Disa thekse nga intervista e Ambasadorit Amerikan Aleksandër Arvizu tek Opinion marrë nga transkripti në anglisht në faqen zyrtare të Ambasadës Amerikane në Tiranë
Ambasadori Arvizu: Blendi, unë jam i kënaqur që ju
bëtë këtë pyetje. Kur Z. Moore ishte këtu, kur zoti Reeker ishte këtu para tij,
ata të dy u adresuan rreth kësaj
çështje. Ata të dy e bënë shumë të qartë, ata deklaruan publikisht se kushdo qoftë
kreu i misionit, shefi i misionit, në Rrugën e Elbasanit, ai flet në emër të SHBA,
flet në emër të Presidentit të Shteteve të Bashkuara. I mirëprita deklarimet e
tyre. Mendova se është bërë shumë e qartë. Por, pyetja del prapë kohë pas kohe,
kështu që unë jam i kënaqur që ju e bërë këtë pyetje......
....Dua t'ju tregoj një ngjarje, rreth një takimi
që kam patur me një zyrtar të lartë të qeverisë (shqiptare - shpjegim i voal).
Ka ngjarë disa javë më parë. Ndodhi pasi zyrtarë të lartë të SHBA bënë të qartë
se unë flas në emër të Washingtonit. Dhe ne e patëm këtë diskutim...
Blendi Fevziu:
Ka ky zyrtar një emër ?
Ambassador Arvizu:
Natyrisht që ai është një person real. Ne ishim duke folur për një
çështje që nuk lidhej me zgjedhjet. Por pastaj biseda kaloi në një diskutim për
zgjedhjet dhe shkarkimin e Z.Muho. Unë isha shumë i pastër dhe i ndershëm me
deklaratën time - mendoj se ishte 15 Prill dhe parlamenti do të votonte në
mbrëmje - dhe personi nga qeveria u kthye nga unë dhe pyeti: "Ky është
qëndrim i Washingtonit apo një deklaratë juaja personale?"
Doni të dini se
si ju përgjigja ?
....
Okei! Po ua them, toni ishte pak më i ndryshëm. Dhe
i thashë: "˜Unë nuk e kam luksin të kem një opinion personal. Të gjitha
opinionet e mia janë zyrtare. Dhe ju nuk e keni luksin të vendosni se kush do
të jetë Ambasadori i Shteteve të Bashkuara të Amerikës. Ky është një privilegj
i Presidentit të Shteteve të Bashkuara, me këshillën dhe pëlqimin e Senatit
Amerikan.
( Thekset janë zgjedhur nga VOAL)
Transcript
of Interview with U.S. Ambassador Alexander A. Arvizu On "Opinion," with Blendi
Fevziu (May 22, 2013)
Blendi Fevziu:
Good evening, honorable viewers. I'm speaking from the "˜Opinion'
show studio, as I do every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 10:30 pm, and
Thursday at 9:00 pm. As you've seen from the announcements, today's guest
is the U.S. Ambassador to Tirana, Mr. Alexander Arvizu. Today's interview
with Mr. Arvizu will focus on election issues, the engagement of the
international community and specifically of the U.S. on election issues.
In Albania, it's never easy there's always a new problem that was not
encountered in the previous election, but one that remains to be discussed.
Mr.
Ambassador, good evening! Welcome to the studio of "˜Opinion!' Usually, our interviews have been taped and voiced over, but this one is
through simultaneous interpretation. I hope that my direct questions will
receive just as direct responses, although the interpreter stands in between.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
First of all, thank you for the invitation. It's always a pleasure to be in the studio. I look forward to the
questions tonight.
Blendi Fevziu:
Especially in this moment of the electoral campaign that doesn't seem so
calm. In fact, my first question would be: Is it calmer than you
expected, or more problematic?
Ambassador Arvizu: That's a good question. It's been a little bit of a
difficult campaign to figure out, when talking to a lot of people trying to
understand the themes, the mood of the people. I was here, of course, for
the 2011 for the local elections which was pretty heated, pretty
interesting for a local election.
Blendi
Fevziu:
And one where you were almost a half counter (of votes) at Njësia 5.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Yeah.
Blendi
Fevziu: I
hope you won't need to count votes any more in this campaign.
Ambassador
Arvizu: I
hope that is not repeated.
Blendi Fevziu: In fact, if the vote count
situation is not repeated and everything goes normally, there's something new
that wasn't expected, the disintegration of the Central Election Committee
after the departure of the three opposition representatives and the issues that
ensued. Do you stand by your initial idea that the dismissal of the
LSI-proposed member of the CEC was a mistake?
Ambassador
Arvizu: I
think it was very problematic. I have spoken publicly
about that. Mr. Reeker has spoken about it. I've seen pre-election
assessments by NDI and others. I think the general feeling is that it was
a very questionable procedure. But, for me, what was especially
problematic was... I think we all recognize that when the LSI left the coalition,
that it created this unusual circumstance, where what used to be the majority
became the minority. But it seemed to me, and it seemed to most of us in
the international community, from reading the Electoral Code, that it was
possible for the political parties to address that situation.
Blendi Fevziu:
How could they address it, Mr. Ambassador?
Ambassador Arvizu: They could have sat down and talked to each other.
Blendi Fevziu:
The principle for the constitution of the Central Election Commission was
upset, that of four of the majority and three of the opposition.
Ambassador Arvizu: I don't think anyone questioned that the precedent that was
established in 2003, if I'm not mistaken, should have been respected, observed
in some way. In fact, I met with Mr. Rama yesterday to talk about the CEC
issue. I don't think he would mind my publicly saying tonight that from
his standpoint and the standpoint of the SP, given the situation now, they have
no principled objection to, again, it being three and three, and the chair being
determined by the majority. So, it could have been resolved
politically. There was an opportunity for the two sides to show the
people of Albania, to show the international community, that the will and the
capacity exist to resolve problems. But instead, essentially you had a
power move, a fait accompli, and it's resulted in this impasse.
Blendi Fevziu:
Mr. Meta has declared on the show of journalist colleague Balla that if
it had been requested by the majority, he would have withdrawn the member proposed
by him in the CEC. The issue is, why did Meta wait for a request, when he
could have withdrawn the LSI-proposed member to preserve the same balance in
the CEC, that is the 4 by 3 principle had been sanctioned 10 years ago?
Ambassador Arvizu: Let's be honest. Let's be realistic. They're trying
to gain political advantage. At the time, it was explained to me I
don't know if this was true or just kind of a cover story but I was told what
was really of interest to both sides was not the composition of the CEC itself,
but at the 89 KZAZs; the lower levels...
Blendi Fevziu: A
chain system...
Ambassador Arvizu: Because it went from four to three and three to four to five to
two and four to three. And that was obviously not sustainable. And, no one said that was
going to happen.
Blendi
Fevziu:
So, your position, when you declared that the removal of the LSI-proposed
CEC member could put Albania on a collision course with the U.S., do you
consider that hasty?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
You know, I've had some good conversations with people, with Mr. Frangaj,
Mr. Çili we talked about that. Both are
good friends. I respect their opinions a lot. In fact, I've talked to them in
the last couple of weeks and they thought that maybe some of those statements
were a bit hasty. I told them that happened more than a month ago.
I think I was right. I think I was proven right. The point that I
was trying to make was: there was an unusual circumstance created by the
departure of the LSI from the coalition, but, the impasse or the imbalance it
was possible to address it by the two sides, politically. They could have
dealt with it. And so, it was the lost opportunity. The
politicians, once again, were presented with this situation where they had an
opportunity to restore confidence, to show people that this time it's going to
be different. We can work out our differences. Instead, they just
reverted to former... And look, it's more than a month later. We're almost
at the official starting point of the election and we have a CEC that is not
fully constituted; it's not operating the way it ought to.
Blendi
Fevziu:
But Mr. Ambassador, no cooperation is being found between the two sides
on three laws that could at least officially open the way for the country to
integrate into the EU. Why do you ask that the parties do this solely
through understanding and not in observance of the spirit of the law? The
principle of the law, not just the member...
Ambassador
Arvizu:
The problem with the three laws was they tied into the High Court law,
the problems down in Fier. I'm not saying the
opposition was right or correct to do what they did, but it was a very complex
issue. This one,
I think, was more straightforward. It could have been resolved, if there
had been the will on the both sides. I suppose you could say the same
thing for the three laws, but this one was more straightforward. They
could have dealt with it. And look at today, one side says we're ready to
vote for your names just give us the names and we'll vote them right
away. And the other side is saying, we need some sign from you that you
will respect the laws, that you will not take actions to compromise the
integrity of the CEC like you already did. It's at
an impasse.
Blendi Fevziu:
Mr. Ambassador, your position on the dismissal of the LSI-proposed CEC
member and his replacement was it your personal stance or was it recommended
by the Department of State? I have in mind the fact that a few days
afterwards, Jonathan Moore, a senior State Department official, had much more
moderate language compared to yours on this issue.
Ambassador Arvizu: The position that I announced publicly or explained publicly was
fully coordinated with Washington. I know that people here are always
interested in nuance, what is said in Washington, what is said here. I think people have to understand
that there is a big distance, both in terms of time and actual
kilometers. We here at the Embassy are on the ground; we talk to
people. We have an up-to-date, usually at least, up-to-the minute updates
on what the real situation here is, whereas in Washington, they are far
away. They rely on the reports that we provide, but they also talk to
other people and so, you're not always going to have the exact, identical piece
of information. But, Washington relies on
my Embassy to provide them with information. In response to your question, the
answer was fully coordinated with Washington.
Blendi
Fevziu:
So, was it coordinated with Washington or not?
Ambassador Arvizu: The position about...
Blendi Fevziu:
Your declaration?
Ambassador Arvizu: Yes, yes it was.
Blendi Fevziu:
Meanwhile, Mr. Jonathan Moore and the SP and the LSI should propose the
names for the vacancies in the CEC. Do you also stand by that idea and
should the two main opposition forces propose names to complete the CEC?
Ambassador Arvizu: I read Mr. Moore's statement very carefully. I read Mr.
Reeker's testimony before the Helsinki Commission it was about two weeks ago
and I've discussed it on the telephone with them. We have to be very
clear what our position is on the CEC is, and that position is that we believe
the CEC should be fully constituted, it should be properly constituted. It was not designed to operate
with four members, or five members, or six members. It was designed to
operate with seven members. It's contained in the
Electoral Code, it's the result of a political consensus. That's the way
it ought to operate.
Blendi Fevziu:
You talked yesterday with Mr. Rama who should take the initiative to fill
the vacancies. Is he ready to do that?
Ambassador Arvizu: He has said that they are ready to move forward right away, but
he needs some assurance that the process will be respected and that the
integrity of the CEC will not be compromised.
Blendi Fevziu:
Mr. Ambassador, that's an issue of how the two sides see something being
compromised... I have never known political sides in Albania to agree on what is
compromised. What one sees as compromised the other does not ... What
initial guarantees can you give? It is the law that gives guarantees, not
words.
Ambassador Arvizu: Well, sadly and unfortunately, my analysis is that both sides
feel that they can continue on this course, that it actually works for both of
them, and my response is that I respectfully disagree. I think that this
is a bad signal to the Albanian citizens. I think that it is a bad signal
to the international community that is watching these elections very carefully.
I think it just sends wrong signals, both sides.
Blendi Fevziu: If
the CEC is not completed, what could be the complications for the
elections? Of course, the law envisions the way forward...
Ambassador Arvizu: It does...
Blendi Fevziu:
There's a vote by four, it goes to the Electoral College, so... legally it
functions. But if
there's no CEC with seven members, what will be the problems?
Ambassador
Arvizu: The
problem is this. Again, let's be honest, for
some difficult issues that require a qualified majority, that is at least five
votes, and we saw this during the local election. Undoubtedly, there will
be times when they will be at four to three that they won't be able to get to
five. And, the
issue will have to be referred to the Electoral College. We understand
that that's going to happen, but the way it's set up now, every single decision
100% of those that require a qualified majority, that require five votes
they automatically are going to have to go to the Electoral College. That's
the way it's supposed to work. The Electoral College should be the last
option, if the CEC is unable to arrive at the necessary qualified
majority. As you said, thank goodness there is a procedure so that the
elections can be held, but that's not keeping in the spirit of the Code, it's
not keeping in the spirit of the political consensus that the two sides agreed
to.
Blendi Fevziu: I
guess we covered the part related to the CEC. I'd like to go into some
questions about what you said, the frequent comments of Tirana's informal
forums. Mr. Ambassador, is there a personal position of yours in this
election? Are you going to be involved in these elections? I
remember from following all electoral campaigns in Albania that at least
somewhere visibly and elsewhere less visibly, American Ambassadors have always
been involved in elections Ambassador Ryerson in the election of 1992 and to
some extent maybe Ambassador Withers in 2009. Will you be personally
involved in these elections?
Ambassador Arvizu: When you say involved, do you mean active and ...
Blendi Fevziu:
Active in favor of one coalition or the other, directly or indirectly?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
No, not at all. We are strictly
neutral. We have no favorites. We work extra hard to make sure that
we don't indicate that we're favoring one side or the other side.
Depending on the issue and we speak out, again in full coordination with
Washington there may be times when it appears that we're being more critical
of one side or the other. That's because our assessment is that one side
is more responsible than the other for creating a particular dilemma or
problem. But, no, as far as the election itself is concerned, no, we
absolutely have no favorites. We take every precaution to make sure that
we're not taking any sides.
Blendi
Fevziu:
There have been some statements, including in this studio, according to
which the United States of America is in favor of a rotation, i.e. in favor of
the opposition. In fact, there have been even comments by journalists and
important political figures including last night that the departure of Mr.
Meta was stimulated after a visit to the State Department in October of 2012,
the departure from the ruling coalition. Is the U.S. really interested in
the election results in Albania?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
We're very interested in the results, but on the subject of rotation...
Blendi
Fevziu:
How the results come out...the subject I mean.
Ambassador Arvizu: Two points. First, on the issue of rotation. If you
were to ask any American who follows politics: how do Americans feel
about the principle of rotation? I think just about anyone would say it's
a good principle. Rotation is a good principle. But if I were to
say, we believe in rotation, then for certain papers we don't have to say
which ones but they're going to say: "˜Arvizu calls for rotation.'
And that's absolutely not the case. What I would say about rotation...
Blendi Fevziu: Do
you ask for it or not?
Ambassador Arvizu: Here's what I would say about rotation. If elections are
free and fair and transparent, a principle like rotation, it takes care of
itself. The people, they decided when it's time to rotate the
leadership. It's a very simple answer. Now, the other question
about the results. One of my big frustrations in dealing with the current
situation is, think back to when Secretary of State Clinton visited here on
November the 1st her address to the parliament. I wrote an editorial, I think it
appeared in January. Mr. Reeker has made numerous statements. Mr.
Engel... We've all said that we understand the history of Albania, of Albanian
elections, is a history of contested results. So, how
do you avoid that? You avoid that by improving the process. You
avoid it by getting people to accept that the process is going to be better
than it was before, so that the focus is not on the outcome, not on the
results, but on the process. But, unfortunately, in the past several months,
the politicians, sadly, have acted true to form, and right now it appears that
we're headed into an election season where it's going to be about the outcome,
not about the process. Some people have said: "˜This is just
Albania. We're going to have contested results. We're going to have
a contested outcome.' Some people in the government have said to me:
"˜You have to be prepared; we probably won't have a government until
August or September.' I said, "˜That's terrible. We've got to do
something about that.' We've got to do something about that.
Blendi Fevziu:
Apparently, those who told you that whether in the government or the
opposition are wrong because, in reality, there could be no government until
September. That is what happens according to normal procedures of the
functioning after elections. There's a certain time required to certify
results, to certify in the Electoral College, in the CEC, and then convening
the parliament. So, in
any case, with or without contestation, the government should be formed in the
first ten days of September.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Exactly, because one of the key functions of the CEC is to certify the
results. And, as I understand it, the results have to be certified with a
qualified majority.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Five to two.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
So, right now, the CEC is not going to be able to certify the results.
And, what happens if one party is at 70 and another party is at 68 and
there are a small number of seats undecided and it all goes to the Electoral
College. That would be a very unfortunate scenario. I hope it
doesn't turn out that way.
Blendi
Fevziu: It
would be a bit similar to the Bush-Gore scenario of 2000.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
That was pretty difficult for the United States. I just hope it
doesn't happen here.
Blendi
Fevziu: Do
you have a real fear, you personally, that the post-election period could be
problematic?
Ambassador Arvizu: A little bit. Frankly, it would be nice if either party, or
either side, were to win a convincing victory, you know, 74 66, where the
results are clear and established and the winner wins and the losing side says,
well, we have to go back and regroup. I think what would be really unfortunate if one
side were to win 71 69. Again, it may happen that way. It may be
the way the votes actually come out, but it's just a shame that Albania has
this history of closely contested elections and the dispute resolution
mechanisms are not strong.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Mr. Ambassador, is there a cooling of relations between Albania and the
United States of America? Or between the U.S. and the Prime
Minister? There have been some statements by opposition figures, most
recently by Mr. Meta, former PM, that the U.S. has crossed off Berisha.
Ambassador
Arvizu: I
think relations between the United States and Albania are very strong. I
don't need to get into a long list of areas where we cooperate. I think
the cooperation is as strong as ever. Mr. Berisha is the head of the
government; so by virtue of being PM, he makes that possible. As far as
what Mr. Meta said, as you know, I don't speak Albanian, but people tell me
that this was in response to Mr. Berisha's repeated talking about visas...
Blendi Fevziu:
Visas. I'll ask you later about that...
Ambassador Arvizu: I understand what Mr. Meta said, it was like a pun or play with
words that in Albanian sounds catchy, or a neat phrase; it didn't mean a whole
lot in English, but that's what I understand is why he said it.
Blendi Fevziu: Yes,
but Mr. Meta has said three or four sound bites that seem like puns. But, if between the U.S. and
Albania, all is well as you say, is there a problem between you personally and
PM Berisha?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
No, I don't think so.
Blendi Fevziu:
Did you, Mr. Ambassador, have in some certain cases a personal agenda
that doesn't match with Washington's agenda vis-Ã -vis Albania? I have in
mind the statement on the court ruling regarding the January 21 indictees, the
statement on the CEC that we clarified, or some other statement, maybe further
back, like the one in Elbasan on textbooks, maybe others. The essence of
the question is: have you had or do you have a personal agenda? Maybe every ambassador has one
that doesn't match in general lines with Washington's agenda?
Ambassador Arvizu: Blendi, I'm glad you
asked that question. When Mr. Moore was here, when Mr.
Reeker was here before him, they both addressed this issue. They made
very clear, they stated publicly that whoever is the head of mission, the chief
of mission, on Rruga Elbasanit, speaks for the U.S., speaks for the President
of the United States. I welcomed that. I thought it was made very
clear. But, the question does creep up from time to time, so I'm glad you asked
tha
t. Blendi
Fevziu: It's also in the press, this observation?
Ambassador Arvizu: Yeah. I would make a couple of points. There's a saying in English, and
it goes, haven't we seen this movie before? It's an English metaphor, a
way of saying, déjà vu!
Blendi
Fevziu:
What does that mean?
Ambassador Arvizu: Arvizu has a personal agenda. They said that about my
predecessor, John Withers.
Blendi
Fevziu: It
resulted that in many things, he had a personal stance that didn't match that
of the U.S. State Department. I'm talking about
Ambassador Withers.
Ambassador Arvizu: That's subject to different interpretations. What about
Bill Ryerson? Did he have a personal agenda? Marisa Lino? Did
she have a personal agenda? I heard from Marcie Ries today; she's in
Bulgaria. Did she have a personal agenda? I think the obvious
answer is no. But I do want to
tell you a story, about a meeting I had with a senior government
official. It was a couple of weeks ago. It was after the U.S.
officials made very clear that I have their confidence and that I speak on
behalf of Washington. We were having this discussion...
Blendi Fevziu: Does this official
have a name?
Ambassador Arvizu: He's a real person, of
course. We were talking about an issue totally unrelated to
elections. But then, it evolved into a discussion about elections and
specifically about the dismissal of Mr. Muho. I was very candid and very
honest in explaining my statement I think it was on April 15th
that parliament voted in the evening and the person from the government
turned to me and said: "˜Is this Washington's position? Or is this
your personal statement?' Do you want to know what I said?
Blendi
Fevziu: I also asked you about
that earlier in the studio.
Ambassador
Arvizu: Okay. Well, it was in a little bit
of a different tone. And I said: "˜I don't have the luxury of having a personal
opinion. All my opinions are official. And you do not have the
luxury of deciding who the American Ambassador is. That is the
prerogative of the President of the United States, with the advice and consent
of the United States Senate. And you
are neither the President nor a Senator of the United States.'
Blendi
Fevziu:
Mr. Ambassador, Albania's PM said he'll work in the next four years, the
next mandate, to lift visas with the United States. Meanwhile, there was
a reaction by the consular office of the Embassy of the United States.
First, is it so hard to lift visas with the U.S.? Or, at least, can
Albania do its job to move forward the duty of lifting visas? The decision certainly is up to Washington authorities, but it is
something we have to do. Why should the good will of a government, or
majority, to work toward lifting visas be refused?
Ambassador Arvizu: First of all, I think all of us in the U.S. Government were a bit
surprised to hear this come out. Again, it is an election campaign; so we
shouldn't be too surprised by anything, but our response was very straightforward
and technical. The issue relates to something called the Visa Waiver
Program. It is a specific program that is legislated by the Congress of
the United States. 37 countries currently benefit from it. I think
30 are in Europe, seven are in Asia, give or take one or two. There are
very technical requirements for a country to qualify or to even be considered
for the Visa Waiver Program and one of these is there must be a refusal rate
for B visas B is for tourist category, simple business, it's the most common
category...
Blendi Fevziu:
Tourist visas, B1, B2...
Ambassador Arvizu: Right where the visa refusal rate needs to be at 3% or
below. We indicated that in calendar year, excuse me, in fiscal year
2012, Albania's refusal rate was 40.5%. So you have 40.5 and three
percent. Now, there may be a question was that a bad year? I looked
at the statistics for the past five or seven years and some years it was
a little bit higher, some years it was a little bit lower, but that is very
consistent. So, that's our visa waiver program. But I think there's
a little bit of confusion because of what is in the U.S. system and then in
Europe and the Schengen the visa-free travel status that Albania acquired in,
I think it was December 2010. Again, I'm not an expert at all in the Schengen
area, visa-free travel, but from what I understand, they are two completely
different processes. In the European case, again, not completely related
to the stability and the accession process for acquiring EU membership, it
relates to that and that's good because the U.S. fully supports Albania taking
the steps necessary to eventually join the EU some day. But, the American Visa Waiver Program is a completely, completely
different process.
Blendi Fevziu:
Even this program, although it is determined by the U.S. Congress and it
is an American decision making, it depends on the performance of the governance
in Albania. If the GOA carries out some necessary things, I don't know
whether four, eight, or twelve years, it can go toward that program. Why shouldn't a government
promise that it will govern better in order to make even this possible?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Blendi, there is no Stefan Füle in the U.S. who is going to come out with
status reports on this...
Blendi
Fevziu:
Great luck that there is no Stefan Füle in the U.S., if you were to ask
my personal opinion...
Ambassador
Arvizu:
That's your opinion and that's the name of the show. No, in the
U.S. you're not trying to join or become the 51st state or
anything like that. There's a very strict
technical requirement based on U.S. law, which says three percent. Right
now it's at 40.5 percent. There's a long way to go. And, in my experience, it has
been done. When I joined the Foreign Service, a long, long time ago, in
the 1980s, I was in South Korea. I can't remember what the visa refusal
rate was; it was very, very high. And there was no Visa Waiver Program
back then, but if there were a Visa Waiver Program, I know South Korea would
not have qualified. And if you had said to me: "˜Would South Korea
qualify?' I would say: "˜Come on!' Now, it took 20 years, but
South Korea did qualify, but South Korea has been a tremendous democracy story,
a tremendous story in terms of economic development, growth in the middle
class, exports, rule of law at home, to attract foreign investment. South
Korea is a tremendous model. So, yes, it can be done, but it was not a
gift, an enticement. The South Koreans did it themselves, based on hard
work, determination, good government, good opposition, people working together
for national purpose. That's what did it. So, if that can happen
here, sure, anything's possible.
Blendi
Fevziu:
That's the theoretical part. I know South Korea has had incredible
development, but I assure you if you were here instead of Ambassador Ryerson in
1992 and had returned in 2003, you would see that Albania's progress has been
very great, as you have said in one of your public appearances. So, when
we had such a pace in these past 20 years, maybe we can have the same pace of
progress in the next 20 years. I hope.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
It's good to hope. It's good to aspire to something.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Hope dies last, is one expression we use often. Two questions on the lists and then we'll have a commercial break and
after that, some questions on your rapport with the RBA, with Podesta Group,
and some of your political stances. First, in these elections, Mr.
Ambassador, according to the press at least, the political forces have
included, some of them at least, persons involved with the crime world and
problems with the law. Are you aware and do you have a comment?
Ambassador Arvizu: I've heard some less than favorable comments about some people in
both parties. I think that each candidate needs to be evaluated
individually, by the voters in that district. The voters need to decide
whether that's the best person to represent them in the parliament.
Blendi Fevziu:
Meanwhile, there's a lot of involvement of business people, some of them
of dubious business origin. In fact, anytime I ask politicians about the
inclusion of business people, they tell me it's a success model in the
USA. Is this
the best example to take from the U.S.?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
It's a fact of life in a democracy, whether it's the U.S., whether it's
Japan, where I've served, whether it's here in Albania, that politics costs
money. One problem, if you will, in the U.S. is that it is awfully
expensive to run for office. With the senators and the congressmen that
we have, I don't have the statistics, but there are many millionaires,
multi-millionaires. I'm not a poor person. I have a nice government
salary and am comfortably in the middle class. There's no way I could
even begin to dream running for Congress. There's nothing wrong with that
that I want to run for Congress but there's something wrong with the fact
that you really need a lot of money, a war chest, or at least to be able to
raise a lot of money, and I think it's true to some extent here in
Albania. Politics are expensive; it costs money to run
the campaign. And the questionable businessmen, yes, I've heard. I
don't know for a fact about any of them, but I also see in both parties some
committed civil society activists, academicians, doctors, cultural
figures. As far as the idea of balance goes, I think it's not too bad
here in Albania.
Blendi Fevziu:
Last question before the commercial break. Your colleague, EU
Ambassador Sequi, was unhappy with the inclusion of women in party lists.
Do you belong also to that club of unhappy feminists who are unhappy with the
level of women's inclusion in the lists?
Ambassador Arvizu: For the parliament?
Blendi Fevziu:
Yes, for the next parliament.
Ambassador Arvizu: I've said this before. Nothing against the Albanian males,
but there are so many impressive Albanian females. We have them in our
embassy. I have some of my friends. So, in that sense, yes, I think women are
underrepresented in the parliament. It would be better if there were
higher representation, so I agree completely with Ambassador Sequi, but I look
at the two parties. With the DP, I think they just re-nominated just four
sitting MPs, Speaker Topalli of course, Albana Vokshi, Mesila Doda, I'm going
to think of the fourth one...
Blendi
Fevziu:
Majlinda Bregu
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Yes, of course, Minister Bregu.
Blendi
Fevziu:
You forgot the most important, the most TV savvy.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Ambassador Sequi, it would be unforgivable for him to forget. But
the DP also nominated several women who are in safe seats and who will probably
be elected. When you look at the SP, there are more sitting MPs who are
re-nominated. I probably shouldn't but I'll try: Eglantina
Gjermeni, Arta Dade, Olta Xhaçka...
Blendi
Fevziu:
Valentina Leskaj
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Yes, Valentina Leskaj...There's about eight or nine of them...
Blendi
Fevziu:
Vasilika Hysi...
Ambassador
Arvizu:
They've nominated a couple more who are going to be elected. So, in
the end, it will probably be about 12 or 13. Again, that's
underrepresented, given the contribution that women make, but we just have to
keep hoping for the best.
Blendi
Fevziu:
How are your relations with the Podesta Group, Mr. Ambassador? And
before you respond, we'll go into commercials and we'll be back with this live
broadcast.
Commercial
Break.
Blendi
Fevziu:
We're back to the live broadcast in this interview with the U.S.
Ambassador to Tirana, Mr. Alexander Arvizu, focusing on the electoral
situation. During the first part, we spoke about what
are the election problems. In the second part, we'll talk about some
issues on the way to the electoral campaign. Before I ask you about your
positions on the RBA and some statements, I have a question I asked before the
break How are your relations with the lobbying company Podesta Group,
lobbying for the GOA? There are many voices and we know Albania is a
small place that say your rapport is problematic.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
First of all, I know Mr. Podesta reasonably well. I consider him to
be a friend.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Which of the two Podestas?
Ambassador
Arvizu: I
actually worked for the brother John, who was the Chief of Staff to President
Clinton, when I was in the White House in the "˜90s. But, Tony Podesta, I've come to know in this job. We stay in
contact. He's, I think, planning to come out in the next couple of
weeks. I hope to see him. I don't have contact with anybody else in
the Podesta Group. I know they're active here. I know someone is
watching this interview very carefully, that I'm being graded, that you're
probably being graded, and there's a report being prepared it's going to be
circulated tomorrow that evaluates my answers and probably your questions
too.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Maybe you would have a problem with grades, Mr. Ambassador, as I put an
end to grades (in school) in 1991 and with a very good grade. I don't
care much about the other groups. Is there a problem between Podesta
Group and the American Embassy in Tirana, or between Podesta Group and you
personally?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
No. I wouldn't say that. I'm evaluated, because they work for
the Albanian Government, but in terms of the personal relations, no, there's no
issue. I represent the U.S. Government; they represent the Government of
Albania.
Blendi Fevziu:
But from Washington.
Ambassador Arvizu: From Washington's perspective?
Blendi Fevziu:
No, from Washington. I didn't say that.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Oh, out of Washington. Well, they're all back there; I'm way out
here. No, the U.S. Government speaks with one voice. Jonathan Moore
knows that. He knows who the American Ambassador is.
Blendi
Fevziu:
That's noted too, anyway. Mr. Ambassador, there has been some
commentary also by the press, and even criticism of the support you gave to the
RBA before the electoral campaign. It refers
to your presence in their convention and your visit to their offices. My
question is, do you think those two actions were wrong, as they encouraged a
course of nationalist politics in Albania?
Ambassador Arvizu: Thanks for that question, Blendi. No, I don't think there
was an error on our part. Just by way of very brief explanation, if you
go back in time, six, seven, eight months or so, it was very clear that there
were two players that emerged on the political scene. One was the RBA and the other was
the NDS, headed by President Topi. Obviously, they are both smaller
parties, but in terms of evaluating who or what group has the potential to
influence the outcome of the election, there are only two. So, we were
only doing our job to engage these two. Of course, we had an advantage,
we knew President Topi from the time he was President; we knew Mr. Spahiu from
the time he was Deputy Chair of the High Council of Justice. So we
engaged them and said we look forward to working with you. Now, in the
case of the RBA, some of their rhetoric, the nationalistic rhetoric, was and is
a bit problematic. I made that very clear in our early meeting and I
said: you really need to tone this down. I will be honest with you, some
of the things that we heard were not welcome and we made that clear, but in
terms of the idea to engage them, absolutely. I would not have been doing
my job if I didn't do that. And, as for showing
excessive favoritism, that is just a false charge. When you look at the way we
treated them, the way we treated the FRD, it was no different. I see Mr.
Dule from time to time; his party has been around for a while; Mr.
Idrizi. No, the charge that we were coddling the RBA is without
foundation.
Blendi
Fevziu:
May I bring an example to illustrate my question?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Sure.
Blendi
Fevziu:
The RBA has said that during the closed door off-the-record meeting in
their offices, you said that the Albania-Greece maritime agreement is against
American interests. After that statement, I didn't see any refutation or
affirmation by you, Mr. Ambassador.
Ambassador
Arvizu: I
saw some of the press reporting about that. During that meeting, there
was a brief discussion about the Greek-Albania maritime agreement. The
characterizations of our discussion about that subject that I read in the press
were not accurate; they were not correct at all. I spoke with my Greek
colleague, the Greek Ambassador to Albania, about that, just so there was no
misunderstanding, and he was completely satisfied with that response. So
no, I think that was unfortunate, but no, it was not correct.
Blendi Fevziu:
Meanwhile, you spoke against a proposal for a referendum for the
unification of Albania with Kosovo. Why should Albanians on this or that
side of the border be deprived or denied that democratic instrument?
Ambassador Arvizu: You're really asking two questions. One is about
Serbia-Kosovo and the way negotiations ought to proceed or the implications of
that, and the use of referendums as a democratic instrument. On the
Serb-Kosovo dialogue, the U.S. has expended a tremendous amount of human
energy, human capital, in trying to support the EU-sponsored dialogue that has
led to this breakthrough agreement. I think it's clearly established that
of all the countries in the world, there are two that are the steadfast
partners, friends, brothers in arms, of Kosovo it's Albania and the United
States. And we feel that all efforts ought to be channeled in the
direction of supporting Kosovo, expanding the network of recognition, expanding
the international space, making sure that the gains are irreversible, to
respect Kosovo's integrity and sovereignty. That ought to be the focus.
And that is the focus. It is the focus of the Albanian Government.
And these popular referendums it's easy to get people stirred up and signing
a petition, but does that do anything to advance the cause of the country of
Kosovo or the interests of the Kosovar people? I don't think so.
That's why we think the referendum is a bad idea.
Blendi
Fevziu:
So, that's like saying that democratic instruments such as referendums
are used somewhere and not somewhere else? They're
valuable on something and not on some other things?
Ambassador Arvizu: It's a little bit of a subjective questions and of course, when I
think about the other referendums, I think of the three laws, I think about the
waste import. On the
three laws and Ambassador Sequi and Minister Bregu should address that.... But
it seems to me, based on my conversations with some of my European colleagues,
I think we all agree that the laws, especially if there is no fundamental
disagreement between the parties, that they should pass. Nonetheless, it is part of a complex overall picture and it needs to be
the product of consensus. You know how in the EU they talk about
consensus, consensus, and having a referendum isn't really a confidence
building measure when you're searching for a consensus.
Blendi Fevziu: I
hope the three laws would be approved before the elections as they're turning
into an issue that is often a bit ridiculous. Last two questions.
In the last part, I'll have what is called the day's political agenda, as I do
for all shows. What will
be your agenda for Election Day? Will you be here in Tirana or move
around Albania?
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Between now and June the 23rd, I'm going to move around the
country a lot. We're going to go to Kukës, Vlora, we're going to be all
over.
Blendi Fevziu: I
hope not for campaigning.
Ambassador Arvizu: Of course not. On Election Day, I'll go out and take a look
at a few voting stations, but I plan to spend a lot of time looking at TV,
looking at my Blackberry. I'll watch Klan; I'll watch some of the others,
but I'll be sure to watch Klan. I'm going to send my trusted Deputy Chief
of Mission, Mr. Jardine right now, the plan for him is to go down to Fier;
he'll be based down there. We'll send some other Embassy officers in
different parts of the country Embassy officers but also Albanian staff
working at the embassy. Some of them will be supporting the ODIHR observers, but some of them
will be just taking care of embassy business.
Blendi Fevziu:
Will you continue to appear part of the three ambassadors, even in
counting centers? It seemed like the appearance of the three Musketeers
in the vote counting centers.
Ambassador Arvizu: I hope we won't have a repeat of May 2011. There are supposed to be new
counting mechanisms in place that should speed up the transmission of the results.
We've been working with the CEC again, I wish we had seven commissioners
but we are working with the CEC. I hope that next week or the week after
that we'll have a public announcement about a software system. We're
spending about a million U.S. dollars on this election and a good chunk of that
is going to upgrading the software at the CEC, so that there can be a more
timely transmission of results.
Blendi Fevziu: A
last question. This morning, when I announced on Facebook tonight's
"Opinion" show, someone had sent a question, among many other comments can
you please ask the Ambassador, because I'm trying hard but I can't find out,
whether he's leftwing or rightwing?
Ambassador Arvizu: For me?
Blendi Fevziu:
For you. Albanians want to divide people into left and right, as it
seems tiring for them if they can't.
Ambassador Arvizu: I don't mean to sound cruel, but I actually take great pleasure
in that, because it shows that I'm doing my job. There have been times
when you know the history, Blendi there were times shortly after I arrived,
after January 21, when my relations with some in the left of center weren't
very good. I worked very hard to fix that. There have been times,
more recently, when relations with the right of center maybe weren't as strong
as they used to be. I have worked and continue to work to fix that,
because for me to be effective, I have to be seen as neutral, not taking
sides. It's
hard. I feel like I've been in Albania long enough that I understand
people want you to take a side. But I say, I'm sorry, that's the way it
is.
Blendi
Fevziu: Do
you believe that you've achieved that? Because, your work is somewhat
similar to the work of journalists who sometimes have tense relations with one
side, other times with the other, hoping to do their job.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
The journalists, they earn their living. Many of them are good
friends. They earn their living by speculating among themselves, by
feeding speculation.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Not always.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Not always. No, I don't mean to sound like I'm the most perfect
that ever walked the face of this earth. Obviously, every day I think,
how can I do my job better, more effectively. But I can
assure you, I can assure all your viewers, I just try to do, every day, and
make sure the embassy, every day, represents the United States in the best
light possible. We feel
very privileged to be in this wonderful country. This country deserves a
good future. It has made a lot of progress, but the rest of the world
isn't standing still. Albania cannot stand on its
laurels. We talked about South Korea; it used to be a dirt poor country;
it made tremendous strides. Albania's been doing it only since
1991. It has made a lot of progress; no one's denying that, but you can't
stand still for a moment. You always have to keep moving, because the
competition is not standing still either.
Blendi
Fevziu:
Ambassador, thank you very much for being with us tonight.
Ambassador
Arvizu:
Thank you very much for the invitation.
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