TO GO OR NOT TO GO IN TIRANA, THAT'S THE PROBLEM

AIM TIRANA, Septembre 8, 1999

The cancelling in the last minute of the Richard Hollbrook forecasted visit in Tirana, during his Balkan tour fell like a bombshell for Albanian state institutions. Senior officials, who were at the airport to receive Hollbrook waited in vain, for the plane carrying the "Dayton man" didn't leave for Tirana. The official reason was "technical problem".

Not without irony a Tirana journalist wrote "the Americans have more technical problems when they leave for Tirana, than when they leave for the Moon."

Top US officials including the presidential couple Clinton's, State Secretary Madlene Albright, Defence Secretary William Cohen, since the start of the Kosovo crisis have avoided Albanian capital constantly. Official and non official announcements on their trip to Tirana often have been made, but none of them have taken place. The promised and cancelled visits have created problems for the Albanian administration and the current fragile situation the country is experiencing. Meanwhile, in the President Clinton's case on June 22, the Albanian counterpart Rexhep Meidani, Premier Pandeli Majko and Foreign Minister Paskal Milo were obliged to travel to Skopje in order to meet him. An "innovation" for the diplomatic protocol, but also a difficult position for the Albanian officials, who were constrained to accept it.

This is in a nutshell the atmosphere that encircles the Albanian - American relationship, paradoxical and incomprehensible in many aspects for the observers of the bilateral relationship. What surprises more the political analysists is the discordance between the US official attitude towards the Albanian Government and its attitude as well as the long calendar of the diplomatic failures. The repeated avoidance of the Albanian tour has created the feeling that in the US policy towards Tirana are still dark moments.

The start of the Kosovo crisis put Albania in a dangerous position, but also in a privileged one regarding the military operations against Milloshevic. In few weeks the Albanian government and President Meidani were converted into NATO's primarily interlocutor in the Balkan. Albanian without any hesitation granted to the Alliance all the facilities they asked for, and in this point the official stand was fully supported by the right wing opposition. In the Summit of NATO's 50 anniversary, which was staged last April in Washington, Albania was the "petted country" of the occasion.

Parallel with this process dictated by the war in Yugoslavia, the European Union granted Albania the permission to start the negotiations to sign documents for the membership into the EU, and also was promised consistent aid in the Stability Pact framework.

So with the perseverance of a laborious pupil, Tirana advanced in its integration policy due to the circumstances created by the war in Kosovo. But it seems not everything is in the hands of the Albanians. At least in the relationship with "Albania's main international partner" as US is considered by the Albanian state. With the end of the conflict in Kosovo and the deployment of KFOR troops there, Albania lost the importance of NATO's as a "front line" country in the region. During the days of the conflict, Mrs Clinton and State Secretary Albright flew over Albania to visit Macedonia, without stopping on the eagles land. Officially everything was commented as the shortage of time in the visits' agenda, but the press elaborated a lot on the "slap" given to the Albanian authorities. In fact other sources confirmed that the reason given by the American ladies of not visiting Albania was the safety and public order. Since the terrorist attacks in Kenya and Tanzania against the US diplomatic seats, Albania is targeted in the lists of the secret services as one of the Islamic fundamentalists possible bases. It sounds true and that why the US Embassy in Tirana operates with reduced personnel and encircled by marines units.

Missed visits of Clinton and Albright forged the conviction that even the pre-announced visit of Clinton in Skopje on June 22, wouldn't include his stay in Albania. And that's how it happened, but in this case from Clinton's staff came an invitation for a meeting in Macedonia with the Albanian President, Premier and Foreign Minister. The hesitation on the part of the Albanian government to respond positively to Clinton's invitation lasted for a few moments, meanwhile President's office announced that Meidani would travel to Skopje to meet his American counterpart. So Albanian senior troika accepted to step on the offered challenge for an official meeting outside Albanian territory, and above all in rival Macedonia. As he had announced earlier in a TV program, especially for the Albanian people, Clinton thanked the Albanian leaders for their role played during the war in Yugoslavia, promising American aid for the poorest country in Europe.

Aid yes, but only in words. That's what the local press said, when two weeks later the Defence Secretary Cohen cancelled in the last minute his visit announced earlier. Also this time the official sources told the Albanian authorities that the reason was the threat from an Islamic attack.

However what irritated the Albanians, was the cancelled visit a few days ago of Holbrook. Well-known in Albania Holbrook was expected to bring clear messages of the US government, but in fact he brought only the cancellation of his visit due to "technical reasons". The presence at the airport of a high Albanian official to receive the American mediator was the image of another lost chance for the Albanian government, in the long list of the missed protocol with the Washington.

But though Holbrook didn't come to Tirana, he said something about Albania. In a statement in Sarajevo for Bosnia press he said that the American administration follows with concern the infiltration in state institutions in Kosovo and Albania of criminal and mafioso elements.

That was enough and in Tirana erupted once again the debate on the American position towards the Albanian left government . The media listed once again the cancelled visits of US officials, presenting this as the main indicator of Tirana diplomatic failure in the relationship with Washington.

In this poisoned climate, the visit of the US congressman Eliot Engel, chairman of the Albanian lobby in the American Congress was a small consolation for Majko's government , meanwhile his requests for the gradual change of the political class resemble like Clinton's administration signals for the political scheme of the tiny Balkan country.

The reasons of avoiding Tirana by the American administration seems partly related with the security, though exaggerated because Tirana is considered as a more dangerous zone than Pristina. Also the menace of Islamic terrorism from the Bin Laden people accompany the Americans.

But the reasons are also related with the dissatisfaction of the American administration on the safety and public order in Albania in general. The fact that the Government doesn't control completely the country worries Washington and also casts suspicions.

Another thing can be: simply Tirana is neglected, because with Kosovo under the NATO protectorate, it hasn't the previous importance now.

These all can be considered as reasons no to come to Tirana, but not as reasons for playing cat and mouse with the Albanian officials waiting at the airport with their eyes looking on the skies.

ARBEN KOLA (AIM)