[Prishtina-E] NAAC Open Letter to Ibrahim Rugova, Hashim Thaci, and Ramush Haradinaj

[National Albanian American Council - NAAC]

National Albanian American Council
1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC  20006
481 8th Avenue, Suite 922, New York, NY 10001
Brigada e Krajishtes, No. 8, 38000 Prishtina, Kosova
Telephone: (202) 466-6900   Fax: (202) 466-5593
Web: www.naac.org   Email: naac at naac.org
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For Immediate Release: March 5, 2002        Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900
 
PRESS RELEASE
 
Open Letter to Ibrahim Rugova, Hashim Thaci, and Ramush Haradinaj
 
Washington, DC, March 5, 2002:  The National Albanian American Council issued the following open letter to the political leaders of Kosova.
 
On November 17, 2001, the people of Kosova participated in one of the best run, most free and fair elections ever held in the Balkans.  Albanians worldwide shared a great moment of joy and pride, and felt optimistic about Kosova's future.
 
After meeting with each of you on November 18th, we also felt optimistic. Each of you expressed to us a strong desire to work for the good of Kosova.
 
Each of you stated that in your actions for and on behalf of your constituents, you would place national interests above party politics and personal ambitions and would reach a compromise when forming a government.
 
Now, nearly three months later, a government has been formed.  For that we congratulate each of you and UNMIK Special Representative Michael Steiner, US Ambassador John Menzies, and others who helped the three of you find a compromise.  Like most Albanians, however, we are very disappointed with how long it took to achieve this goal and the tension that it created.
 
The impasse undermined Kosova, at least in the short term.  That means that each of you will now have to work harder to repair the damage and to make a multi-party government function efficiently and effectively.  Your abilities to compromise with each other will be the critical factor in your success.  As you know, there is much to be done.  You must lead the way in rebuilding an economy, the infrastructure, and the government and civic institutions of Kosova.
 
We will try to do our part in the United States by keeping Kosova on the US foreign policy agenda and involved in region.  For its part, the government of Kosova should establish formal channels of communication and perhaps establish an office in the United States as soon as possible, so that it may interact directly with the United Nations, the US Congress, the Bush Administration, and the Diaspora.
 
We hope that the political impasse will now be relegated to history and that very soon the government will become busy working to improve Kosova's future.
 
The National Albanian American Council ("NAAC") is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocating for Albanians and promoting peace and economic development in the Balkans by fostering democratic policy, promoting respect for human rights, and conducting educational and developmental programs. For more information on the National Albanian American Council please visit us on the web at www.naac.org
 
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