Albania protests maltreatment of Albanians by Greek policeman

TIRANA, June 18 – The Albanian Foreign Ministry on Monday strongly denounced a video tape showing two of its immigrants being maltreated in Greece.
Tirana urged Athens to take discipline a policeman for allegedly ordering two arrested Albanians to beat each other, in what Tirana called a racist act.
The video showed a civilian Greek policeman beat and then ordered two arrested Albanians to slap each other in a demeaning way.
The Foreign Ministry expressed its “deep indignation and strongly denounces the shocking event broadcast by Greek media on the inhuman treatment of two Albanian citizens from police officials at a police station in Athens,” considering this a “racist, derogatory and unacceptable act that runs counter to all norms of Greek legislation and international law,” according to a statement.
Upon thanking Greek Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis for his fast action upon viewing the video tape, Tirana asked Greek authorities to arrest those persons involved in the incident.
“It is the moment that the Greek government publicly recognizes and evaluates the contribution of the Albanian immigrants to Greece as a guarantee to prevent such events in the future,” the statement said.
“Such acts, be they isolated ones, are bearers of a hated spirit that has nothing in common with the real values of cooperation and good understanding between our countries,” said the statement.
Three months ago, Albania protested and denounced another video showing Greek troops in training singing a song with anti-Albanian comments.
Relations between Greece and Albania have been strained periodically since the 1990 fall of communism in the tiny Balkan country because of perceptions of racism and xenophobia in Greece, and over the status and treatment of hundreds of thousands of Albanian immigrants working in Greece.