America and Albanians

Albanians are a vital population which has survived through the centuries from the continuous assimilation risk of barbarian flux of many sorts of invaders which have always coveted this Mediterranean strategic land, Albania. The successive wars, since the period of ancient Rome and later the long Turkish 500 year invasion, didn’t allow the Albanian population to build a powerful state of its own with high democratic standards. However, it remained a peaceful and freedom-loving population, that has issued from its ranks prominent personalities, whom not only have helped many times the coveted neighbors, but also they have leaded their nations toward democratization and have helped those states which even today they covet the backward Albania.
Maybe, based on these facts, as well as on the good will to create a real democracy all over the world, United States of America have helped Albania since the beginning of the last century, when Albanians were fighting to become independent in order to escape from the robbery politics multi-centuries of the Serbian, Greeks and Italian neighbors. It was the word of President Woodrow Wilson that saved Albania from the Secret Treaty of London of the year 1913, where the Big Powers aimed to smash Albania to feed the insatiable covetousness of neighbors, by breaking chunks of this land through shadows of history.
The President Theodore Roosevelt has been a candidate for King in Albania and Albanians welcomed that. There were other obstacles connected with the nature itself and the features of the Albanian state as well, that didn’t make the crown possible to be given to Theodore Roosevelt as the King of Albania.
Herman Bernstein (1876-1935), ambassador of United States of America since February 1930 till September 1933, a period of time in the leadership of Zog, was appointed to maintain the independence of our country endangered very often by Greek and Serbian neighbors.
During the Second World War, Albania was again endangered to be undone, but USA, through President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted for Albanian integrity and tried that to make our country a western place, even though the Yalta Conference decided in a different way and we remained neither in East nor in West. The landing of the Anglo-American allied troops in Saranda and Himara at the end of the year 1944 intended the alignment of Albania besides western democracies, but the Soviet intervention besides communists that leaded the war after their interests, obligated our western friends to withdraw, although they continued to help us through humanitarian missions. The President Harry S. Truman insisted to include Albania in the Marshall plan of helps, but the communist state closed the borders for Americans and Westerns.
America never stopped its efforts to help Albania also during the communist regime hoping that this country will be democratized one day.
“If the Soviet Union will straddle Albania, the international consequences will be very hard”, – was expressed categorically the President John F. Kennedy. “Soviet, do no touch Albania!” – He did address to Russians. This unknown declaration is made in 29 November 1962 by the American President John F. Kennedy, (1917-1963).
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and later, with the fallen of the red dictatorships in East and Albania, America raised its care about the Albanian population with the aim to build a democratic state with high standard of human rights under the international cards. The Albanian-American community, one of the most civilized communities, became present in Albanian factor. In addition to political support, the American financial helps, were raised. So, America, in the beginning of the years ’90, not only raised the voice for the disrespect of human rights, but also gave many financial helps for the new state administration and especially for the reformation of the army under the NATO’s standards, and for the strengthen of the judicial system, despite the high level of corruption by the officials to acquit the helps. During this time in Albania have come many American businessmen in the field of searching the oil in the sea, in the field of agriculture, in the field of investments and crediting and also in other strategic sectors of the Albanian economy, except the continuous American state technical assistance to strengthen and flowering the market economy in the country.
At the end of the year 1996, when the economy of Albania was endangered by the financial pyramids and by the dictatorial tendency of the party in power, the President George H. W. Bush (the Father Bush), came by ship till the marine waters in front of Vlora port to convince Berisha to follow a tolerant politic against the Opposition, in order not to degrade the state, but his voice was heard little or not at all. And, in 1997, the vicious year as 1913, the sovereignty of Albania was endangered by the interventions of the Greek-Serbian circles in collaboration with the Albanian sold statesmen. Almost a civil war began in Albania.
Again, the American politic and diplomacy were placed in motion. The President Bill Clinton intervened very vigorously besides the former President Sali Berisha and his officials and the turbulent situation was calmed by the new communist clannish appetite.
So, historically, USA has helped and continues to help Albanians and Albania with the will to be converted from a backward state in a western legal state, where the democratic principles and the human rights will not be violated anymore.
The greatest help that America has given and continuous to give is for the Albanian national cause. It was the determination of America and its military intervention within the framework of NATO in Kosova which saved the population of Kosova by the Serbian genocide and the old wild military car of the bloodthirsty dictator, Slobodan Milosevic. This action was warned some years before by the President Father Bush, where he was expressed the he wouldn’t let Kosova under Serbian invasion. The President Bill Clinton made it reality with his order for air intervention on Yugoslavia. The Kosova survived from the Serbian invasion. With the help of America, the population of Kosova came back in its land and started to build a legal state and to be independent.
The President George W. Bush came on 10 June 2007 in Albania and from the official Tirana he reported that Kosova will be announced very soon an independent state, which came true on 17 February 2008. “My vote is for the independent Kosova” – expressed the President George W. Bush to the whole world from Tirana, as once upon a time was expressed in 1919 the President Woodrow Wilson from Paris: “My vote is for Albania”…
So, George W. Bush (New Bush) was the first American President who visited post-communist Albania and helped too much in the progress of the Albanian national cause.
America aims also for the Albanians of Macedonia to win their rights as building state factor, equal to Macedonians. Following this politic, America desires Albanians to be integrated in Europe as real Europeans.
For this and many other reasons, Albania and Albanians are and will continue to be very grateful to the great America. We are and will continue to be a freedom-loving population, that’s why we will have besides us America at every time. Continuously, we will aim the standards of American democracy, as the best model for developing countries.
In conclusion, Albania, being a real democratic state with stability and tranquility, with peace and prosperity, as a western country, will absorb more financial helps from America, to be economically flowered, as Albanians dream. Exactly, that what aims the international organization Diplomatic Mission Peace And Prosperity, initiated by Richard Holbrooke, the golden American Ambassador.

Shefki Hysa
Journalist