Interview of Ambassador Alexander A. Arvizu at Ora News TV (December 30, 2011)

Ora News:  Mr. Ambassador, welcome to the Ora News Studio.  I believe we made you feel welcome.

Ambassador Arvizu: Always great to visit here. I think it’s the third or fourth time coming here and it’s a warm welcome like a family, so I always I appreciate your invitation to visit. 

Ora News:  Thank you. Le’s get to the issues we want to hear from you. A year of ups and downs for Albania is coming to an end.  In your opinion as a diplomat of the most important country in Albania, how would you consider 2011 in terms of achievements and failures?

Ambassador Arvizu:  Well, it was certainly a very eventful year, with some real lows, beginning especially with some real lows in January and some ups and downs throughout.  I think we should be modestly encouraged that toward the end of the year there was a little bit of a thaw.  Of course, being an optimist at heart, I would like to think it will continue, but I don’t think we should be.  I don’t think any of us should be under any illusions. There is still a lot of mistrust between the sides. I think a lot of people in Albania have some of doubts on the ability of the people to carry through. So we have to be realistic, but I think we also have to encourage people. I think each person should do whatever he can or whatever she can to try to move this process forward.

Ora News:  A few weeks toward the end of 2010 aside, 2011 was really your first in Albania.  How was Ambassador Arvizu’s 2011, from a personal as well as a professional perspective?

Ambassador Arvizu: As you mentioned, I arrived in December of 2010, so effectively this is one year.  I experienced the ups and downs together with the rest of the country.  It was an extremely eventful year for me. For me, personally my life changed in September when my wife and my daughter arrived.  That helped me look for a balance in my life.  I learned that I needed to take care of myself better; I am exercising a little bit more, taking care of myself.  With respect to the politics, overall, I think the one thing I find most disappointing is, that in spite  of the politics – the problems with the rule of law, the problems with corruption, the problems with impunity are really more critical, and they lie more at the heart of Albania’s problems.  I have to say that from where I sit, and you review the course of events over the years, I don’t really sense there was any progress in creating a better environment for rule of law, to fight corruption. There were some steps backwards, so this is personally a bit troubling for me. Obviously I am only one person and I’m not even an Albanian.  But I think this is just something that we need to try to figure out, maybe some new approaches because I’m not sure that the old methods really work. I don’t doubt that a lot of people want things to change but there are also some people who would be very happy if things don’t change; they’d be happy to keep it the way it’s always been. So we need to figure out a way to isolate them, to make them pay a price for ignoring the rule of law and for those who want to improve transparency and the fight against corruption, we have to figure out ways to empower them. That is, I think, the call for 2012. 

Ora News:  Without any doubt, you are viewed as a charismatic ambassador in the eyes of Albanians and that has led to you being always at the very center of attention.  How does it make you feel that Albanians always expect an opinion from you, including about politics? From you and your ambassadorial colleagues?

Ambassador Arvizu: As usual, I think you are being a bit too generous about how people feel, but I appreciate the sentiment.  I do know that people are interested in how we feel about some issues, and we try to say things in a way that’s constructive, that is helpful. My own personal style is perhaps to be a bit more direct.  I try not to embarrass people, as I don’t think that is very constructive at all. I don’t think that as the representative of the United States that that is my role at all. I try to be very candid, but most of my candor is done privately. I do think that sometimes various Albanian actors look to the foreign actors, and they want somebody to be on their side, and if they are not on their side they are sort of on the other side.  You know, it is up to them to decide what they want to do but, my style is …I just don’t think it is helpful to be an enabler.  And I try not to be an enabler of the government; I try not to be an enabler of the opposition.  I don’t think I’m doing anybody a favor if I’m trying to be supportive of them.

I’ll be honest.  Some people have said ‘you support the DP.’ I think that is a ridiculous statement; it’s a totally ridiculous statement.  It is my job to have a good and constructive relationship with the government and I think that’s what I have done. And I have worked very hard to do that; I’m proud of that.  I’m not at all embarrassed or shy about that.  We have had some disagreements, including the vote counting process for May 8.  I think I have a good relationship with the opposition too.  I have been criticized by some of the press that tends to have an opposition point of view. And, you know, that is fine, I don’t mind some criticism. But sometimes I just disagree with the basis for that criticism.

I guess since you asked, I can take advantage of this live interview to say I want the opposition in this country to be strong. I want the opposition in this country to be competitive so when there’s the next general elections scheduled for 2013 the opposition platform can be presented to the Albanian people, and if it is a convincing one, and we can work with the other international partners to strengthen the electoral code, so that the votes are calculated accurately.  And if it is the will of the Albanian people and the opposition wins, I think that would be great for the country. But they have to earn that, and they have to be smart about how they go about doing that. So, my point is ‘don’t look to me to be an enabler.’  You know, you can look somewhere else to do that. I’m not going to do that. Maybe, if that’s what you want, you have to wait for the next ambassador. That’s not going to happen with me, but we’ll work with you to try to make sure that you’re strong, that your platform is heard, and I will try very hard to strengthen the electoral code and other means to make sure that there is transparency in the voting process and the campaign process.

Ora News:  Since you mentioned the Electoral Code. Work is under way to improve the provisions that created confusion and doubt during their implementation in the last elections. Is this cooperation a promising thing?

Ambassador Arvizu: I think it is very encouraging that the sides are working on it. The problem is, as I alluded earlier, there is some mistrust between the sides. I also am a little bit concerned that on both sides there is a tendency to focus on somewhat narrow, short-term gains, the next election.  You think about what happened in 2009, when both sides came up with a deal, last minute; nobody knew about it, the small parties didn’t know about it.  Mr. Rama thought he could do something and basically opened a route for him to be the next PM. Mr. Berisha had another plan. At least, that’s the way it’s been presented to me. I don’t think it’s a good idea to just try to focus on the next election. Of course, the next election is important, but I think it is important to have something that is fundamentally sound, not to focus on 2013, but beyond. There is a lot of international expertise, people who have experienced different conditions in different environments. There is a lot of expertise here in Albania, too. There’s an awful lot of expertise here. People just need to be open and listen and communicate better with each other. If they do that, I think that there’s a chance. 

Ora News:  Looking at the Albanian politics in its entirety, overall, what can you say about its performance in 2011, the issues we already talked about?

Ambassador Arvizu: Let’s see. Now, in the Albanian system, a five is a passing score, right?

Ora News:  Yes.

Ambassador Arvizu: Well, I would say, before November it would go from minus four to four. After November, I’d give it a six.

Ora News:   A passing grade?

Ambassador Arvizu: You know, if you believe in charts and graphs, the trend is positive.

Ora News:  As a diplomat, you were present here in one of the most difficult years of the political stalemate in Albania.  How important has your advice been for Albanian political leaders and, if you’ve managed to comprehend it, what is the reason for so much conflict among Albanian politicians?

Ambassador Arvizu: One frustration I’ve had, and I tried to allude to it a little bit earlier, is that everybody is so interested in the political issue of the day, even your wonderful reporters. I’m often asked ‘what do you think of the Venice Commission report?’ Or ‘what do you think of the SP’s ten point proposal.’  I understand why people are interested in those issues. Why they are interested to know what I, or Ambassador Sequi, or Wolfarth have to say. And it’s my job to try to be responsive. But I wish people would…  If I could, I wish that people would be interested in some of the issues that concern me a little more. And that’s the broader and more fundamental social issues, social and economic issues facing this country. I was travelling in the Kombinat area of Tirana the other day on Christmas Eve. The Marines from the Embassy and I visited an orphanage with Santa Claus. It was an orphanage for people with disabilities. That was a very meaningful visit and I think Ora covered it. I’m grateful to you for that. We were going through some neighborhoods in Kombinat, which we all know are not considered wealthy neighborhoods.  So, one thing that I’ll be trying to do this coming year is to try to find out what the leaders of this country are doing to combat poverty? What the leaders of this country are doing to improve the education system, the health delivery system. I know that there are people working hard, but I’m looking to add my voice to those who are really looking to change the game a little bit.  And ifthat means a little bit less comment about the political situation, then that’s the price that I’m willing to pay.  There are some good people here.  I think you just have to empower them and give them a stronger voice.

Ora News:  Mr. Ambassador, to go back to the events of 2011. The year started with January 21^st, and then the elections added to the tension, especially in Tirana. Toward the end of the year there was some consensus to focus on the precious integration agenda. Did the internationals enable the achievement of this thaw? Few Albanians believe Albanian politicians are able to find consensus on their own.

Ambassador Arvizu: I appreciate the question. That is a little bit difficult to answer. I certainly think that it’s incumbent on us, the diplomatic community here in Tirana, but also in places like Washington and Brussels, to try to offer some constructive advice, ideas, and if necessary, criticism.  I think our voice was pretty clear in the aftermath of January 21 and even before January 21. The United States, in particular, and I personally felt it was very important for the local elections to be held to schedule. I think it was a good thing for the country that they were held. I think there were many positive dimensions to the local elections. I think that is contained in the ODIHR report. If you read it objectively, you’ll find that there were many improvements. Unfortunately, as we all know – and I remember you calling out the votes from Njesia 5 in the final hours – there was a lot of controversy surrounding the outcome of the biggest race of all. It was sort of a race for all of us.

So let me get back to your question. I think the international community’s voice has an important role here in Albania, probably more important than in most countries. I leave it to people to decide is it good or is it bad or neutral, but I think that’s the fact.  I can tell you from the U.S.’s perspective, because we want to be helpful; we want to strengthen Albanian institutions. We want to strengthen Albanian democracy. But in the end, I would not overestimate the role of the international influence or community. In the end, I think the key players here have to make up their own mind. And I think that’s what they do. I think that there has been a realization on the side of the opposition but also on the side of the ruling coalition, that ‘this is going nowhere. 2009-2010 was lost time, so maybe we need to try something different.’ Maybe we did help a little bit but it’s ultimately the key players here who made the key decision.

Ora News:  Mr. Ambassador, you have always been very direct in your statements. You have not hesitated to criticize them or praise them. Is there something you have kept from them throughout the year and that perhaps you want to say to them, as we approach the end of the year?

Ambassador Arvizu: I think there are a lot of very talented people here, and I don’t question their intentions, but if I were an Albania citizen, I’m not sure there is anybody I would want to vote for.  I take that back: I would probably vote for someone like Eglantina Gjermeni of the SP. I like her. She cares about some of the issues that I care about. There are talented people here. But if I could say one thing, I’d wish people would stop being so eager to blame the other side.  There’s a lot of blame to go around and oftentimes, you know, let’s say, I’m a party and I’m complaining about Patrik, the criticisms of Patrik are often valid.  So, if the DP is saying something and the SP is saying something – there’s probably quite a lot of validity. But I think people need to look in the mirror a little bit more. They need to talk to people outside their little circle. I’m not a political player, but I hate it, I can’t stand it, when people agree with me all the time. It just drives me crazy because I want to hear different points of view.  You don’t have to embarrass me in public, humiliate me in front of others, but at the same time, I want to hear a critique about what we’re doing at the embassy.  I guess that it is easy to surround yourself with the enablers that I talked about, you know, people who say you are great or the media people who are actually paid to support your point of view. I understand that at the end of the day, people need to carve some time out of their day, one hour or two hours, to talk to someone that really doesn’t agree with them at all and just reflect on that a little bit. And the country might benefit from that.

Ora News: All the unpleasant events we talked about, do you think they damaged Albania’s image?

Ambassador Arvizu: I think the image of Albania did suffer in 2011.  Again, I’m being very candid, as I think you want me to be. At least from the United States – I shouldn’t speak about Europe, so I’ll speak only about the United States – Albania is a very distant country.  People don’t really know the key players, they don’t care – they are too busy.  Albania is a small country on the map.  I remember when I was going through my senate confirmation hearings, there was a Lonely Plant guide, a key travel guide, talking about Albania being a cool place to visit.  There were some articles in the New York Times. There was a little bit of buzz among the American investment community; American investment in Albania is very small, but there was a bit of a buzz about Albania being an emerging market. I remember that very distinctly. And then we had the huge problem with January 21 and the political stalemate.  People heard about that and were scared away by the instability. So, if you are Edi Rama, you say it’s Berisha’s fault and if you were the Prime Minister you would say it was Rama’s fault, or maybe it was President Topi’s fault. I don’t know. This is a very interesting and very exciting Albania, but outside people don’t care.  They don’t care whether it is Mr. Berisha’s fault or whether it was Rama’s fault. They just know that there’s a problem in Albania. There is instability or the environment is not conducive for investment, so maybe we’ll look elsewhere. So the country loses.  When somebody says ‘no, it’s your fault,’ you know what?  From the American point of view, it’s everybody’s fault. 

Ora News:  In terms of Tirana-Washington relations, was 2011 a positive year? Did anything change in 2011?

Ambassador Arvizu: For the most part, and in a vast majority of the issues, I think we worked very, very well.  You heard me say before, we are grateful that Albania is a force for stability in the region, Albania is a proud member of NATO, it is doing many things. We cooperate together in New York at the U.N., within the region.  This region was in great turmoil and conflict a few short years ago, a dozen years ago, so Albania is very much a force for stability. The government has visited the Middle East; it’s in good dialogue with Israel and some of the Arab countries. So, Albania is a very, very responsible player. We are all encouraged that Albania is taking certain steps to bring itself more in line with other NATO democracies, that it’s taking steps to pave the way for eventual integration into the EU.  But of course, we are concerned when there are problems with corruption, when judicial reform stalls. I told you my personal view, but it’s a view that is shared by Washington.  It’s the official American view. So, when there is uneven progress with consolidating respect for institutions, for institutionalizing democracy, then that’s a concern for us and is a subject of discussion for us between governments, between me, government representatives, and opposition party opinion shapers. It’s the way it should be.

Ora News:  Lastly, what would be your New Year’s postcard?  First, for Albanians, and then for politicians, in particular? What do you expect from them?

Ambassador Arvizu: In the U.S. we often talk about New Year’s and there’s a whole issue of resolutions.  New Year’s is a time for resolutions to you say ‘I’m going to do certain things.’ Some people don’t like that at all.  They say ‘don’t make resolutions that you can’t keep.’  I like resolutions, because for me they are targets.  I realize I will not accomplish all of them, I might not even accomplish most of them, but with the right willpower, with encouragement, with the right support from my friends, I may accomplish some of them. So I think that it’s good to try to take some of the positive elements that have taken place in the latter part of the year, in November. I’m talking about the parliament specifically.  We have to be realistic.  There’s a lot of mistrust between the two sides. The two sides need to work together to find areas where there is agreement – there are a lot of issues where there is real agreement, like the importance of combating domestic violence, improving road and traffic safety, about doing something about the environmental mess.  Those are not political issues; at least 99% of the time they are not political issues, so let’s try to figure out how we can cooperate on those things, the types of issues where there’s basic convergence. For the good of the country, hopefully build some confidence, strengthen the electoral code, strengthen the rules of procedure in the parliament and then go from there. The key thing is communication.  The one thing that concerns me is people, the key people in Albania – they just have trouble communicating with each other. I have some friend whose profession is working on improving communications. I’ve told him ‘you should come here. You can make a lot of money, because there’s a very fertile ground to improve communications.’ That’s really the key.

Ora News:  What are you plans for New Year’s? Are you staying here or going back to the U.S.?

Ambassador Arvizu: No, we are going to be here.  Last year I just arrived and my wife and daughter were still in the United States and I was here for maybe two weeks, met so many people, remembered maybe 10% of the people I’d met and then I went home.  This year with the family year, we’re very excited.  We had a very nice Christmas. We had some of our friends over for a Christmas open house, including some friends from Ora.  I’ve heard so much about the fireworks but I’m a little scared.  Well, we live up on a hill, with a great view of the center of the city. I hope the weather will cooperate, too.  I plan to have a bottle of sparkling wine or something like that and pop it at midnight. Maybe wear a helmet if necessary and just enjoy the fireworks. But I hope everyone has a great celebration, a safe one.   Safety is important.  You have to have fun, but it’s not fun if somebody gets hurt. Let’s hope for a safe and prosperous new year for everyone.

Ora News:  Mr. Ambassador, this is your third time in Ora News.  Some time ago, on Top Channel, you called Ora News the Albanian CNN.  And we take very much pride in that assessment. I would please ask for a special dedication from you for our Albanian audience as well as our staff.

Ambassador Arvizu: I’m fascinated by the media environment here in Albania.  I have focused a lot on TV and online this year.  I should focus more on newspapers and I’ll try to do that this coming year. As I said, the environment here is very competitive, and like with any market, you have to find your niche.  Here in Albania there are three larger commercial networks, there are several all-news networks, but I think three of them probably have larger viewership than others, and then there’s state radio and television – I saw their festival last night and I had a bit of a conversation with them. I would say with ORA there are two things that you do in particular that impress me.  One is you cover the news 24 hours a day.  Of all your competitors, I think you do the best job of being there when the news is happening, when it’s breaking.  I don’t know how you do it.  Maybe you have a lot of trucks, a lot of cameras, but when the news is breaking, you are there. That’s the most important thing for an all-news network. The other thing is I admire the way you make an effort, and I think this reflects Mr. Ndroqi’s philosophy – I know Ilva does this, I know you do this in your interviews – and this is to try to present different points of view. A prime example of that is the series of end of year interviews.   It started with Ilva’s long interview with President Topi.  I may not have the exact sequence right, but it was Mr. Berisha, Mr. Meta, Edi Rama, Ambassador Wollfarth, me, and I think tomorrow with President Moisiu.  Again, it is great.  You are not interrupting, arguing; you are offering a chance for me to say my views, and people can make up their own mind. There’s a reason why they are set the way they are. But you also need someone in Albania to just report the news, and that’s what you do. And I think you do that very well. I think the local election gave the network a boost. But the media environment, as I said, is extremely competitive. Some of your competitors, news channels, are making their improvements too, so sometime into the New Year I’m looking to sit down with you, Ilva, and Mr. Ndroqi, and again, give you my nonpartisan, objective view, at least from my experience. I have a number of friends in the United States who work for Fox News, MSNBC, and I’ll give you my view. But I think you are doing a good job and I think you will continue to be successful in the future.

Ora News: Thank you very much for this interview, Mr. Ambassador.

Ambassador Arvizu: Thank you again. Happy New Year to everybody here at Ora News and at home. A safe and prosperous New Year!

Ora News: Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador.