Records on Albania

The materials in FOIA 2001-1098-F[1] and 2001-1098-F[2] are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA 2001-1098-F[1] contains electronic messages materials from the National Security Council files of Beth Sanner related to Albania. Documents opened include news reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International, press releases, and several NSC email devoid of message text. FOIA 2001-1098-F [2] contains materials pertaining to a volatile period in the history of Albania during a the disintegration of the Soviet Union and other Communist Bloc countries from 1989 to 1991, during 2001-1098-F [2] 1 which Albania made the transition from a Communist dictatorship to a republic. While the political atmosphere was uncertain and volatile during this transition, the Albanian economy was in a shambles, leading to a great deal of concern on the part of the United States and other Western countries regarding whether a free-market economy and republican government would take hold in the Balkan nation. In addition, the ethnic Albanian majority in the autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo was facing persecution from Serbia proper, providing another area of concern throughout the world as war threatened to break out over the entire region. The materials in this request reflect the U.S. government's movements toward assisting Albania in its transition to a free society and elections as well as the establishment of economic and diplomatic relations with that country for the first time in nearly 50 years. White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject Categories contain letters to the president and government officials regarding the political atmosphere in Albania and the plight of ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo from private citizens (including Albanian and Kosovar expatriates), Albanian interest groups (Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, Human Rights in Yugoslavia, etc.), and members of Congress (including portions of a report by U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos following his trip to Albania in 1990). Also included are notes and remarks by the president at the receiving of diplomatic credentials ceremonies at the White House, routine notes, reports, and memoranda regarding the resumption of diplomatic relations with Albania in March 1991 (and subsequent dispatching of a U.S. ambassador). Many records pertain to the president's waiving of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 (regarding free emigration policies as a requirement for Most Favored Nation trading status and its approval by the U.S. Congress). In that vein, many routine materials related to trade and tourism between the U.S. and Albania are included, such as numerous copies of the final trade agreement signed by both countries, presidential proclamations calling for non-discriminatory tariff treatment for Albanian goods, and finalized paperwork for the waiving of Jackson-Vanik. Routine talking points regarding the president's meeting with newly-elected Albanian President Sali Berisha are included, as well. Many other routine types of documents are included in the request, including approval forms and memoranda for foreign travel (to Albania, etc.) for U.S. government employees, congratulatory telegrams and letters from Albanian interest groups upon President Bush's election, and press releases/ press conference transcripts relating to the general political and economic atmosphere in Albania and Kosovo. The WHORM Alphabetical Subject Files contain correspondence from the National Republican Institute for International Affairs requesting that President Bush meet with newly - elected Albanian President Sali Berisha during the latter's trip to Washington, D.C. in late May 1991. The Staff and Office Files contain correspondence, memoranda, and publications maintained by individual staff members and offices. Most of the records in these files remain restricted under the Freedom of Information Act. Materials remaining in the files include reports by private citizens and interest groups regarding the economic and political climate in Albania, press releases related to emerging U.S.-Albanian relations and aid, paperwork related to the confirmation of William Edwin Ryerson as the first U.S. Ambassador to Albania since 1946, and copies of the trade agreements signed between the United States and Albania following the re - establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (including additional Jackson - Vanik materials). Also included in these materials are the Confidential, Chronological, Numbered, PA, and PRS files from the National Security Council. These records largely mirror the types and scope of records from the WHORM Subject File. Read less