The German media "explodes the bomb"/ SP scanner, corruption at all levels

2024-09-13 20:24:00, Aktualitet CNA

The German media "explodes the bomb"/ SP scanner, corruption at all

The biggest German magazine DerSpiegel has published a BOMB article about the cooperation of Edi Rama's government with international gangs and mafia.

The article points out that some investigators confirm for the Italian state television Rai and SPIEGEL that there are contacts at the highest level of the government with organized crime, referring to the trade of cannabis and then tons of cocaine.

"Several investigators confirm for the Italian state television Rai and SPIEGEL that there are contacts at the highest level of the government with organized crime. The initial cannabis trade turned into a business with tons of cocaine. The Albanian unions were connected with the Calabrian N'Drangheta and the cartels of Latin America', the article says.

The German newspaper also accuses Edi Rama of trying to intimidate Spiegel executives by calling them to influence the article.

"Confronted with the relevant accusations from SPIEGEL, the Prime Minister called late in the evening and tried to influence the reporting: He considered the accusations to be insubstantial, offensive and undeservedly damaging to his country's reputation."

Another moment where the investigation of the German media has stopped is the testimony of former Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, who has confirmed that Albania turned into a drug-trafficking narco-state during Rama's time.

Ahmetaj confirms the investigators' findings that Albania turned into a drug-trafficking narco-state during Rama's time: "The flooding of the country with cannabis from 2014 to 2017 was the prime minister's secret economic agenda that he instigated to a great extent ." changed the economy and society of Albania: "Rama believes that he can still control the criminal environment, but he has been the one being controlled for a long time."

"Merging political and media interests with those of criminals and oligarchs" - this is how the Rama system works, says a former member of the government who insists on remaining anonymous: "All this is happening with the blessing of the EU and the USA. There is no public tender that does not end up in his extended circle. Basically, Rama led the whole country to crime. Albania is now a case study in corruption, and yet the clever Rama manages to find recognition in the West."

Does Rama sell the 'silver' of his country in exchange for political goodwill? Former senior FBI agent, now convicted, Charles McGonigal, admitted to accepting bribes in Albania for services in the interest of the government. He also accepted several meetings with Edi Rama in the government building. The prime minister denies any wrongdoing.

The more popular Rama seems to become abroad, the more anger grows in his inner circle. Those in the inner circle who know too much and therefore would risk too much speak only under the promise of anonymity. Others take to the streets. In July, angry demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at Rama's official residence in Tirana. Burn marks have already been removed.

Other traces, older, have remained in the center of Tirana. The pyramid, for example, a building in which once stood the marble statue of dictator Enver Hoxha, created by Edi Rama's father. Kristaq Rama was an artist close to the system, who was proven to have co-signed a death sentence as a member of the so-called People's Presidium in 1988: against the opposition poet Havzi Nela, who was subsequently hanged.

Even the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, was in the Albanian capital in February and found words of praise for "Edi" - not least for his reform in justice: "Corrupt officials are now being held accountable," said Blinken: "Members of organized crime go to prison and lose their assets. That's a big difference."

However, in the latest annual report from Blinken's own home, the State Department, things sound different. Regarding the situation in the NATO country, Albania 2023, it is said: "There was corruption in all departments and at all levels of the government."

In all.

That means: even at the top. Rama's political opponents claim that he has turned the country into an autocracy dominated by drug money. More precisely: he has tolerated the empowerment of organized crime.

The Prime Minister denies these accusations.

When confronted with similar accusations by SPIEGEL, the prime minister called late in the evening and tried to influence the reporting: He felt the accusations were undeserved, insulting and damaging to his country's reputation.

How can it happen, Rama was asked by an Italian journalist in June, that his closest circle, one after another, are being arrested for corruption, including various ministers, while he himself is still in office?

The cold answer of the Albanian Prime Minister: "There are pigs in every forest."

The stabilizer of the Balkans

Rama is seen from the western point of view as a stabilizer in the Balkans. Especially his model negotiated with Meloni has aroused interest even beyond Italy: the plan to shelter in Albanian territory refugees and migrants caught in Italian Mediterranean waters to determine if they are worthy of asylum.

The more popular Rama becomes abroad, the more anger grows in his inner circle. Those who know too much and have too much to lose speak only on condition of anonymity.

Others take to the streets.

In July, angry demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at Rama's office in Tirana. The burnt stairs have already been cleared.