ForumMy letter to President Obama re: Albania - Letra ime për Presidentin Obama
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My letter to President Obama re: Albania - Letra ime për Presidentin Obama
nga Agim Gashi Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:06 pm
My letter to President Obama re: Albania - Letra ime për Presidentin Obama
BY EMAIL AND REGULAR MAIL
March 30, 2009
The Hon. Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
RE: Albania
Mr. President:
In your inaugural speech you stated, "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history."
Based on your words, it seems you were speaking directly to those like Sali Berisha, Albania’s Prime Minister. Yet, in the first week of February, members of your administration, including Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other members of your administration and Congress, met in Washington with Prime Minister Berisha and his travel companion, former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu.
On the eve of your trip to Europe to attend G-20 and NATO meetings, I am writing to brief you about the Berisha regime, a “government” that, in my opinion, is little more than an international criminal conspiracy.
By way of background, I was a founder of the Albanian Relief Foundation and the National Albanian American Council, and I established the first lobbying office for Albanian Americans in Washington. I also served as a Director of the Kosova Relief Fund and the Albanian Heritage Foundation. My grandfather, my father (who emigrated from Albania as a young boy and served in the U.S. Army Air Corp during WWII) and my mother were all active in the affairs of the Albanian American community.
My efforts helped expose several incidents of impropriety by Albanian government officials including the AEY arms deal with the U.S. Department of Defense, which was reported on the front page of the March 27, 2008 edition of The New York Times, and is currently the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. I was also a catalyst for the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of AEY. Kosta Trebicka, who was an Albanian businessman, was the AEY whistle-blower, and I worked with him to help shed light on this scandal. As such, Trebicka was a material witness to this effort to defraud DOD and American taxpayers. Unfortunately, last fall, Kosta was found dead on a remote back road in Albania in what was called a "car accident" by the Berisha government. Because of the highly suspicious nature of his death and the fact that Kosta implicated Berisha and Mediu in the AEY deal, most Albanians believe he was murdered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UyfK6pN1I
Information regarding Berisha and Mediu that should be of concern to the U.S. government follows:
1. Several days after Fatmir Mediu met with officials of your administration, he was indicted by Albania’s prosecutor in conjunction with the March 15, 2008 explosion at the ammunition demilitarization facility located at Gerdec, Albania (there is reason to believe the Gerdec operation was initiated because of direct pressure from the U.S. government). The Gerdec tragedy resulted in 26 deaths, hundreds of injuries and thousands of damaged properties. The hazardous conditions at this plant were well known to Albanian government officials, including Berisha and Mediu, and U.S. Embassy officials in Tirana. As was well known in Albania and to State Department officials, at the time Mediu met with Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton, he was under investigation for Gerdec (despite Berisha's ongoing attempts to undermine the Albanian prosecutor’s investigation). Several of Mediu's associates were previously indicted for negligence and mass murder in conjunction with Gerdec. The news of the charges against Mediu appears in this International Herald Tribune report: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/11/europe/EU-Albania-Blast-Probe.php . Prior to the Berisha/Mediu visit to Washington, I informed American officials via email about their intentions to use the visit to their advantage. Those officials were fully aware that Mediu presided over Albania’s Ministry of Defense at the time of the AEY scandal as well as the persistent allegations about Mediu’s corrupt practices.
2. A report issued by The Economist in January called Albania a "hybrid democracy" describing it as a hybrid between democracy and totalitarianism. The report ranked Albania as the leastdemocratic country in the Balkans and stated, "the spread of democracy has come to a halt" in Albania. http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/2009/01/19/albania-a-hybrid-democracy-the-economist/
vijon
BY EMAIL AND REGULAR MAIL
March 30, 2009
The Hon. Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
RE: Albania
Mr. President:
In your inaugural speech you stated, "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history."
Based on your words, it seems you were speaking directly to those like Sali Berisha, Albania’s Prime Minister. Yet, in the first week of February, members of your administration, including Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other members of your administration and Congress, met in Washington with Prime Minister Berisha and his travel companion, former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu.
On the eve of your trip to Europe to attend G-20 and NATO meetings, I am writing to brief you about the Berisha regime, a “government” that, in my opinion, is little more than an international criminal conspiracy.
By way of background, I was a founder of the Albanian Relief Foundation and the National Albanian American Council, and I established the first lobbying office for Albanian Americans in Washington. I also served as a Director of the Kosova Relief Fund and the Albanian Heritage Foundation. My grandfather, my father (who emigrated from Albania as a young boy and served in the U.S. Army Air Corp during WWII) and my mother were all active in the affairs of the Albanian American community.
My efforts helped expose several incidents of impropriety by Albanian government officials including the AEY arms deal with the U.S. Department of Defense, which was reported on the front page of the March 27, 2008 edition of The New York Times, and is currently the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. I was also a catalyst for the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of AEY. Kosta Trebicka, who was an Albanian businessman, was the AEY whistle-blower, and I worked with him to help shed light on this scandal. As such, Trebicka was a material witness to this effort to defraud DOD and American taxpayers. Unfortunately, last fall, Kosta was found dead on a remote back road in Albania in what was called a "car accident" by the Berisha government. Because of the highly suspicious nature of his death and the fact that Kosta implicated Berisha and Mediu in the AEY deal, most Albanians believe he was murdered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UyfK6pN1I
Information regarding Berisha and Mediu that should be of concern to the U.S. government follows:
1. Several days after Fatmir Mediu met with officials of your administration, he was indicted by Albania’s prosecutor in conjunction with the March 15, 2008 explosion at the ammunition demilitarization facility located at Gerdec, Albania (there is reason to believe the Gerdec operation was initiated because of direct pressure from the U.S. government). The Gerdec tragedy resulted in 26 deaths, hundreds of injuries and thousands of damaged properties. The hazardous conditions at this plant were well known to Albanian government officials, including Berisha and Mediu, and U.S. Embassy officials in Tirana. As was well known in Albania and to State Department officials, at the time Mediu met with Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton, he was under investigation for Gerdec (despite Berisha's ongoing attempts to undermine the Albanian prosecutor’s investigation). Several of Mediu's associates were previously indicted for negligence and mass murder in conjunction with Gerdec. The news of the charges against Mediu appears in this International Herald Tribune report: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/11/europe/EU-Albania-Blast-Probe.php . Prior to the Berisha/Mediu visit to Washington, I informed American officials via email about their intentions to use the visit to their advantage. Those officials were fully aware that Mediu presided over Albania’s Ministry of Defense at the time of the AEY scandal as well as the persistent allegations about Mediu’s corrupt practices.
2. A report issued by The Economist in January called Albania a "hybrid democracy" describing it as a hybrid between democracy and totalitarianism. The report ranked Albania as the leastdemocratic country in the Balkans and stated, "the spread of democracy has come to a halt" in Albania. http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/2009/01/19/albania-a-hybrid-democracy-the-economist/
vijon
Agim Gashi- Administrator
- Numri i postimeve : 45955
Age : 69
Location : Kosovë
Registration date : 17/11/2008
Re: My letter to President Obama re: Albania - Letra ime për Presidentin Obama
nga Agim Gashi Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:07 pm
7. A story published last week by Shekulli, one of Albania’s largest newspapers, revealed that Albania sold 10,000 mortar rounds to Iran in March 2006 while Berisha and Mediu had authority over these weapons sales. http://www.shekulli.com.al/2009/03/25/qeveria-trafik-armesh-me-iranin.html
Upon request, I can provide details about other allegations of criminal and corrupt criminal practices by Berisha, Mediu, Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha (who is also under investigation for corruption) and other officials of the Berisha government. In the most recent example, earlier this month, Ylli Pango, Albania’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, was forced from his office in disgrace after a recording surfaced that exposed him attempting to extract sexual favors from a young woman seeking employment. http://www.pr-inside.com/albanian-culture-minister-fired-over-r1094877.htm
During this time of economic crisis in America, why should the machinations of a corrupt government in a small Balkan country matter to you? Because advancing democracy remains a core mission of American foreign policy, and crime and corruption are tearing at the foundations of the fledgling “democracy” in Albania. For this reason, the U.S. has an obligation to confront this problem to advance our objectives and protect our strategic interests in Southern Europe. Furthermore, the AEY scandal represents just the tip of an enormous iceberg of government waste in our country, and correcting DOD procurement irregularities will help save billions of dollars for American taxpayers.
I fully support strong relations between the U.S. and Albania; however, the U.S. government seems to have forgotten that the reason Albanian officials have been able to cooperate with American foreign policy initiatives is because of the great admiration the people of Albania have for America. Allowing Albanian officials to exploit this status for their own personal gain would be an abuse of this precious relationship.
Berisha and senior Albanian government officials continue their economic and political rape of Albania, and, in my opinion, any perceived U.S. support of his criminal regime would represent a disturbing double standard.
I would be happy to discuss any of the information contained herein with appropriate officials from your administration.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Gary Q. Kokalari
910 East Glen Avenue
Township of Washington, NJ 07676
cc: The Hon. Joseph Biden
The Hon. Hillary Clinton
The Hon. James Jones
The Hon. Edolphus Towns
The Hon. Henry Waxman
The Hon. Richard Lugar
The Hon. John McCain
The Hon. James Baker
The Hon. Henry Kissinger
The Hon. Richard Holbrooke
The Hon. Carl Levin
The Hon. Scott Garrett
The Hon. William Cohen
The Hon. Dan Fried
The Hon. John Withers
The Hon. Charles Schumer
The Hon. Frank Lautenberg
The Hon. Robert Menendez
The Hon. Nancy Pelosi
The Hon. Eliot Engel
The Los Angeles Times
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
albemigrant
Upon request, I can provide details about other allegations of criminal and corrupt criminal practices by Berisha, Mediu, Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha (who is also under investigation for corruption) and other officials of the Berisha government. In the most recent example, earlier this month, Ylli Pango, Albania’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, was forced from his office in disgrace after a recording surfaced that exposed him attempting to extract sexual favors from a young woman seeking employment. http://www.pr-inside.com/albanian-culture-minister-fired-over-r1094877.htm
During this time of economic crisis in America, why should the machinations of a corrupt government in a small Balkan country matter to you? Because advancing democracy remains a core mission of American foreign policy, and crime and corruption are tearing at the foundations of the fledgling “democracy” in Albania. For this reason, the U.S. has an obligation to confront this problem to advance our objectives and protect our strategic interests in Southern Europe. Furthermore, the AEY scandal represents just the tip of an enormous iceberg of government waste in our country, and correcting DOD procurement irregularities will help save billions of dollars for American taxpayers.
I fully support strong relations between the U.S. and Albania; however, the U.S. government seems to have forgotten that the reason Albanian officials have been able to cooperate with American foreign policy initiatives is because of the great admiration the people of Albania have for America. Allowing Albanian officials to exploit this status for their own personal gain would be an abuse of this precious relationship.
Berisha and senior Albanian government officials continue their economic and political rape of Albania, and, in my opinion, any perceived U.S. support of his criminal regime would represent a disturbing double standard.
I would be happy to discuss any of the information contained herein with appropriate officials from your administration.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Gary Q. Kokalari
910 East Glen Avenue
Township of Washington, NJ 07676
cc: The Hon. Joseph Biden
The Hon. Hillary Clinton
The Hon. James Jones
The Hon. Edolphus Towns
The Hon. Henry Waxman
The Hon. Richard Lugar
The Hon. John McCain
The Hon. James Baker
The Hon. Henry Kissinger
The Hon. Richard Holbrooke
The Hon. Carl Levin
The Hon. Scott Garrett
The Hon. William Cohen
The Hon. Dan Fried
The Hon. John Withers
The Hon. Charles Schumer
The Hon. Frank Lautenberg
The Hon. Robert Menendez
The Hon. Nancy Pelosi
The Hon. Eliot Engel
The Los Angeles Times
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
albemigrant
Agim Gashi- Administrator
- Numri i postimeve : 45955
Age : 69
Location : Kosovë
Registration date : 17/11/2008
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