Albanian parliament speaker responds to US, OSCE criticism

24/07/2008

TIRANA, Albania -- An "administrative misunderstanding" caused the exclusion last week of diplomats from the United States and the OSCE from a session of parliament, says Speaker Jozefina Topalli. On Wednesday (July 23rd), she wrote to both the US embassy and the OSCE representation, assuring them that such misunderstandings will not happen again. US Ambassador John Withers had expressed concerns. Parliamentary guards prevented diplomats from attending Chief Prosecutor Ina Rama's presentation of an annual report. (Shekulli - 24/07/08; VOA, BalkanWeb, Top Channel - 23/07/08)