PRIVATE VISIT WITH STATE-OWNED CAR PLATES

• The known and the unknown aspects of Albania's Premier visit in Pristina-

AIM TIRANA, Septembre 4, 1999

Despite the circumstances, the Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko took advantage of the historic opportunity to the be the first Albanian Premier, since the proclamation of the independence in 1912, to pay a visit in Pristina on August 13-14 this year. The Premier's reason to make the visit was both private and familiar, where according to the Albanian tradition he went to Pristina to ask for the hand of a Kosovar girl, who was going to be engaged with his brother, after both youngsters got to know each-other during the flow of Kosovar refugees in Albania.

But the private and personal aspects of the visit, in fact didn't attract any special attention, because it served more as a cover of the visit, which in Tirana was commented as more significant than an official visit. In fact Majko went privately in Kosovo, but with state owned cars and accompanied by deputy prime minister Ilir Meta.

As a matter of fact, his visit wasn't a triumph as it was expected, because all interested parties in Kosovo issue and in the relationship between Albania and Kosovo were not prepared.

The Kosovar political leaders like Rugova, Thaci, Qosja and others didn't find the courage to rally and welcome the first Prime Minister of Albania, which all Kosovars consistently call "motherland". Even more they were not able to organise Premier Majko a popular reception in Pristina, as they did with British Prime Minister Tony Blair or Nato's Secretary General Havier Solana.

The visit also confused the leaders of other political forces in Tirana, where many senior official of the government's coalition paid more attention to the fact if Majko went on a private or official visit than if he went as a wedding guest or Prime Minister.

Even for Belgrade which in June had protested of the Czech's Premier visit Vaclav Havel, but later on had fell silent on the visits of some West European leaders in Kosovo, it took them five days to protest at the United Nations, on August 18. This belated reaction didn't have any international effect and also it was done in an institution, where the Yugoslav Federation is not even a member.

On his visit the Albanian Premier, according to sources close to him, was consulted with the international civil and military authorities, who currently administrate Kosovo. The premier met with the chief of the US mission in Pristine, Rosini, but he didn't meet neither KFOR chief commander, Michael Jackson nor the civil administration of the UN Bernard Kouchner. No explanations were given on the lack of these visits, but it seems that the fragile character and still internationally undetermined relationship between Albania and Kosovo made the top international officials avoided the meeting with the Albanian Premier, while they had met all Western dignitaries visiting Kosovo. The hesitation of the international authorities also explains the postponement of the visit in Kosovo of the Albanian President Rexhep Meidani, who had delivered lectures in Pristina University during '70. Also in an interview given to an Albanian daily on September 1st the American charge d'affairs in Tirana, Ray Snaider said that, now we would like the visit of President Meidani in Kosovo to be a private one.

Premier Pandeli Majko went to Pristina due to the merit of government headed by him during the war in Kosovo, where Albania coped with a flux of 500,000 refugees and demonstrated a greater readiness in co- operating with Nato than any other country in the region, often surpassing also some Nato member country in this aspect.

With this achievement he better consolidated his political position among socialist leaders on the eve of the Socialist Party Congress to be held next month and where the chairman of the party will be elected, following the resignation of Fatos Nano the former chairman, in January this year.

The Prime Minister himself with his visit and after it, is in a difficult position to maintain a balance between the growing nationalist stand for the independence of Kosovo that prevails in the Kosovar policy after the deployment of Nato troops there and the pressure from the international community under which is Tirana to moderate this stance. First of all Majko tried to set up a better balance among the political forces in Kosovo, where he not only meet them all, but showed a new approach towards Rugova, who was disqualified from the official Tirana after his meeting with Miloshevic during the peak of Nato's bombing over Yugoslavia and the ethnic cleansing campaign against Albanians in Kosovo. The ice between official Tirana and him seems to melt down somehow and Rugova said that he will visit Tirana soon.

Also with the Kosovo Liberation Army Chief, Hashim Thaci, Albanian Premier tried to strengthen the moderated course in the current situation in Kosovo. The difficulty of this undertaking was demonstrated by the fact, one day after meeting Majko, and when the last was still in Pristina, KLA leader, Hashim Thaci, came in Tirana to meet President Rexhep Meidani. It is known the fact that the KLA had close relationship with the ruling socialists and especially under the reign of ex-prime minister Fatos Nano.

Majko demonstrated moderated attitude also in his appeals for self- restrain on the Mitrovica events, because he went in Kosovo when the confrontation between the two divided part of the town inhabited by Serbs and Albanians reached their climax and the KFOR French forces clashed with Albanian demonstrators.

A new move of the Albanian Premier was his idea for the construction of a highway which would link Durres city, the biggest port in Albania with the Kosovo capital, Pristina, committing financially the Albanians of Kosovo, Albania proper and Diaspora. Taking advantage of the nationalistic feelings to accomplish this project, which is part of the economic development of the Stability Pact, was a new move on the part of the Prime Minister. He discussed this idea also with the political leaders of Kosovo and particularly Ibrahim Rugova, where behind him is Bujar Bukoshi, a shadow Premier of the Kosovar government in exile, who possesses big amounts of money collected during this last eight years from the Albanian Diaspora. Bukoshi's fund continues to be an object of accuses between the supporters of Bukoshi and KLA, where both sides claim to have the right to use this fund under the current situation in Kosovo. The proposal of allocating this fund for the Durres-Prishtina highway, besides the financial easy, will also bring about the elimination of one of the greatest confrontation between the Democratic League of Kosovo and the KLA. At the same time channelling this funds for the highway construction would cut off a source of arms smuggling which passes through Albanian and Kosovo. On this last issue also the British Premier Tony Blair demanded the premier Majko to intervene, in a letter of 13 August the same day Majko left for Pristina.

Trying to maintain the initiative in the pan-Albanian political field, Albanian Premier publicly proposed in August 23 the opening up of a pan-Albanian bank account for the construction of the highway, a move which willingly or unwillingly was also supported by President Rexhep Meidani and former President Sali Berisha. After his visit in Prishtina, Majko made other advances as it was the announcement on August 17 of a unified education strategy for all Albanians despite the fact where they live, his idea on August 22 for the unification of media and information market in the Albanian language.

It is understandable that such moves have given him a broader political physionomy among the Albanians and a greater role in the relationship between Tirana and Prishtina. But this is a road packed with unfamiliar and unexpected circumstances, where other Albanian leaders before Majko have failed to find out the supportive point. This has to do with the difficulty of withholding the balance, which is not easy in Kosovo under the circumstances where people aspire for a move towards the independence and on the other side is witnesses the growing concern of the international factor that the use of the nationalistic carte would have repercussions in Kosovo and can harm the endeavours of the international community to create it, which they call a democratic and multiethnic Kosovo. The language used by Majko recently can bring him closer to Kosovars, but astray him from the West.

SHABAN MURATI (AIM)