Daniel Serwer, professor of foreign policy at the American Johns Hopkins Institute, in an interview with Top Channel journalist Muhamed Veliu, spoke out against the violence seen during six days of protests in Tirana.
“Violence is unacceptable in democratic societies such as Albania. Protests are acceptable because people are upset about many things, from student issues to construction issues. Violence is discrediting this protest. I was in Albania in 1997 after the collapse of the pyramid schemes, and I saw what destabilization violent protests can bring. Yesterday, across America, we had peaceful protests. Any kind of change must come through the vote, through peaceful, non-violent means”.
Serwer, who has also served as a diplomat of the U.S. Department of State at the American Embassy in Rome, was asked whether Sali Berisha’s call for civil disobedience could further escalate the situation, and gave this answer.
“It could escalate the situation, but I want to stress that civil disobedience means non-violence. Civil disobedience means passive resistance in the face of security forces when they tell you to move from where you are standing to another place, and they come and arrest you, and you do not start fighting them. That is how I see civil disobedience. I do not know how Sali Berisha has understood civil disobedience in Albania. It is a very bad idea for Albania to reach the conclusion that through violence they can remove Prime Minister Edi Rama. Violence does not bring votes. I have known Sali Berisha for many years. Sali and I are too old to stay on top of a mountain. It is time for new leadership. This is a general problem in the Balkans. Leaders tend to stay in power for a long time, and Sali is not alone in this”.
Muhamed Veliu: Do you think that behind this violence during the protests there are “foreign hands”, as Prime Minister Edi Rama has claimed?
“I am not there, and to be honest, it is difficult for me to give an answer to this. Clearly, the U.S. and Europe do not want to see violence in Albania, a country on the path to EU membership, and this will make that process even more difficult”.
On the arrival of the new U.S. ambassador in Tirana, Erick Wendt, Professor Serwer said:
“What I want Americans to do in Albania, a NATO ally, is to continue on the European path, but the problem is that Americans do not support the EU, which we see in the positions of the U.S. Department of State regarding the Western Balkans”.
Daniel Serwer says this is regrettable, since America’s consistent goal has been the integration of the Balkans into the EU. /TCH/