Thursday, December 29, 2011

US ambassador in Tirana: Crime within the state


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Arvizu: Crime within the state
The growth of the criminality in Albania is one of the issues that the US Ambassador, Alexander Arvizu, commented in the interview he released for “Shqip” newspaper a few days ago.

While appreciating Albania’s progress, Mr. Arvizu expressed his concern for the spread of crime to the highest levels of the Albanian society. The US Ambassador in Tirana made a serious declaration when he underlined that the crime has created roots even inside the Albanian government.

“I think that there has been progress in the last years, but the issue is with the protection of the criminal elements connected with strategic parts of the society, the ones that are inside the government. I repeat that there has been progress in the last years, but for as long that these people keep their official posts, they will be a great problem. It is very impressive what happened in the recent months: we had many occasions, specifically with the US, when we had to undertake extradition or request legal assistance for crimes committed in the USA. When I arrived in Albania, Mr. Nishani was Minister of Justice, and now there is Mr. Halimi. I have been very grateful for their attention and their help, which has enabled the punishment of some high profile crimes in USA, in which were involved some serious criminals. In some levels, the work flows well and there have been progresses, but this progress needs to increase”, Arvizu declared.

Although the US Ambassador stated that there have been improvements in some aspects, the declaration that notes that the high state structures have been involved with the crime is the most serious that the US Ambassador has released, after the Wikileaks cables in which were mentioned concrete names.

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