U.S. Rings Bells To Albanian Politics

TIRANA, June 19 – U.S. Ambassador to Tirana John L. Withers expressed his open criticism against the governing Democratic Party which earlier this week turned down in a voting the five presidential decrees with names of the new judges of the Supreme Court.
In an interview to Panorama newspaper, the ambassador also appealed to residents of Gerdec, the March 15 blast area, to still stay away from the dangerous area and also appealed to politics to keep hands away from the prosecutor office’s investigation on the case.
The ambassador said he was deeply concerned from the parliament’s voting last Monday saying that lawmakers exploited technical details to bypass and turn down the spirit of democratic principles.
The actions of the Parliament on Monday night, frankly speaking, were unworthy of a democratic institution,” said Withers, adding that now all politicians should resolve their differences and do not try to gain political advantage.
“The Supreme Court is simply too important to become a political football.”
On Gerdec tragedy, where 26 people died and 300 were injured, Withers said that “we have to start with consideration for the victims of the tragedy” as their lives changed forever.
Withers repeated loudly, strongly and clearly that it was dangerous for people to return to the area where there was still ordinance, munitions that were unexploded, and because “the danger of a secondary explosion is real and the last thing that anyone would want would be for G쳤ec to claim more victims.”
Withers repeated that “the investigation into this incident to be thorough, to be impartial, to be free of political interferenceŠ(and) that there be no attempt to maneuver or to interfere with a free and impartial investigation.”
The ambassador also appealed that Prosecutor General “be allowed to perform her duties as the rules and the laws of Albania were constructed to have her do.”
Withers reminded Albanians of President George W. Bush’s words when he was in the country a year ago: “It is very important for political figures here in this country to understand what is at stake. The politicians have got to work together now to meet the standards. They’ve got to set aside political differences and focus on what’s right for Albania. If the Albanian people want to join NATO, then the politicians have got to work to meet those standards.”
Reconciliation of all the people and political groupings, fighting corruption, human trafficking, achieving gender equality, a better life for poor people in this country _ these were some of the priorities Withers set for the tiny Balkan country.