Greece vetoes Albania
Simitis: “We will help you integrate into the EU only on certain conditions. The lack of democracy weighs on the Greek minority”
The Greek Prime Minister sends a letter to Meta and Doris Pack accusing Albania of a lack of democracy
page 3
The 9-meter speedboat falls into the police net
Gj oni: Concrete and significant results by the weekend — page 11
The Vlorë police offensive intensifies
A slap from the World Bank
BY EDI LESI
The statement by Portman, the World Bank Director for Southeastern Europe, issued yesterday at the “Rogner” hotel, was the strong and immediate slap received by official Tirana after voting in favor of the admission of what remains of Yugoslavia to the OSCE. While the Albanian Government representative’s affirmative vote in Vienna found some official apologies in Tirana and was argued to be a positive step in light of many specious arguments, it was the World Bank director who pointed out that we had hastily raised the card in favor of Belgrade. He said that the World Bank had officially established relations with Belgrade following its admission to the OSCE. Moreover, he said that from now on all plans and projects for Kosovo’s development would go through Belgrade, still under the old argument that Yugoslavia’s integrity, provided for in Resolution 1244, must be respected. In other words, this means that the federal Government, currently dominated by the men of Milosheviç who carried out ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, will have the power to decide on Kosovo’s economic development, since it will be in direct contact with the world’s most powerful financial institution—not Rugova, Thaqi, or Kushner.
Portman’s statement also refutes the position declared up to now that Kosovo would be treated as a separate entity, and sets a dangerous precedent for similar stances by other financial, political, or military organizations. All this came after Yugoslavia’s admission to the OSCE, where our contribution was the same as that of the other member states. Perhaps our contribution was thrown away, not used at all to set conditions or exert pressure on Belgrade over the many urgent problems with Kosovo that remain unresolved. It is reported that our vote was not welcomed at all in Kosovo. Political figures there have expressed reservations because no consultation with them took place.
