International reps say crisis must end

TIRANA, May 25 – Time has come not only for the Albanian politicians to give an end to its crisis and deal with other pressing issues for the country, but also to be present and listen carefully lectures given from representatives of the international institutions or allied countries.
U.S. Ambassador John L. Withers made it clear at a speech this week that everyone in the world understand Albania is under a crisis and a serious one which is hampering its progress.
“You described it as a political crisis. I believe it is something much more profound than that. I believe it a crisis of governing. Political crisis implies to me that the bickering between the two big parties and the two leaders is what is important. What to me is important is that the political system put itself back in working order. There are so many problems that this country faces. They are immediate problems and affect the immediate well-being of people and as long as this squabbling goes on, the ability of your leadership to address those problems and to try to help those people it has been disrupted. So, with political will, I believe that the situation can be remedied. The European Union has launched a very important initiative to try to resolve the situation. The American Government stands behind that initiative 100%. There is no daylight between the position of the Europeans and the position of the Americans. It is absolutely vital that the infighting stops and that the interests of this nation be put first,” Withers said Monday at a meeting with journalists.
A day later, European Commission Ambassador Helmuth Lohan and OSCE Ambassador Robert Bosch continued on the same theme.
Lohan made it very clear that the solution of the political crisis is totally up to the political leaders.
Bosch hailed the Socialists’ return to parliament but he also criticized the way lawmakers were behaving there.
“Parliament is a place of political debate. Instead of using it for the political debate they (lawmakers) are using it for offense against each other. That should not happen. I stress again, the parliament is used for political debate and nothing else,” he said referring to the clash between two opposing lawmakers Monday night at the parliament’s session.
Speaking at a meeting of non-governmental organizations in the country, Bosch also called on them to stay away from politics.
In the last parliamentary elections, a large number of NGO leaders ran as election candidates.
“Irrespective of whether they were successful or not, what did this do to the idea of an independent civil society lobbying for a cause rather than serving the interests of a particular political party?” he said.