[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15577-15578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALBANIAN INDEPENDENCE

  (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ENGEL. Today is November 28, 2012, and it is exactly 100 years to 
the day of Albanian independence--when the people of Albania threw off 
the shackles of the Ottoman Empire. Now let's look at Albania today--
it's a thriving democracy and it's a member of NATO.
  Let's look at the fact that during the fifties and the sixties--for 
50 years-- and extending into the seventies, Albania was the worst, 
brutal Communist dictatorship on the face of the Earth. They broke with 
the Soviet Union because it wasn't doctrinaire enough, and they broke 
with China because China wasn't doctrinaire enough. As to the lies they 
told the Albanian people all these years about Americans, do you know 
what? The Albanian people never bought it.
  It has been my experience as the founder and the chair of the 
Albanian Issues Caucus here in Congress for 24 years that Albanians are 
the best friends Americans have anywhere in the world. They love 
Americans. I am so happy that, today, they celebrate their 100th 
anniversary.
  Albania is a member of NATO, and Kosova is a free and independent 
nation that we hope one day will be a member of NATO and the European 
Union for both Albania and Kosova. Albanians around the world, be they 
in the Balkans, in Serbia, in Macedonia or Montenegro, are all sharing 
in this

[[Page 15578]]

wonderful day. As to the great Albanian American community that we have 
in the United States, particularly in New York, I am just so proud to 
work with them.
  So let's hold up a glass and celebrate this wonderful 100th 
anniversary, and let's use the Albanian phrase, ``Gezuar''--``Cheers.''

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