Foreign relations of Albania: Encyclopedia II - Foreign relations of Albania - Relations with Neighboring Countries

Foreign relations of Albania - Relations with Neighboring Countries

The Government of Albania is very concerned with developments in the ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo in neighboring Serbia, particularly in the post-Dayton agreement period. While maintaining a responsible and nonprovocative position, the Albanian Government has made it clear that the status and treatment of the Albanian population in Kosovo is a principal national concern.

After the fall of the Albanian communist regime in 1991, relations between Greece and Albania became increasingly strained because of widespread allegations of mistreatment by Albanian authorities of the Greek ethnic minority in southern Albania and of the Albanian minorities in northern Greece. A wave of Albanian illegal economic migrants to Greece exacerbated tensions. In April 1994, there was an attack on an Albanian military post near the Greek border by Greek commandos. The crisis in Greek-Albanian relations reached its peak in late August of 1994, when an Albanian court sentenced five members (a sixth member was added later) of the ethnic Greek organization "Omonia" to prison terms on charges of undermining the Albanian state. Greece responded by freezing all EU aid to Albania and deporting 70,000 Albanians working in Greece, most as illegal immigrants, and sealing its border with Albania. In December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania, while Albania released two of the Omonia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four.

Today, relations between the two countries are relatively good, and, at the Albanian Government's request, about 250 Greek military personnel are stationed in Albania to assist with the training and restructuring the Albanian armed forces. There are still many Albanian workers in Greece that have not received legal papers despite promises by the Greek government. The Greek border police recently fired upon Albanian illegal immigrants as they passed the border, killing one and wounding another. This is the gravest of many incidents between the Greek border police and Albanian citizens that is raising tensions. In 1996, the two countries signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship and discussed the issues of the status of Albanian refugees in Greece and education in the mother tongue for the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania.

Tirana's relations with the Republic of Macedonia remain friendly, despite occasional incidents involving ethnic Albanians there. Tirana has repeatedly encouraged the Albanian minority's continued participation in its Government.

During the 1990s, after the fall of communism, at the onset of democratic reforms, there were vast waves of illegal immigration from the Albanian ports to Italy. This strained relations between the countries somewhat as Italy had to avert a humanitarian crisis. The tensions reached a peak when an Italian coast guard ship allegedly rammed and sank an Albanian ship carrying 120-130, 75 of whom drowned, on March 28, 1997. Eventually the two countries began joint operations aimed at stopping illegal smuggling operations. Italy has also provided financial assistance to Albania to help its ailing economy.

Foreign relations of Albania - International Disputes

The Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs, and representation in government

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Relations with Neighboring Countries", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki