US: Relations have deteriorated since May 26

Steve Coffey, deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights, has spoken out sharply about political developments in Albania. There is no doubt that his opinion has also been influenced by the recent departures of American advisers and lecturers from Albanian military and cultural institutions, but Coffey referred mainly to the Albanian government’s attitude toward US representatives in Albania. After his visit to Albania about a month ago, Steve Coffey seems to have become convinced that the fault lies not with US representatives, but with the Albanian authorities. He has spoken openly and sharply about the opposition’s position in Albania. The Albanian opposition has not yet said a word about any of the recent political developments. The Socialist Party, the largest opposition party, has not only failed to respond itself, but has refused to speak even after the press insisted on asking about the departure of American advisers and lecturers from Albanian institutions. An opinion voiced by someone does not constitute the opposition’s official position, while Secretary General Rexhep Mejdani evades the press and refuses to speak about the expulsion of the Americans. Mejdani refuses to comment on Berisha’s visit to the OSCE immediately after the President expelled that organization from Albania. No other opposition party has done so either, thereby failing to seize the major opportunity to capitalize on the government’s mistakes. The opposition’s passive stance has not appeared only in recent days. This opposition has been unable to assess any of the recent developments in Albania. The pyramid schemes, which are becoming an ever-greater problem for Albanians and are being targeted by the IMF, have attracted no attention at all from the opposition parties, and it is unclear what they think about their constituents’ deposits. None of these parties deigned to request a meeting with the International Monetary Fund delegation while it was in Albania. No one from the opposition parties has sought guarantees for people’s money invested in pyramid schemes in case the companies head toward bankruptcy. Moreover, none of these parties supported Hajdari’s initiative; he met with the IMF for this purpose. Furthermore, the Albanian opposition has made no serious effort in Europe to present the true political situation in Albania. While the leaders of the DP and ministers from that party are expending all their energy and funds to improve their image in the West, the opposition does not even go so far as to denounce these expenditures to preserve the status quo of the political crisis. The arrival in Albania of representatives from left-wing countries has not been accompanied by any invitation from the opposition to meet. The situation became such that Poland’s Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Policy almost complained that the opposition had not invited him to a meeting. He was a leftist, an adviser to President Kvasnjesvki, whose election as President of Poland the SP had once warmly welcomed. It is clear that the opposition does not know how to take advantage of the government’s difficult international position. While the government is doing the opposite, the opposition’s stance seems to resonate with it, as if it were its lever.

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Tirana, workers from the construction company “Fratari” yesterday at the bombed apartment building

The US insists on improving democracy. A constitution and more rights for Albanians

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