Croatia’s ambassador to Albania, Zlatko Kramariç, spoke from Pogradec, stating that Albanian citizens should have the freedom to express their needs and concerns.
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Referring to the protests in the country, he said they constitute a political message to the government, which should listen to it and take it into consideration.
Kramariç is in Pogradec for a project organized by the Embassy of Croatia, in cooperation with the Student Council of Albania.
The initiative aims to convey the Croatian experience on steps taken before European Union membership, as well as to prepare the younger generation for this process.
The ambassador said that the protests reflect citizens’ sensitivity to issues such as ecology, governance, and how institutions function.
“Protest is a right of citizens. The issue is not whether they have the right or not, but that citizens must be free to express their needs and desires. This is a message to the government. Every government should take the message that reaches it politically,” he said.
Speaking about the reforms that Albania needs, Kramariç stressed that they should not be seen only as requirements from Brussels, but as processes that directly serve the citizens.
“Reforms should not be looked at like penalties, meaning they should not be seen as something Brussels demands and must be done, because above all it is the citizens who live in this country,” the ambassador said.
According to him, implementing reforms may require compromises and agreements, while laws must be inclusive and not enforced in a selective manner.
“The law should not be made selective only for some citizens. It is about something being allowed for some and not for others,” Kramariç declared, adding that changes related to EU integration should bring benefits to Albanian citizens.
The ambassador also praised the young Albanians, whom he described as educated and ready to take on responsibilities in the economy and politics. He said that the new generation can put an end to the Albanian transition.
“The aim is not to play the teacher’s role, but to share our experience in this process,” Kramariç said, underlining that in Albania there is very high support for European integration.
Asked about the trial of the KLA leaders in The Hague, Kramariç recalled that he served as Croatia’s first ambassador to Kosovo after its declaration of independence, when Hashim Thaçi was prime minister.
“I have known him. We can say that the court’s decision should be accepted even if it may be painful. So we must see both sides. On one side the Thaçi issue, and on the other side the Kosovo issue,” he said.
Kramariç assessed that a conviction of Hashim Thaçi would not be positive for Kosovo’s image as a state, but stressed that regardless of the decision, the responsibility does not belong to Kosovo as a state.
“I hope the process has not been political, but fair,” the ambassador concluded.
