Prague, 7 March 2000 (RFE/RL) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met yesterday in Prague with activists promoting democracy in the Balkans and talked about how to strengthen civil society in Serbia. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said that "Croatia represented a role model" for any future democratic elections in Yugoslavia.
Albright and participants at the meeting also spoke about the threat to the Balkans posed by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Earlier yesterday, Albright addressed students at Tomas Masaryk University in Brno and told them that part of the price of democracy is ensuring equal rights for minorities.
She and Czech President Vaclav Havel also laid a wreath at a statue of Tomas Masaryk in his hometown of Hodonin. The ceremony came on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the first Czechoslovak president.
Today, Albright is scheduled to deliver a speech on NATO and the Balkans. She leaves Prague for Sarajevo tomorrow.
She and Czech President Vaclav Havel also laid a wreath at a statue of Tomas Masaryk in his hometown of Hodonin. The ceremony came on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the first Czechoslovak president.
Today, Albright is scheduled to deliver a speech on NATO and the Balkans. She leaves Prague for Sarajevo tomorrow.