Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about an issue that is, to a degree, a little far removed from the work of this chamber, but is something that is close to my own heart. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong association with the small European nation of Albania through family ties to that country. It's that country that I wish to speak about today, and some of the goings on in that country over the last year or more.

The history of Albania of course is not a pretty one, particularly in the last 70 or 80 years with the reign of the fairly easily stated 'evil dictator' Enver Hoxha and the communist regime that oppressed millions of people. The stories I've been told about the impact that has had on the lives of people I've met and others who are related to them are nothing short of unbearable to listen to, and are things that remind me again and again of how lucky we are in this country. As a result of that period of oppression and the way in which people were oppressed—denied the right to vote to have their say, to live where they wanted to or to take up the job they wished to take up—the system they have now, post the fall of communism in the mid-90s, is one that probably isn't what we're used to here in Australia. It's a system that can't withstand some of the pressures that smaller countries with younger democracies would easily fall to. It's on that basis, and knowing some of the issues that they do have in that country, that I became very concerned when I saw some of the activities of a member of the diplomatic corps from another country—from the United States—posted to Albania.

I think anyone who has had any interaction with any member of the diplomatic corps from any country anywhere in the world understands that the role of the diplomat is to work on behalf of the country they represent in the country they are posted to—from the head of mission down to the most junior administrative staff member. It's not to become involved in the political process or any judicial process. It's not to offer commentary on political issues of the day. It is to advocate for stronger relations between your home nation—in this case we're talking about the United States—and the nation to which you are posted and represent your home nation in, which in this case is Albania. It's about forging stronger trade ties, it's about talking about security arrangements and it's about assisting fellow countrymen and women with fees and passport issues. It's those sorts of things.

As I said, anyone in this chamber or anyone who has ever had to deal with anyone from the diplomatic corps would understand that that's the work of an ambassador, a high commissioner or councillor, or anyone else. This is why I find it passing strange that the US ambassador to Albania, Ambassador Yuri Kim, has taken it upon herself to offer commentary on the goings on in that country—a country which is, as I said, is fairly volatile when it comes to its political arrangements. There's often unrest, as we've seen in many European countries, around the outcomes of elections and things that happen in between elections. So it's even more important, in a country like that—particularly when you're coming from a country that loves democracy, that is founded on freedoms and liberty—to respect the freedoms and liberties of the people in the country to which you are posted.

When I see posts from Ambassador Kim reflecting on claims of intimidation, of judges and prosecutors, that are somehow politically motivated to pervert justice, to insist on impunity for the powerful, to drag Albania back to the past, they don't sound to me like the words of a diplomatic representative; they sound rather activist. What's more, it's in a public forum. These are not communiques between a head of mission, a representative of a foreign government, and the government of that country; these are on Twitter. These are there for public consumption. Because they are the words of a head of mission of a significant freedom-loving nation, they carry with them a degree of credibility. And there are a range of posts here.

The reason I raise this is that Albania, a country very close to my own heart, is a fragile country and has a fragile democracy, and it's one that the people there, whichever side of the political divide they stand on, seek to protect. When you have representatives of nations coming in and making comments like that—from the platform of ambassador, no less—it is something we need to be very concerned about. I call that out today because I don't think it is right for other nations to interfere, through diplomatic means, in the affairs of another nation. There are appropriate channels for dealing with allegations of corruption and crime. They should be used, and they should be used by the people within that country—not by members of the diplomatic corps.

Ambassador Kim's comments, as concerning as they are from as far away as we are, here in Australia, earned the rebuke of a diplomatic colleague, the French Ambassador to Albania, Elisabeth Barsacq. She made the point that we have to leave matters Albania to the Albanians, that it's not up to us to decide these matters. Her words, in an interview with Euronews Albania, were that it's not up to foreign ambassadors to decide for Albanians. She made it very clear that it's up to those who are electors in that community to make that point.

I wanted to put on record today that these things being done—I suspect by a rogue diplomat, rather than the US government—are being noticed. I feel very strongly about it and I hope it stops.