PRISHTINA, Aug. 24 /ATA/ – Former U.S. congressman Joe DioGuardi has urged Kosovo’s parliamentary parties to elect a president, warning that failure to do so could leave the country facing serious problems.
Speaking after a ceremony at which he and his wife, former Kosovo activist Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, received Kosovo citizenship on Monday, DioGuardi said it was important for him to be in the country at a critical time.
“I am here to make sure that you have a president, and I hope it happens before I leave. If one is not elected by then, you will be in serious trouble, because you have enemies ready to disrupt the balance in the Balkans,” DioGuardi said.
He urged Kosovo’s political leaders to act quickly, saying now was not the time for the country to become complacent.
Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, a longtime advocate for Kosovo, said her husband and Albanian-American activists had worked on the Kosovo issue since 1989, including by highlighting abuses against Kosovo Albanians under former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic.
Acting President Albulena Haxhiu described the DioGuardis as among the strongest voices in the United States in support of Kosovo and its independence. She said they had been friends and supporters of Kosovo long before it became an independent state and were now also its citizens.
Haxhiu presented citizenship decrees to Joe and Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi at a ceremony ahead of the news conference.
The DioGuardis have campaigned for Kosovo in the United States, raising the issue in Congress and advocating international action against Milosevic’s government during the 1998-99 war. They also supported NATO intervention and continued to lobby for Kosovo’s international recognition and independence after the war.
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