Greece (Brussels Morning) – In October 2023, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, during her visit to Tirana, stated that Albania, under Edi Rama’s leadership is on track to join the European Union, underlying that enlargement is Brussels top priorities.
The logical question risen, is under what conditions is this enlargement promoted, when widespread corruption, violation of human rights, organized crime and complete lack of respect for civil rights are observed. Europe cannot once again sacrifice its ideals for the sake of politically raising the profile of its leadership.
For this reason, looking for a different perspective on the current political situation in Albania, a comprehensive research was carried out, which will be published in parts. This research is published first with the interview of former President Sali Berisha, a natural leader of Albanian politics, who has been under house arrest since December 30, 2023.
During his political career he has been Chairman, representing the Democratic Party, and Member of Parliament.Former President of Albania (1992-1997), Former Prime Minister of Albania (2005-2013), Doctor at the “Mother Teresa” University Hospital and lecturer, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine.
AK: Mr. President, let’s start with some aspects of your life before politics, particularly during your university years. How did you perceive Albanian society back then?
SB: After finishing my university studies, I was appointed lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine in pathological physiology and cardiologist in the cardiology clinic. I was very passionate about the profession and scientific research. Some of these research papers have been published in serious cardiology journals as innovative works in the UK, France, all while being republished in the USA, etc.
But at that time, Albania was the country with the worst dictatorship in Europe. Unlike other ex-communist countries, the Albanians faced a triple dictatorship, the dictatorship of communist terror, the butchery of the war of classes; the dictatorship of hunger and misery; and the dictatorship of isolation and deeper indoctrination. In these circumstances, following the death of dictator Hoxha and after the changes we expected were not realized, I decided to come out against the regime. Coming out of the shell of academic or intellectual conformism, I had come to the conclusion that the conformism of the dictatorship was a precious support for the regime. In this framework, I began to demand in gatherings and meetings the opening of the removal of hypercollectivization as the main factor of tyrannizing misery. I demanded the removal of censorship, freedom of thought and of movement, political pluralism. They published me in several articles in the newspapers of the time, influenced by the Gorbachev’s glasnost. In my writings and in a meeting with the dictator Ramiz Alia, I asked for everything that the dissidents in the former communist countries had asked for, from Haveli’s Charter 77 to Zhelev’s echoglaznost. In all my actions I was inspired by Andrej Sakharov. This, firstly because he came to politics not from social science, and had abandoned physics’ truths for some bigger truths that were freedom and human rights. And secondly, because he did not leave his country and I was sworn not to leave Albania.
AK: In December 1990, you supported the demonstrations and the young people, the students. What has been your relationship with them throughout all these years in politics?
SB: Together with the students, we founded the Democratic Party and defeated the dictatorship through vote, all while building an open and cooperative relationship throughout this period. They were open-minded and this is extremely important for the reforms and their success.
AK: During your five years of Presidency, what was your main political concern for Albania, and what was your vision?
SB:Albania in 1992 was the third poorest country on the planet with 204 dollars a year per person, the most isolated and hypercollectivized country. The opening of the country, the placement on the tracks of Euro-Atlantic integration, the construction of the legal state and the market economy… I have tried to build friendly relations of cooperation with the neighbors. I have highly valued the relations with the neighbors on the other side and with Italy in particular, a country which has given a great deal of help to Albania after the fall of the Iron Curtain. It is precisely for these efforts, that the Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was issued by President Scalfaro.
But I add here that regardless of inevitable challenges with all neighboring countries, I have worked hard for a good and friendly neighborhood relationship with Greece, a country which has also given precious help to Albania. It was a pleasure to have signed together with President Stephanopoulos the most important document in the history of relations between our two countries, the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the two countries in March 1996. As Prime Minister, I signed the sea agreement with the government of Karamanlis, which in my opinion was a win-win story.
AK: As Prime Minister of Albania, which reforms of your government were the most important for strengthening Albania’s economy?
The ‘shock therapy’, the privatization of land, housing and industrial facilities, the introduction of taxes – among the lowest in the world, the successful fight against corruption, the attraction of foreign investments, I think were decisive in the economic success of Albania. I remind you here that in 2008, in a quantum leap, Albania really moved from the group of low-income countries to the group of high-middle income countries.
AK, Comment: Kosovo’s Independence. Albanians in N. Macedonia, Montenegro. Greece’s Financial Crisis.
SB:All these developments for the Albanians in the region are big steps for their freedom and have given the region greater development and stability. The Greek financial crisis with the reforms undertaken and EU support is now archived.
AK: According to Euronews, fighting corruption has been post-communist Albania’s Achilles’ heel. The country, under Mr. Rama’s government, has been characterized as a state captured and dependent on international organized crime. Is there a future in Europe for this Albania?
SB: Corruption is a pantothenic phenomenon and is the master matrix of all the wounds of a society in my estimation, when it is not fought, it turns into the system.
The fight against corruption has been one of the most important and successful battles of my life, I based this fight first on transparency.
1.We created a Task Force chaired by the head of the Council of Ministers, whose task was to make every process and every procedure transparent through reforms. I recall here that in the framework this fight for transparency, this task force made a series of deep and successful reforms, among which I am recalling the establishment of the first “One stop shop” for business registration and for permits and licenses in Albania; the establishment of a digital cadaster certified system from the World Bank and recommended to other countries the complete digitization of the civil status; university admissions; and the creation and inauguration of the “e-Albania portal”; the installation in Albania for the first time in the world of a complete digital system of public procurement, a system that was certified by the World Bank and recommended for use in other countries as well. For all these successful reforms as a whole, but in particular for the digital system of public procurement, Albania received in 2010 from the UN the second prize in the world for transparency while reaching the threshold of the Millennium Challenge. By doubling the income by halving the taxes, doubling the salaries and pensions, in 2008 Albania achieved in a Quantum Leap to move from the group of countries with low income to the group of countries with high middle income. In the years 2005-2013, I built and reconstructed 11,300 km of roads, thousands of public facilities, schools, hospitals, water supply systems, etc., etc. But alongside this taskforce we also did the following :
2.Within the prosecutor’s office of Tirana, a joint unit for the fight against economic crime and corruption was created, headed by a prosecutor and composed of employees of the criminal police, information services, customs, and taxes. This unit achieved impressive results in the fight against corruption. With the coming of Edi Rama to power and the justice reform, this unit was replaced by the SPAK special prosecution. The comparison of the results of the joint unit with Spak shows that today the number of cases convicted for corruption has decreased by more than three times, and this is only because of the political control by Edi Rama of the special prosecutor’s office. Today, corruption is led by Edi Rama, for him and his ministers there is no conflict of interest law, every day, he and his ministers, share public funds and assets with their family members and their circle.
AK: Today, you are the Leader of the Opposition and the de facto leader of the party. You are facing accusations of corruption and collaboration with organized crime. Do you believe that Mr. Rama’s system needed a face to silence the opposition and placed you as a prisoner in the same democratic society you fought for?
SB: This is a clear political act. On October 20, 2023, the political prosecution decided to arrest my son-in-law, order my prohibition to go out of the country and the obligation to report to the police. The prosecution and the special court announced these measures without questioning us once about the matter, and in my case, in flagrant contradiction with the Constitution without obtaining the prior approval of the Parliament. My son-in-law and I, are under house arrest as persons under investigation. In 2020, Edi Rama, after years and years of checking every decision I’ve made and those of my government, and not finding any legal violations, he ordered the Chairman of his Socialist parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, to submit a false report to the prosecutor for the Partizani sports club file, which is a real pyramid of lies.
After four years of investigation, the political prosecution has not found a single fact or document to blame me and my son-in-law. We are talking about a legal process of recognizing and acquiring, from 300 legitimate owners, of the land confiscated by the communist regime and the exercise, by these owners in accordance with the law, of their rights on the buildings built on this property. One of the 300 owners is my son-in-law who received 410 m2 of land inherited from his grandparents.
None of the employees of the administration, from left or right governments, who have signed over the years this process, are currently under criminal prosecution. This because they have only implemented the law. Sali Berisha’s signature does not exist in any document of recognition, acquisition of property or pre-purchase of buildings built on the owners’ land.
