8404 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS April 21, 1994 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS THE ALBANIAN PERSPECTIVE ON battle a t Trenton. That battle turned the wants you to believe. They did not chase PEACE IN THE BALKANS revolution around so that those 13 small Greeks out of southern Albania like Mr. American colonies could defeat the greatest Papandreou, the President of Greece wants power in the world at that time, Great Brit­ you to believe. They were there all the time. HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN ain. And let us not forget that Thomas Paine The Slavs came to the Balkans in the 5th OF t\EW YORK wrote an important book called .. The Rights century. As a matter of fact, the Albanians IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of Man··. He may be the quintessential are the descendants the Illyrians. They have human rights activist of all times. Listen to been in the Balkans for 6,000 years. They Thursday, April 21, 1994 his words because I came here in his spirit as have not moved. Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, a former Mem­ well. He said: '·the world is my country, to The Albanians were gerrymandered and po­ ber of this body, the Hon. Joe DioGuardi, has do good is my religion"'. Think about that. litically emasculated after Nov. 28 , 1912 in order to create the now failed south slave long been a tireless advocate of the rights of What Paine meant was that when it comes to people and their human rights and free­ states called Yugoslavia. What they did was ethnic Albanians, both in Albania proper and dom, borders and countries are meaningless, arbitrarily draw a new border around one in the other States of the Balkans region. As because the people transcend governments half of the Albanian people to put them in a president of the Albanian-American Civic and borders. The people are more important Slavic state. The Albanians are not Slavs. League, Mr. DioGuardi was invited to address than governments. political parties and bor­ They are Inda-Europeans. The Albanians do an international conference on the Balkan ders. And mind you, he said that more than not use the Cyrillic alphabet. They use the States and the problems of that region, held in 200 years ago. Latin alphabet. The Albanians have nothing Istanbul, Turkey from April 7 to 10. I was Why did communism collapse as a system? in common with the culture of Slavs. Fi­ Because it put the party and government nally, the Albanians want democracy. The pleased that Mr. DioGuardi presented me with above the people. Why is the U.S. so strong Slavs in Serbia want communism, at least a copy of his speech to that conference. I today as a democracy? Because people come the ones who follow Slobodan Milosevic. So, have found it an informative presentation of first. The people in '·We The People", the the Albanians are looking towards Europe the Albanian point of view regarding the con­ first three words of our Constitution, are and America. Mr. Milosevic he is looking the flicts in the Balkans and the rights of ethnic Al­ above the government and the parties. and other way. In fact he is looking to hell as far banians, and I would like to commend it to the we must understand this even more today in as the Albanian people are concerned. Any attention of my colleagues. order to see the Balkans flourish again. It's time you can do to people, to any people, people like Slobodan Milosevic, the Presi­ what is being done in Bosnia and in Kosova PEACE IN THE BALKANS-THE ALBANIAN dent of Serbia who are going the other way. today- it is nothing less than inhuman and PERSPECTIVE He is a Stalinist communist. He has never satanic. Let me first thank the Solidarity Founda­ changed. He is promoting the evil values of Look at the logo of the Albanian American tion for inviting me to address this Balkan "ethnic cleansing" to create a geo political Civic League. It is the symbol of the Conference as President of the Albanian nightmare called "greater Serbia." Slobodan Alabanian people. It is the old Byzantine American Civic League. For those who do Milosevic like Adolf Hitler will fail because symbol-the eagle with two heads, which is not know what Albanian American Civic he is going against human nature, democ­ the national flag of Albania today. This logo League is, it is an independent non-govern­ racy and everything that is right. represents 15 million Albanians around the mental organization that represents not only And, when it also comes to religion think world- 7 million of whom are in the Balkans t.he domestic concerns of the Albanian Amer­ about what Thomas Pane said '·to do good is and another 8 million in different countries. ican people but even those international geo­ my religion" . I am Roman Catholic but most Melbourne, Australia, for instance, has political and cultural interests of ethnic Al­ Albanians are Muslims, many are Eastern about 20 thousand, mostly from Macedonia. banian Americans like myself. Orthodox and some are Roman Catholic. Al­ The United States has 400,000 Albanians, in­ I was born in America, I'm proud to be banians tolerate all religions. Approximately cluding 200,000 in the New York area. And American and I'm proud my father was Alba­ 60% of the Albanians in the world today are what about Turkey? I'm told that at least 5 nian. He was born in Italy, in a small Alba­ Muslims (90% in Kosova), 25% are Eastern million Albanians are here in the Istanbul nian village, where after 500 years the Alba­ Orthodox and 15% are Roman Catholic. Look area. nian language and culture still survive. He at Albania- the great democratic President I met with the Albanian community here was a poor young farmer who came to Amer­ of Albania Dr. Sali Berisha is a Muslim. the last night. Albanians are good citizens of ica for a job and managed to get that great chairman of the parliament, Pjeter Arbnori Turkey, but are still proud to be Albanian. opportunity that America offers everybody (who spent 28 years in jail under the worst They are lobbying Ankara very hard to pro­ who works hard. That is the secret of Amer­ communism in Albania) is a Roman Catho­ tect the Albanians in the Balkans, the way I ica. You have to dream, but you have to lic, and the Prime Minister, Aleksander and other Albanian Americans are lobbying work. If you do both those things you can Meksi, is Eastern Orthodox. So religion is very hard in Washington today, as a strong succeed anywhere there is free enterprise not an issue with the Albanian people. They voice for the Albanian people. We don't rep­ and democracy. My father and I know this tolerate and respect all religions. They be­ resent the Albanian government in either Al­ from personal experience. lieve in the individual and they believe in de­ bania or Kosova. We don't represent any Al­ I thank the Solidarity Foundation for this mocracy. Albanians know that no religion banian political party. The Civic League rep­ Forum and the opportunity to tell the truth has a monopoly on doing good. resents the interests of the Albanian Amer­ about what is happening in the Balkans. It's Today if you look at the Albanian nation ican people who want to tell the truth about important to give good information to the of seven million people in the Balkans, only what is really happening in the Balkans, es­ people and to the world. Thomas Jefferson, 3.5 million are in Albania and there is an­ pecially against the Albanians in Kosova, one of the great founding fathers of the Unit­ other 3.5 million on the borders of Albania- Macedonia and Montenegro. Now, this is our ed States of America, said that '" information 2 million in Kosova, 1 million in Macedonia, message and please listen carefully. There is the currency of democracy" (like money is 100,000 in Montenegro and another 100,000 in will be no peace in the Balkans until the Al­ the currency of a bank). Information pro­ Presheva, Bujanovc and Medvegje. They are banian National issue is resolved. No matter motes democracy! all together, not separated by hundreds of what you hear about Bosnia, and we must I came here also in the spirit of another miles like Krajina to Belgrade. Do you know help the Bosnian people in every way, we great American. His name was Thomas why Albanians are located together? Because must support democracy everywhere, espe­ Paine. He was not as celebrated as Thomas on Nov. 28 , 1912 when Albania declared its cially in Kosova. J efferson, but many believe it was his words independence from the Ottoman Turkish So, let me repeat there will be no peace in in the Crisis Papers and in the Common Empire, The country of Albania included all the Balkans until the national aspirations of Sense Pamphlet during the American revolu­ the Albanian people. They did not move to 7 million Albanians in the Balkans is re­ tion that gave winning spirit to the Amer­ Kosova like Mr. Milosevic wants you to be­ solved! What do we mean by that? Do we ican soldiers at Valley Forge when they were lieve. They did not move to Macedonia like mean that there is a quest for a greater Al­ about to collapse just before the important Mr. Gligoroy, the President of Macedonia bania.