Sunday, May 02, 2010

Congress urges State Department to defend Albanian's petition for full Municipality in Malesia



April 16, 2010

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Madam Secretary:

We are writing to request your consideration of a petition delivered by representatives of the Albanian-American Association and Citizens Initiative-Malёsia to the Department of State on April 16, 2010 regarding the treatment of ethnic Albanians in Montenegro. A copy of this petition is enclosed.

We hope the United States will make clear to Podgorica that we expect them to abide by international standards on human rights, especially the treatment of ethnic minorities within Montenegro. Since its independence in 2006, Montenegro has made progress concerning respect for human rights, however much work remains to be done to ensure the equitable treatment of ethnic Albanians in Montenegro. Specifically, ethnic Albanians are seriously underrepresented in public employment and in their share of public resources. One avenue for redressing this problem is the granting of a full municipality status of the Tuzi district of Podgorica, which would allow the Albanian community in Tuzi the greater opportunity to manage their own affairs. The United States should request that Podgorica strongly consider this as an appropriate way to improve the situation of the Albanian community in Montenegro.

We urge the Department of State and Ambassador Moore to take the views of the Albanian-American community into consideration in the conduct of our diplomatic relations with Montenegro. We also request that the Department of State press the government in Podgorica to take concrete steps toward the equitable treatment of ethnic Albanians in Montenegro.

The United States is home to nearly all of the Albanian Diaspora, and as such has a special responsibility to be an advocate for the rights of Albanians who are subject to discrimination in their native lands. We look forward to working with you to ensure that we meet that responsibility.

Sincerely,

Sander Levin
Member of Congress

Carl Levin
U.S. Senate

Gary Peters
Member of Congress

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a very powerful letter. I am very surprised that members of Congress would come out and claim Montenegro is discriminating against Albanians. I believe tis is the first time high ranking officials from the US have made this claim (other than Lantos).

Good job Albanian lobby!

Anonymous said...

I think you guys should keep the pressure on. Don't let up.

Anonymous said...

It seems as though the Albanians in "Malesia" are the only ones with problems. Reviewing this blog, which is pretty clever, this small region is making quite a bit of noise, including its people here in America.

What about the other Albanian dominated regions, like Ulcinj, are there problems there? And if so, then why do they not stage their issues like this region?

Michael