Prague Post. "It shows they are going in the same direction as
[former President Slobodan] Milosevic." The United Nations also
dismissed Djindjic's comments. 
     Milosevic, who presided over so-called "ethnic cleansing" of the
Muslim population of Kosovo, was ousted in a popular rebellion earlier
this month. 
     Milo's visit was the first by an Albanian foreign minister in four
decades. For nearly 50 years, the impoverished state was run by
isolationist Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, who maintained relations
only with North Korea and China. 
     "We have made good progress," said Milo, here to discuss bilateral
relations, the Balkans and joint business deals with Czech companies.
"Our goal is to join the European Union, although that of course is a
long-term project. But Albania will soon be a prosperous country." 

Image makeover 

Albania, which recently staged local elections that were praised by the
United Nations and the United States, has had modest success in
recasting its image from that of a backwater nation to a more stable
Balkan state. 
     The military of Europe's poorest country now trains with NATO and
international organizations and governments are starting to invest. 
     Milo, a 52-year-old former history professor, was cautious about
developments in Serbia. "Albania is not as enthusiastic as some are
about the situation in Serbia." 
     Tensions between Belgrade and Tirana over the treatment of Kosovo's
independence-minded Albanian majority have always run high. Moreover,
the newborn Kostunica government does not seem eager to change its
stance toward the province. 
     "We have explained to our Czech colleagues that we have adopted a
wait-and-see attitude [toward Belgrade]," Milo said. "We still believe
that Milosevic has enough support inside the country to create problems.
And we know that Kostunica, before and during the election campaign, has
made statements about Kosovo that hardly differ with what Milosevic
says." 
     He said many Albanians, in Kosovo and Albania, would like to see
either one united country or independence for the Yugoslav province,
where democracy gets its first test in municipal elections on Saturday,
Oct. 28. 
     "But this is not the official Albanian position," said Milo, who
met his counterpart Jan Kavan and Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav
Klaus. "We think it is very important to stabilize Kosovo ... to build
new democratic institutions and to create an environment in which a
multi-ethnic society can grow." 
     He added: "Kosovo will be under international control for many
years. We may be able to speak about independence after 10 years ...
Later, there will be enough time to discuss a final solution for
Kosovo." 
     Milo said Albania sought deals with Czech firms in the electricity
sector. He cited Prague's H&B Engineering, Ceska Integracni a.s., R&M
Stavebni izolace s.r.o. and Regula Praha as target companies. 
     Albania, he said, already had old Czech technology, "and we would
like to renew those capacities with Czech participation. It's much
easier for us and, economically speaking, it's in our interests." 
     Milo urged the international community to speed up the Stability
Pact, a $1 billion-program set up last year to link troubled southeast
Europe with the affluent West by investing in highways and other
infrastructure projects. 
     "We have problems from the past, with people and their emotions,"
he said. "We need to treat these things very carefully, to keep them
under control, because in the Balkans there are a lot of emotions
everywhere." 

Jeffrey Donovan's e-mail address is jdonovan at praguepost.cz

The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been
printed in  The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech
Republic. 
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.


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