TIRANA, July 3 – In his speech at the ceremony organized in his honor in Tirana, former American President Bill Clinton said on Monday that he hoped that Albania will be able to show the world what a comprehensive future looks like.
“I don’t want you to ever underestimate the power of your example,” said Clinton who also pointed out that Albania can be on the right side of history and on the right side of humanity.
“I hope that Albania, in big and small ways, will be able to first show the world what an inclusive future looks like,” Clinton said, adding: “I never want you to underestimate the power of example. Just like when I was a student, I wondered what was this wall that didn’t let me learn about Albania. I had to ask 10 people how to pronounce the name of the man who ran the country, it was a big mystery. Now every person who experiences your country feels a little bigger, a little more intelligent, more ready to stay.”
In addition he said, “We know that you still have economic problems, I know that you fight with each other and argue for a long time. We are absolutely aware that there are challenges that we must join with you to help you overcome. In other words, you are human. You can’t be perfect. But you can be on the right side of history, and on the right side of humanity… This is the day that reaffirms the concept that people who come together overcoming their differences make better decisions.”
Touching upon the situation in northern Kosovo Clinton said that “this nonsense must be stopped”, adding that no major political issue can be advanced while there is tension.
According to Clinton, the Albanians in the majority there should try to take advantage of the moment and present their arguments.
“We will discuss things. There is a dispute going on right now in Kosovo that I wish it had never happened. It is no longer my decision, but the Kosovars created those four towns in favor of the Serbs to give them four more mayors. I think they made a mistake in voting. I think it is easy for the Albanians, now in the majority, to try to take advantage of the moment to present their argument. But the real thing we need to do is stop this nonsense. What major political issue can be advanced by having tension? There are people living there. They need to have a decent government. Citizens need to be told that they must always vote. If you think about these 4 cities, they are far from any scientific laboratory where it is framed as the disruptive behavior that is driving the world today mainly because many countries are run by people who are driven by dominance instead of cooperation, instead of sharing a future,” said Clinton. /argumentum.al
