Balkan - Political change is needed
Mr Henze You are one of the few specialised experts on Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans in the West, let's talk about Albania and Kosovo. Do we have just, free societies in Kosovo and Albania?
Albanian civil society is basically the opposition. It has been trying for years, in and out of parliament, in all variations, whether on the issue of the exponential growth in the export of drugs to the European Union or money laundering, the massive electoral fraud by the members of the Rama Socialist Party, the demolition of the National Monument, the Centre of the Democratic Revolution, the National Theatre, the massive reduction of the freedom of the press, the massive mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Albanians in the last 11 years, to bring shame to the Rama organisation and to foreign countries.
In this respect, Albanian civil society does not have to be accused of not being decent, it is organising resistance against the corrupt Rama elite, by the way, this also applies to the people in Kosovo.
So the Albanians are a happy nation because they are not humiliated?
Albanian civil society is alive and has a cultural basis. The problem in Albania is not the DNA of the Albanian nation, the problem in Albania is the DNA of the corrupt executive Rama.
You see, a decent, democratic state is characterised by the fact that the sovereign, the people, are not humiliated. In a democracy, the government has a temporary mandate from the sovereign to represent the sovereign in the state and internationally. Unfortunately, this is not happening in Albania. The current government has not received any legitimacy from the sovereign, because the elections were falsified and it is practising patronage politics.
Therefore, please allow me to clarify: To humiliate people is to treat them as if they are not human beings but merely a thing, tool, second class human being.
The Rama executive and the related economic sectors of the Rama family are organised in a paternalistic way, in our opinion the Albanian government treats the Albanian nation as if they were children. This reminds me very much of the socialist period before 1989, the communist governments in Eastern Europe were totalitarian systems that permanently humiliated the people.
Whoever does not agree with them, does not submit to this system. Those who do not participate in the Rama organisation, those who criticise the organisation or even participate in the pro-Western opposition, or in many ways Albanian women who do not physically submit to their employers, are existentially threatened, they represent antagonistic forces that either have to be re-educated or removed from the country.
The booster for this in Albania was the dysfunctionality of the Albanian rule of law, caused by the failed legal reform in 2018. This is Albania 2022.
It is not without reason that hundreds of thousands of Albanians have migrated or sought asylum in European countries and in many other continents in the last 11 years of the Rama government. This did not happen during the previous governments, only during the Balkan wars.
So, humiliation includes an existential threat because the perpetrator - especially if it is a state institution as in Albania with Rama - exercises power over his victims.An essential component of humiliation is also that the perpetrator gives his victims the feeling of being totally at his mercy. The helplessness and defencelessness of many victims in Kosovo and Albania manifests itself in the fear of no longer being able to provide for their own vital interests.
In Albania, we have witnessed two landmark experiences of humiliation of the Albanian nation in recent years, closely related to the interaction between a highly problematic ambassador and the representative of the most corrupt executive in Europe, Rama.
The ambassador threatened the civil society of Albania, the opposition with a hoxa quote: " If you do not comply with what we expect from you, you will eat grass". This statement by the diplomat was not only totally unjustified, it also has a massive, humiliating character, in essence it reduces the members of Albanian society to objects.
According to the motto, if you are not for me, if you do not submit to my opinion, you will be excluded, you will be citizens 2, you will be declared persona non grata. However, this statement by the ambassador was not only humiliating, it had the quality of triggering flashbacks in the Albanians, as it triggered traumatic memories from the times of the communist dictatorship. The question is indeed whether the ambassador wanted this to happen. If so, Washington has a real problem with the lady.
The same game is organised by the socialist autocracy , whether it is the public jobs, or press companies, whoever opposes the autocracy is classified as anti-American, persecuted, tortured or unemployed, he is de facto degraded to a 2nd class person.
In this respect, the Albanian nation is permanently humiliated, from outside and inside. Albania has no decent government, an anti-democratic government that opposes the values of western civil society.
And the Albanian nation?
A challenging issue, both countries have heterogeneous populations, the focal population being Albanians, of Illyrian descent, i.e. one of the oldest cultural peoples in Europe. Albanians have never started a war in their history, a nation that had to experience centuries of occupation by Turks and Italians, then communism until 1991, then the repeated attempt by the Serbs in the 1990s of genocide against the Albanian nation in the Balkans.
In contrast to the Serbs, a nation that has made it its goal to offer people of different origins and religions a place to live, a home, a peaceful and culturally very influential people in the middle of Europe.
Thus, Muslims, Jews and Christians live peacefully together in coexistence in the Albanian-speaking area. This is now in danger.
How is this to be understood?
You see, there are four places in the world where a third world war can break out, that is the Balkans, Jerusalem and Taiwan.
And Ukraine?
De facto, we have been in an international war in Ukraine since 2014, but in different sectors, with different actors. The other three places have a completely different potential. Putin has already lost this war of aggression at the end of March 2022. The Russians will want to withdraw from Ukraine and hold Crimea and a land bridge to Crimea. Putin will be deposed and find himself in Siberia or The Hague. After that there will be a peace treaty between Ukraine and Russia. There is no war between the Russian and Ukrainian nation / western civilisation, there is a brutal war of aggression by a criminal group around Putin, against the rest of the world. We will see.
Where is the danger in the Balkans?
The explosive situation in the Balkans is the heterogeneous cultural determinations of the nations and the actions of the international actors: China, Russia, Europe, the USA and Turkey.
Many of these powers have long been interested in the region. The Balkans lie at the intersection of Christianity and Islam, and its strategic location on the Adriatic, Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas has always made it an attractive hub for the exercise of power even further afield.
Exciting times for Turkey, historically a powerful country but one that cannot quite live up to current expectations, Turkey does not have the substance for a 2nd Ottoman Empire and cannot want it, Turkey can be a very successful country within its current borders, why is there a need for a migration, there is no reason for it. Which is not because it is not trying to do so. Turkey wants to expand its influence in the countries that once belonged to the Ottoman Empire, and in this respect it has been quite active recently. After a strong but unsuccessful drive for expansion in the Mediterranean and Libya and, to a lesser extent, Syria, Ankara is now setting its sights on a smaller, more vulnerable region: the Balkans.
So, in the face of its economic and security constraints , i.e. a disastrous economic and financial policy, the lira is hardly worth anything anymore, Turkey has for some time had to rely on a softer power - namely its cultural ties to the Balkans. Since the break-up of Yugoslavia, Turkey has positioned itself as the patron of Muslim communities in the Balkans. For example, several branches of the Yunus Emre Institute, which aims to promote Turkish language and culture abroad, are present in the Balkans, especially in Muslim-majority countries.
Another instrument for strengthening cultural influence is the "Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency" (TIKA), an organisation administered by the Turkish Ministry of Culture that funds cultural and educational efforts in Turkish communities. Not surprisingly, TIKA is also present in the Balkans and is particularly involved in the restoration of religious and cultural monuments from the Ottoman period. This has its limits, of course, and cultural influence does not automatically lead to an overall stronger exercise of power.
Erdogan sees his former friend Gülen as a competitor in the Balkans. The Gülen movement is even more conservative in the area of religion than the group around Erdogan. In this respect, it is also in our interest and right to contain this movement.
This also applies to the Kurds. The Kurds must respect Turkey's territory; if they do not do so, they will indeed, justifiably, have the status of a terrorist group, and Turkey must respect the minorities, including the Kurds in Turkey, and not place them under abstract general suspicion.
Were they involved in the coup in Turkey?
No, the preacher Gülen was not behind the failed coup attempt in Turkey, the coup was a pretext for the mass dismissals in the country by Erdogan. The coup attempt was also not directly initiated by Erdogan. A major government purge had already begun before 15 July. Therefore, parts of the military thought they should quickly coup before it got them too. But it was too late and they were purged along with it.
However, since the failed military coup on 15 July 2016, more than 41,000 people have already been arrested in Turkey and more than 100,000 others have been dismissed or suspended. In this respect, the government has massively exploited the situation, provoking it but not fully orchestrating it.
Nor can it be compared to the 1980 coup. Politicians and the security forces were unable to contain the violence in the country then. More than 5,000 people fell victim to the fighting between "left" and "right", but also within left-wing groups, which took on civil war-like features. The conflicts were fuelled by the then Soviet Union and by Islamist Iran. In the event of a political upheaval in Turkey, there was a threat of civil war, another Islamist People's Republic or Turkey's withdrawal from NATO. This was correctly stopped by Kenan Evren with the support of Republican President Carter and his security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, as well as our Paul, i.e. Paul Henze, both of whom had also actively taken care of Solidarność in Poland, through a military coup.
This reaction was the lesser evil, a civil war in a NATO country, Turkey's withdrawal from NATO at that time could have very quickly led to a direct conflict with the Soviet Union, this was successfully prevented.
Unfortunately, after the end of the Bush Sr. administration in the following years, Washington lacked such experienced security advisors as Paul and Brzezinski, which is increasingly noticeable and has been taken to extremes in the development under the Obama and Trump administrations.
Biden's approach is refreshingly different and good in terms of foreign policy, at least as far as Ukraine is concerned; he also takes a more differentiated approach to China, which is gratifying. But Washington has to find its way back to its old professionalism in this sector much more strongly and Turkey has to concentrate on its old principles again, then the country will also be better off economically, the immediate integration into the Western alliance, the close economic cooperation and collaboration with the EU and especially Germany as well as a friendly state of affairs between Greece and Turkey, are primary issues.
At this point, clear words are needed from Washington and Berlin and we expect a clear, pro-Western reaction from Prime Minister Erdogan.
So Turkey is not a problem for the Balkans and integration in the EU?
No, we just have to be careful that Erdogan refrains from his cultural escapades in the Balkans in the future, the Balkans are part of Europe and not a field of experimentation for orthodox Islam or the Erdogan government.
On the other hand, Europe must integrate Turkey more strongly into the European economic area, Turkey is not an opponent of Europe, it is a friend and there is a close friendship between us Germans and Turks that goes back over a hundred years.
And China?
China has no imperialist interest in the Balkans, China is looking for sales markets for its economy. An interest that is understandable. China thinks only of China and has done so for over 2000 years. Only the Balkans are part of Europe and in this respect we have to be careful economically that the Balkans do not become dependent again on a nation that only wants to use the people as sales markets. The Balkans have great potential and need to become economically stronger, especially Kosovo and Albania, which suffer from socialist, corrupt governments. Economic strength can only be initiated legislatively in both countries by non-socialist, pro-Western governments, strategically, direct cooperation and integration into the EU are elementary issues, the socialist Kurti government has failed so far because they did not initiate any clever economic and social policy, the Rama government has, in our estimation, no interest in Albania becoming a member of the EU. This is also due to the fact that at the moment of Albania's accession to the EU, European law will be fully applied. The freedom of movement of the autocratic government of Rama and his comrades to continue to operate their corrupt executive would then be restricted to zero, suicide is not the goal of Rama.
What about the Russians and the Serbs?
I do not have to go into further detail on the Russian infiltration project Open Balkans, which is strongly influenced by the former interior minister of the war criminal Milosovic, Vuci, one who led the troops of the Ministry of Interior in the Kosovo war, who wants to establish a Yugoslavia 2.0 under the rule of Russia and the autocrat Rama and his combatants Veliaj, Balla, Basha, Tabaku and Alibeaj, I had already given hints and explanations on this in several interviews. Only this much, this project directly affects the stability of the Balkans and thus also affects the security policy interests of the EU and the USA.
The opposition in Albania under the leadership of the then chairman of the DP ensured that Albania left Moscow's Warsaw Pact and consistently led Albania, as the Albanians always do, into NATO and managed to have the EU offer Albania membership at the end of 2013. A noteworthy, courageous step in the direction of Western civil societies by the current Albanian opposition. Unimaginable without the consistent stance of pro-Western actors in Albania and Kosovo.
You see, Russia had no other dream after the Dardanelles, no bigger dream than Durrës. The Russians had wanted for centuries, an access to the Adriatic, as they had done with the Crimea under Catherine the Great. Tito and Hoxha had denied that to the Russians.Those who know history know well that the biggest target in the Balkans was Durrës, of course through Serbia, behind Serbia was always Russia.
The Albanian state security, shaped by the socialist party, whose successor organisation is today's Rama party, built a bridge to the Serbian service, which even then was closely linked to the KGB in Moscow and this coordination structure continues to this day, informally. Ramiz Alia and Milosevic did everything to stay in power, which ultimately led to the Balkan wars of the Serbs.It was a critical time when the Serbian Agency supported Ramiz Alia's regime in Albania and the same actions took place in Kosovo. The Serbian agency had about $40 million at its disposal for Albania and Kosovo at that time, a large part of which came from Moscow.This Serbian agency tried to destabilise the reform movement in the Balkans by disinformation, by buying press representatives, politicians, i.e. the typical methods, or by destabilisation projects, such as the so-called pyramid scandal. The aim was always to discredit the pro-Western forces and, if necessary, to neutralise them. If they were unsuccessful, war was waged, which is also how the Balkan wars between 1991-1999 can be explained.With the intervention in these physical wars of Serbia by NATO and especially Germany in 1999, Russia and Serbia coordinated anew.
How is this to be understood?
Well, the nationalist and geopolitical goals have never been abandoned by Russia and Serbia, the imperial expansion of the sphere of influence of Russia and the state of Serbia. Incidentally, this has always been openly communicated by Vucic and the Russians, only it was overheard in the West and partly in the Balkans. Incidentally, the Russian and Serbian campaigns have achieved partial successes since 2013.
Which ones do you mean?
Well, for one thing, a socialist, Rama , has been prime minister since 2013, whose party is certainly in the tradition of the Hoxha party. We have two kinds of past here, the earliest and the present. Rama is shaken by two things: his past, which he cannot buy. I just remember the 90s, his penchant for selling stolen icons, Nano then brought him back to Albania and Rama brought his brother back from the US. The entire gambling business in Albania and also in other regions is in the hands of the Rama family, this is Albania 2022. The 2017 and 2021 parliamentary elections were massively rigged by members of Rama's socialist party. All three powers , including the one created by the grossly flawed judicial reform, have since been bundled in one hand, this has dictatorship - quality. His involvement with the criminal gangs has left a lot of traces, that is no secret. The international security authorities have the relevant dossiers on this, and a glance at them is enough to see where the problem lies. Not like the German ambassador Peter Zingraf said a few days ago, that Albania's waste laws do not comply with EU standards and that this is a blockade for EU accession. No, the problem is the leadership of the Albanian state. Europe's biggest newspaper, Bild, called them a MAFIA government, Voice of America, Der Spiegel and other international news portals report.
The problems of Albania and Kosovo are not with the people, but are systemic with the leadership. The DNA of the Rama government is anti-Western, it focuses on the self-preservation of the Rama autocracy, the DNA of the Albanian nation is deeply European, pro-Western in structure. They have a management problem in Albania, they have a government that does not implement the will of the sovereign and that came to power through rigged elections.
What good is the best law, legal reform, to the sovereign, to the people, if the three powers are eliminated and the sovereign's trust in democracy and the rule of law is destroyed?
If someone thinks that in such a state a legal reform will help, which is then also organised by the one who established the one - party state, they must be de facto persons who want to promote the anti-democratic system.
What about the judicial and investigative records in Albania?
The judicial vacuum of the last five years has led to a backlog of a hundred thousand cases, of which about 36,000 are still waiting to be dealt with by the Supreme Court, which today has only nine out of nineteen judges and thus cannot act in accordance with the constitution.
Incidentally, this must be done better in Kosovo. However, I have doubts whether the socialist Kurti has the strength to do so.I assume that it will take one to two decades in Albania to reduce the current backlog of legal cases. Five years after parliament passed the law on judicial reform, only 420 out of 830 judges and prosecutors have passed the vetting process, and 200 have failed the vetting and left the judicial system. This is a further eating damage of the unprofessional judicial reform.A major problem, however, is the private capture of the judiciary. The basis for this is the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council, staffed also by old socialists from the dictatorship, to outsource the management of the Supreme Court's files to the East-West Management Institute (EWMI) under an agreement.
The head of the EWMI in Albania is Delina Fico, wife of the current Minister of the Interior, B. Çuçi, and former wife of Prime Minister Rama. As we can see, the family is committed. A typical indicator of an autocracy. At the "kitchen table" the files are now being sorted.
We in the West have to imagine something like this happening in Washington. The investigative and judicial files of the US Supreme Courts are outsourced to a private company whose CEO is the ex-wife of the US President and the current wife of one of the President's ministers. An unimaginable situation, but it has happened in Albania and this deal has been positively accompanied by an ambassador. More trust towards the West, democracy and the rule of law cannot be destroyed than by this action of the Rama administration. Ms. Fico, by the way, is also a former head of Soros' OSF. There are rumours that she together with Soros Jr. was involved in corruption in Azerbaijan in her former function.
The EMMI's legal experts are members of the Socialist Youth Lawyers' Club and do not meet the legal minimum requirements for legal advisers to the Supreme Court. The law stipulates that such advisers should be judges or have certain professional experience and qualifications, and that they should undergo the same vetting system as judges, according to Article 179/2 § 4 of the Constitution. None of these persons who filter the Supreme Court cases have been vetted in any way. How can a neutral judiciary function, how can files be prevented from being tampered with or incorrectly evaluated. This is chaos in its pure form, in the Rama government, that we have not even experienced in Russia or Africa. Such an arrangement, moreover, violates not only Article 179/2 § 4 of Albanian law, but also the right to a proper court, as provided for in Article 6 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
And the results?
Incidentally, a recent comparative study shows that the Rama Socialist Party now controls 90% of power in Albania, almost 10% more than the party of dictator Hoxha had in 1991. Since 2018, the judicial system has not been able to guarantee Albanian citizens a fair trial. For five years, Albanian citizens - due to the absence of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court - have not had effective access to a court in the Albanian judicial system, no legal security exists. De iure, due to the unprofessional judicial reform, the rule of law no longer exists in Albania. The de facto denial of this fundamental right is mainly due to the dramatic decrease in the number of judges and prosecutors in the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal.
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In addition, if there were 100,000 court cases at all levels of the judiciary, their review would take decades, according to experts, so that thousands upon thousands of elderly citizens will not receive justice in their lifetime. As a result, the primary foundation of a rule of law, namely the trust and acceptance of the sovereign, i.e. Albanian citizens, has been brought down to zero. Since 2018, the blocking of civil cases before the Supreme Court, e.g. regarding property, contracts, investments, etc., has caused the country a loss of approximately over 5 billion euros. Moreover, during these five years, not a single significant foreign investor has come to Albania; on the contrary, several of them have left the country. This economic damage is hard to qualify and quantify. The absence and non-functioning of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court for five years has been one of the main reasons for the EU's refusal to open accession negotiations with Albania. This economic damage is also difficult to qualify and quantify. In particular, the current situation leads to a deepening destabilisation of Albania and creates a larger space for the influence of China and Russia. The main beneficiaries of the flawed judicial reform in Albania are the government, organised crime, drug cartels and corruption, all linked to the current executive. All major building permits in Albania are approved either by Rama and/or his representative Veliaj. It is well known in Albania that whoever applies for a big building permit has to pay. This is what we call corruption. Recently, unfortunately, one must also list his combatants Basha, Veliaj, Alibeaj, Tabaku at this point.
But it is also up to our diplomats and NGO representatives, either they are reticent in criticising the state leadership and in their reporting towards the EU, or they receive an appropriate salary, or they celebrate with representatives of the executive and protect the corrupt executive, like US Ambassador Kim. Where even US media are now wondering what Ms Kim's interest is. Kim was overwhelmed with her job at the US Embassy in Ankara at the time and she is overwhelmed in Tirana now. Her involvement is damaging to the reputation of the US and Europe. She also does not seem to understand the culture of the Balkans, which is the main problem. Biden should react and, similar to what is now happening in Belgrade, send a diplomat to Triana who is appropriately qualified and has the interests of the USA and the West in focus. Under Rama's leadership, the rule of law and democracy developed by the democrats after 1991 were dismantled. Freedom of the press was massively curtailed, the rule of law was de facto abolished in 2018 through the dysfunctionality of the supreme courts and still does not function today, the 2017 and 2021 parliamentary elections were massively rigged by members of Rama's ruling party. As a result, all important executive functions are now occupied by the Rama Socialist Party and, due to the manipulation of the parliamentary elections, there is a de facto majority in parliament, so that the constitution is being changed step by step.
What does this mean for the present?
This development has been intertwined with a campaign against the opposition and certain opposition leaders, including the co-founders of parliamentary democracy and Albania's integration with the West, Sali Berisha and Ilir Meta.
An attempt was made to defame and disqualify these persons by means of falsified documents and rumours, just as Putin did with the opposition in Moscow; Nawelny is a good example; in Putin's view, the upright opposition member who fought corruption in Russia is the greatest corrupt personality and has also obtained judicial legitimisation for this untruth. In Albania, it is not the corrupt executive, i.e. Rama, but Berisha, who has not held office for 12 years. We see the same pattern of autocracy in Moscow or in Albania, according to the motto: "Stop thief".
In the Sali Berisha case, Tom Morgan of the Washington Examiner got to the heart of the matter in an editorial a few days ago. The question, Morgan said, is why the Biden administration is tolerating the exponentially increasing corruption and money laundering in Albania over the past 11 years, which is the responsibility of the socialist government of Albania under Prime Minister Rama.
Compelling evidence, according to Morgan, suggests that Rama may be directly involved in an alliance between Albanian mafiosi and the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and arguably the Chinese Mafia, which runs the drug trade. Such a structure directly affects the stability of the US as well.
The question arises. Is it the campaign donations that the Democrats have received from US Mexicans and US Albanians, possibly from "Rama family" circles? Or is it a personal matter of a completely overtaxed US diplomat who does not understand the cultural conditions of the Balkans and Washington has not been sufficiently informed or has been misinformed.
What do you think?
Personally, I am leaning towards option 2. Washington currently has to deal with the mega-issues: Taiwan, Ukraine and Iran, which is demanding and a location like Albania can be forgotten. According to Morgan, Albania is now a major destination for Latin American cocaine imports into Europe. As Vice reported in March, Albanian mafia clans now dominate the highly lucrative cocaine trade in London. Rama takes on the financial patronage of organised crime groups in return for political and legal protection for the crime bosses. It is in this context that the pro - Western opposition must now be seen. For a long time Rama controlled the opposition through the problematic combatants Basha, Tabaku, Alibeaj. This group initiated the exit from the Albanian parliament in February 2019, without a strategy for the opposition. This allowed the Rama administration to determine everything legislatively on its own. This was followed by the refusal to participate in the local elections on 30 June 2019 by the same combatants. As a result, the Rama administration gained complete control over the budgets, the "meat pots", as they are called in the Balkans, and also control over the preparations for the 2021 parliamentary elections. Something similar is currently taking place with regard to the 2023 local elections. The elections were again marked by massive manipulation attempts by the members of the ruling party Rama, but also by the complete inactivity of the combatants , only 5 weeks before the parliamentary election they started campaigning, too late. After the parliamentary election it was clear and obvious in the pro - western parties that these combatants should no longer act as chairpersons. What happened then, the former chairman of the DP , the adversary of the combatants, Sali Berisha, was accused of corruption, alleged acts that were supposed to have been committed 10-15 ago. There were never any investigations or verdicts.However, this led to the US Americans being provided with falsified documents from Albania, which formed the basis for Berisha being denied private entry into the USA. This led to the uncontrolled use of force by Rama's combatants against unarmed parliamentarians and members of the pro-Western opposition on 8 January 2022, a day known in Albania as Black Saturday. A similar thing happened with President Meta.
How can we understand you, is it about the case of Filip Talo?
Not only do you see, on that day, 25 July 2022, Meta , who was president until the end of June, was elected chairman of the LSI, a very active, pro - western opposition party. On the same day, a new concept was adopted for the party, which is now called the "Party of Freedom". The concept of freedom is the programme for this party. Meta is a real patriot, a good Albanian and his goal is the integration of Albania into the EU, he wants families to live and exist safely and happily in Albania and to find a future in their own country.
What else happened that day and the following day in Albania. It is about Filip Talo. On 26.07.2022, some information was published in a nationally circulated newspaper (shqiptarja.com), which contained data and information from the Filip Talo file of the Information Authority for Former State Security Documents in Tirana. The agency is administered by the Rama autocracy. The data in the papers and documents produced by "employees and officials of the State Security" in connection are probably not authentic. Talo himself only confirmed the authenticity and accuracy for his protocol of 09.03. 1990, he was arrested on that day by the socialist state security, which is handwritten and signed by him. Some other official letters contain contradictory, inaccurate, manipulated and/or falsified data, according to Talo. This also corresponds to our impression, the documents are available to us in Germany. One of his socialist interrogators was Edmond Thimjo. As a possible informer, Ilir Murati, to whom Talo probably reported his plans to escape from Albania, and then in some places Ilir Meta appeared in the clear and was put in the context of Talo's spying. Talo, however, rightly points out that the files were manipulated, that Meta was not an informer, and explicitly points out that these files must also be interpreted, as they are often also influenced by the fantasy of the secret service agents. Incidentally, the same issue is also present in Germany. Incidentally, it is also untypical that informers are listed in the reports with their clear names. This rather indicates that the persons listed with clear names were wiretapped and the wiretap protocol was incorporated into the prose of the file. After the party congress, the documents were published in semi-governmental media by third parties without any specified fact-checking and without Talo's permission. In parallel, a legislative initiative was apparently initiated by the ruling party Rama with the aim of preventing former informers from accepting a parliamentary mandate or holding a position in a democratic party.
So this process is ultimately about an attempt to neutralise representatives of the pro-Western opposition, in this case Meta. The government and the parliamentary group had been trying to do something similar for several years and had tried to draft corresponding parliamentary resolutions. Meta was also accused of anti-state behaviour and was to be removed as president. The Venice Commission was involved several times and always sided with President Meta.
And what is clear from these events?
A pattern becomes clear in these events: whether by falsifying elections or by falsifying the contents of files, attempts are being made to eliminate the pro-Western opposition. The term anti-corruption is readily used by autocrats as a tool for oppression, as is now the case in Albania, the Anti-Corruption Agency SPAK, which was established in defiance of the Albanian Constitution.
For example, the Rama government or the mayors of the Rama party instruct the SPAK or KLSH (the unit that controls the state, also known as Kontrolli i Larte i Shtetit) to check state tender documents in advance so that they can say that everything is in order or impose minimum penalties on the companies and that's it. We are talking about tenders worth hundreds of millions of euros. And once the KLSH has investigated a file and made its judgement, according to the law, no one has control over it anymore. De facto, this means that the corruption of the Rama executive has now found a basis of legitimacy for its corruption through this control mechanism. Incidentally, an ambassador in Tirana constantly praises this institution, although she should know that the SPAK cannot work in a dysfunctional constitutional state in the sense of anti - corruption under the rule of law. third mistake of the US ambassador. On the other hand, representatives of pro -Western democrats and press companies are subjected to special checks by the executive, documents are produced, and then subsequently marked as enemies of the West , as anti -Americans. An abstruse undertaking, even Western politicians sometimes fall for the propaganda. The aim of these campaigns is to destabilise the opposition by neutralising its pro -Western leaders. Albanian culture is organised in a paternalistic way; neutralising its leaders will result in the social system in Albania, in this case the pro-Western opposition, becoming incapable of acting.
How does the Open Balkans Initiative of Rama and Vucic fit into this pattern?
Parallel to these outlined actions, Rama joined the Serbian-Russian Open Balkans Initiative, a counter-model to the European Union. Serbia itself has signed military contracts with the Russians and is a member of the Russian Eurasian Economic Union. The aim is to organise a single economic space between Serbia and Albania from 2023. The issue here is that very different economies will be de facto merged. As a result, the stronger Serbian economy will dominate Albania, medium-sized companies will go bankrupt, agricultural land will be increasingly sold to Serbian investors and the Chinese, and the Russians would finally have their access to the Adriatic.In a second step, the Serbian dinar will certainly be introduced, and the Albanian LEK will not be able to withstand the Serbian influence in macroeconomic terms. Whoever dominates the economic events of a nation state will then also decide the political orientation of the country. At the end of this possible development is a complete break with the EU. Rama had already stated publicly in June 2019 that he knew of no EU criteria that Albania would have to meet in order to open talks on accession. That was a lie, of course, or he is demented. But it shows that Rama was not interested in joining the EU. I think he knew that it would be suicide for him. An autocrat like Rama would have no right to exist in an EU state.
The Albanian oligarchs would also be pushed back and replaced by Serbian/Russian oligarchs.The Socialist Parties of Serbia and Albania would then have achieved what the Serbian Agency failed to achieve in 1991/1992, 30 years later the counterevolution would be complete.
Will it come to that?
Well there are two answers to that, which are interlocked.One is that the counterrevolution did not succeed in removing the democratic leaders.The actors have completely disregarded the cultural imprint of the Albanians. The Albanians concerned have granted themselves against this counterrevolution of the socialists in recent years, just as they did against the involvement of the Serbian Agency in 1991 and the Socialist Party, as well as against the Serbian war criminals in the Balkan wars. Albanians have woken up and backed these fighters for freedom, the rule of law and the future of the Albanian nation in the EU.On the other hand, the war of aggression of the Russians against Ukraine leads to a basic issue, it is to choose between Putin/Vucic or the EU.
Decide for the EU, the EU has decided against us, hasn't it?
No, the Rama government has basically done nothing except write on paper, but what is written on paper does not correspond to reality. This also applies to the Kurti government. Negotiations with the Western Balkan countries on accession to the EU must nevertheless begin now, and for this we need a central decision by the EU Council. Most of these countries, especially Albania, have not fulfilled the criteria, there are different reasons from country to country. However, the EU's approach to the negotiations has been too linear. The accession process is a multi-layered process in cultural, economic and geopolitical terms. Added to this is now Putin's disastrous war of aggression against Ukraine. There is no need now for an accession process in several, iterative steps; that would take far too long and would not do justice to the common goal of Europe and the world community; it would rather lead to destructive results. The individual aspects must be dealt with and clarified in parallel, including the criteria that have not yet been fulfilled.In addition, as Chancellor Scholz and Marcron have rightly pointed out, the EU must be reformed. The principle of unanimity is already causing elementary problems, and the problems will increase if additional states become members. But this issue must also be dealt with in parallel with the other issues.The remaining 5 countries of the EU, including France, must now recognise Kosovo under international law. The situation is too serious, a readjustment is also needed, i.e. a clear positioning of French foreign policy with regard to the Balkans.Kosovo must apply for membership of NATO and the EU, any threats of attack from Serbia are unacceptable, any attack on Kosovo will lead to the intervention of KAFOR troops.
Within the framework of the upcoming accession process, the Balkan countries will also become part of the Schengen area. This is a good regulatory framework in which the border conflicts between Serbia and Kosovo can be resolved. Of course, it must be ensured that the minorities in Kosovo, as well as in Serbia, are protected in the same way. For Kosovo and Serbia, I recommend the German-Danish model for solving the minority problem.The problem is, however, the autocracy of Rama, we assume that he is not interested in membership.
Why not?
Well, that would be an attempt at suicide of his autocratic system. Why should he do that? You see, he constantly provokes and insults the actors of the European Union. As a result, none of the Europeans in the Strasbourg parliament wanted to have dinner with him. Rama is isolating himself more and more. This also has something to do with the fact that in the meantime the aggressor Putin is being pushed back and China is also increasingly siding with the West. Where else is he supposed to orientate himself. The sovereign, the Albanian people, must act now.
The Serbian conflicts have robbed the youth in the Balkans of their childhood and youth, a large number of young people are fleeing abroad, the flight movements have increased out of Albania since 2013, something similar has happened in Kosovo, can this be accepted?
No, this leads to destabilisation in the Balkans and destabilisation can lead to wars.I have the impression that the Albanian identity is very complex. Its history, I have already mentioned, is marked by occupation, freedom struggles and genocides against Albanians. Today, being Albanian means constantly fighting to survive. For the right to exist alone.Of course, it would be better if being Albanian meant simply living in Albania, raising children, developing the country and the culture, in other words, as is the case with the peoples of the EU. That's why the majority of the populations in Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro want to join the EU, in Serbia it's different, the majority are supporters of Putin.
So, I only hope that the Albanian opposition, but also the other Balkan countries, will prevail and implement the will of their nation to become a member of the EU very soon. On 7 July 2022, a big demonstration of the pro-Western opposition is planned in Tirana, on the famous Central Square: Western integration, freedom, happiness, democracy and the rule of law, in other words, the future of Albania. I am impressed by the steadfastness and adherence to principles of the Albanians, which reminds me of our northern German mentality, the people on the coasts in the north are similarly structured when it comes to adherence to principles, the spoken word counts.Apart from the fact that it is worth fighting for one's freedom, what can the world learn from the fate of the Balkan states, especially Albania and Kosovo?
The world, Europe, is learning in Ukraine that there are no foreign wars and that international law, i.e. the right of nations to self-determination, is a fundamental right, that autocrats are the enemies of freedom. Under modern conditions, freedom can be restricted very quickly, missiles get everywhere, refugees get to almost all countries, people are manipulated by propaganda. Therefore, there is no "far away" and no "it's none of our business" . This applies to the Albanians themselves, but also to the West. This must now not only be understood, but action must be taken by the EU and by the Albanians and Kosovars.
How should Albania and Kosovo be renewed?
Renewal awaits them - a material and a psychological one.The material renewal is obvious. In the 10 years of the autocratic Rama government alone, hardly any new infrastructure has been built, energy production is dependent on hydroelectric power plants, some of which are in a dilapidated state, the economy has no solid basis, investors, apart from the black money investors from Russia and other states, are hardly to be found, the legal and social system has to be reorganised and the accession procedure to the EU has to be put on a new basis.
There are problems in the accession process and the problems do not disappear just because we ignore them internationally or in Albania.
Can there be a Ukraine 2.0 in the Balkans?
Sure, Serbia can be trusted to organise a new war of aggression with Putin's backing, similar to what happened in Ukraine. They have enough Russian weapons and have bought modern air defence systems from the Russians and the Chinese. This initiative is nail-biting, but it is dependent on the outcome of the war of aggression in Ukraine.
So what needs to be done?
For one thing, the security forces in the non-Serb Balkan states must be optimised and better coordinated. The Balkan states must be prepared to deter a possible aggressor, as Serbia, regardless of whether they are members of NATO or not. In this respect, the bilateral structures should be expanded, and it would certainly make sense to have a coordinated supreme command of the armed forces in these Balkan countries. In any case, Bulgaria should be more involved in the Balkans. Bulgaria is an active NATO and EU member, a Balkan country and, unlike Serbia, pro-Western in orientation.This also applies to the cooperation of the military security services. In addition, the disinformation campaigns of the Serbs and Russians must be fought more intensively.
Russian propaganda channels must be banned and switched off, as in the USA or the EU, and this also applies to engagement in the social media. It would have to be examined more closely which employees and political organisations take a pro-Russian stance; here, too, action would have to be taken analogous to the measures taken in Ukraine, the EU and the USA; this also applies to trade relations. Trade with Russia's supporters should be stopped.
So the Balkan states should rearm?
Yes, the Balkan states must do more for their internal and external security, and they should all become members of NATO. Sweden and Finland show this in an exemplary way, Kosovo should now also submit its membership application to the EU and NATO.
And the relationship with Serbia?
Like Putin, they should never trust Vucic, but never be afraid of either.The two have one thing in common. Atrocities of unimaginable proportions by the Serbs and Russians. Devastating genocides, massacres and war crimes by the Serbs. In total, more than 200,000 people died. In addition, there were several million refugees and displaced persons, similar to the situation in Ukraine now. To this day, the region of the former multi-ethnic state harbours conflict potential, effects of the war of aggression by the Serbs.
Milosevic, Karadzic, Mladic, but also Vucic, who was Minister of the Interior during the attack on Kosovo, are not to be forgotten.The Serbian terrorist groups in the 90's had the idea of scorched earth ,so wanted to drive the Albanian nation out of their ancestral settlement areas for good and if they did not leave voluntarily they were killed, the atrocities in Srebrenica, , Sarajevo, village Krusha e Madhë, Račak, for the Russians Mariupol, Butscha are places of their atrocities.The territorial integrity of the Balkan states and Kosovo in particular are non-negotiable. On the other hand, the protection of minorities under international law applies to the Bulgarian minorities in Macedonia and the Serbian minorities in Bosnia and Kosovo; they are not negotiable.Serbia must be expected to accept the territorial integrity of Kosovo and other Balkan states, to turn its back on Putin and to apply for NATO membership. That will create peace in the Balkans.Vucic must now make up his mind. As Lavrov rightly said, the Russians are now pulling down the iron curtain, the leaders of the states should not pinch their noses. So, Mr Vucic, where do you want to stand in front of the curtain or behind it. Incidentally, this question also applies to Vucic's friend, the Albanian Prime Minister Rama.
How do you assess the current situation in Ukraine?
Well, NATO has assured Kiev of unconditional assistance, this war is about more than just Ukraine. It is about freedom and respect for international law, worldwide. In the coming weeks, we expect a massive increase in refugees from Ukraine, of Russian and Ukrainian descent, we will take these people in and treat them like brothers and sisters. Putin is not only waging a war of aggression against Ukraine , but also against the Russian nation , as we are now seeing in Ukraine , where Putin's army have killed a great many Ukrainians , of Russian descent. Russia itself is sliding into economic chaos. In the short term, high energy prices will help on the revenue side. From 2023, however, the market for energy sales will collapse by 40 %. Even in the short and medium term, Russia will not be able to compensate for this with new export markets in Asia and Africa. This is because Russia also lacks the equipment to build new pipelines. The country and the world depend on the West for all important technology products.
We are currently seeing an increasing hybrid involvement of Putin in Europe with the aim of interrupting the energy supply. Attacks are being organised on the signalling and radio technology of Deutsche Bahn, Russian foreign intelligence scouts are on the move throughout Europe, positioning sleepers and other light figures in the hot spots of the energy supply. We know this kind of commitment from the times of the Cold War and we will react. Putin, it seems, has miscalculated yet again. Officially, the Russian leadership justified the missile attacks of the last few days with the explosion on the Crimean bridge, which Putin in turn called a Ukrainian "terrorist act". The Kremlin despot wanted retaliation for the sensitive blow to an important supply line of the Russian army. But what kind of retaliation is this supposed to be?because if Russia really wanted to retaliate, i.e. seriously harm Ukraine, it would launch a new offensive or at least conquer the newly annexed Ukrainian territories, which, according to the Kremlin, now belong to the Russian Federation. But the Russian army is not in a position to do that at the moment. It has not been able to show any military successes for months. Lack of ammunition and equipment, demoralised troops and losses of up to 90,000 soldiers make the formerly second strongest army in the world a shadow of its former self. That is why Putin is resorting to destructive, militarily senseless measures.
Russia's missile terror is thus an admission of weakness. Terror is a tactic that does not rely on its own strength, but depends on the opponent changing his behaviour: buckling, retreating, giving up. The Russian leadership resorts to state terrorist methods because it knows no other way to help itself. It has exposed its own vulnerability to the world. Russia should be labelled a terrorist state.
What Putin cannot achieve on the battlefield, he is now trying to do politically: the Kremlin leader, who months ago compared himself to Peter the Great and dreamed of a Russian empire, is suddenly ready to negotiate. For Russia's president, a new phase of the war is now beginning, in which he wants to secure his war booty internationally.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently announced that the country was ready for talks with the USA. A meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has already successfully mediated between Kiev and Moscow, is already planned for this Thursday. Suddenly, things can't move fast enough. The Ukrainian military is already knocking on Cherson's gates.
But how the talks are to proceed is completely unclear. Russia has not changed its war aims and Ukraine, on the battlefield in the initiative, shows no willingness to respond. A change of government in Moscow in the coming months cannot be ruled out, so that peace negotiations with Russia then seem possible. Russia, like Ukraine, belongs to Europe. The problem is the current leadership in Moscow.
For the Balkans, this means that Russia's influence is dwindling, so it is time for the Balkans to be integrated into the European region. Vucic will have to decide whether to go down together with Putin or to give up his imperialist ideas in the Balkans, recognise the state of Kosovo , without any ifs and buts and join the circle of European civil societies, the same goes for Victor Orban, by the way.
And the energy crisis, a problem for Europe and the Balkans?
Well, prices will still be high in 2023. The Albanian government, but unfortunately also the Kurti government, had completely failed in the energy sector. TOO much corruption. Albania could be completely independent of oil and gas, if the government wants it.
But the problem is, both governments have no idea about economic and social policy, knowledge they have sipped. and how to promote their own clientele. I think that one of the big tasks of the future, new government in Tirana, but also in Pristina. The reaction to the crisis will be even stronger than after the oil crisis in the 1970s, which led to energy efficiency and even nuclear energy.
The US has passed the "Inflation Reducatiom Act", a big, very substantial and innovative programme of the Biden administration, which they, in cooperation with the Republicans, have done really well, in Europe there are the "REPowerEU measures" , even more interesting than the US programme and Japan has taken similar initiatives.
These reactions are due to three factors. Energy security, countries want to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. In this respect, for example, Rama's initiative to initiate gas-fired power plants in the Adriatic is a 19th century programme, a waste of resources.
Then there are the international commitments to climate protection. And finally, a future-oriented economic policy. Many countries, including China by the way, which is very innovative in this segment, want to be leaders in terms of clean technologies, with electric vehicles, whose propulsion system was developed by Mercedes Benz in the 19th century, hydrogen propulsion, which was also developed in Germany. This is a really strong combination that will secure the future of our societies. The distrubtive situation basically leads to a Booster XXL.
A final word?
I think that the pro-Western opposition in Kosovo and Albania has every opportunity to bring about change. To come to power. These Balkan states can, if they want to, become members of the EU very quickly and will secure the future for their populations in their own countries. The oposition in both countries must not and will not continue with the arrogant and with the same patronage-based way of governing of the autocrats. I have the impression from many conversations with Albanians in Kosovo and Albania, and also abroad, that the question is no longer who is right, but rather what are our common possibilities, how can we get there and what must we do now. The nation must do something now, it is entirely up to you. Finally, one more recommendation. Albanians must focus on their country and their sovereign and organise policies so that families and nature are protected and a future that makes people happy is possible for all. But this also means that Albanians must pay more attention to their sovereignty, patriotism is required. Should ambassadors continue to send pro - western, decent , Albanian politicians SMS or Whatsapp messages, as an ambassador in Tirana does regularly, or quote them to talks to instruct them and give them de facto marching orders, Albanians should not take such things seriously, should not pay attention and should rather inform the public about such business behaviour, which is contrary to international law.
The Albanians should, in short, not let themselves be overwhelmed by their fear. It is about their freedom and the Albanians managed in 1991 and 1999, despite their fear, but with courage to resist these repressions, they will also manage in 2022. We Europeans and US Americans stand by your side.
Mr Henze, thank you very much for the interview.
Interview in Albanian and further references:
FIXED ASSETS ACCOUNTING MANAGER chez European Space Agency - ESA
2yThe change is coming. Be ready. Besa-Bese! 🇦🇱
FRP/CDI at Public Defender
2yGreat article and interview. I really appreciate it.