Berisha concealed draft-law
07/09/2011 15:55
The Washington Agreement Must Be Reactivated! 06/01 19:04
One of the most important draft laws for the functions of the General
Prosecution was made available for the European Missions (OPDAT, EURALIUS) for legal
advising after it was asked to the Prime Minister by
the US ambassador.
The details how Mr. Berisha tried to avoid it during the meeting with Stuart Jones are revealed in the cable titled “Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jones meets Prime Minister Berisha”.
“Tired and unhealthy-looking”, this is how the Prime Minister Berisha is described during the meeting with Jones, where Berisha has tried to deny that he and his government are interfering with the independence of constitutional institutions, especially in justice.
Berisha outlined reforms the government was making and said that it is approaching the “highly explosive” problem of corruption and organized crime with a “zero tolerance” attitude.
Berisha pledged full support for the GOA investigation into the Gerdec tragedy, but in a thinly veiled justification for his recent attacks on her, called into question the legality of some of the Prosecutor General’s decisions.
This is how Ambassador Withers comments Berisha’s avoidance:
“Berisha failed to mention that the original version of the draft Prosecution General law as prepared by Ministry Of Justice would have severely limited the independence of the prosecutor general and that OPDAT, EURALIUS (an EU counterpart to OPDAT), and the Prosecutor General’s office are fighting to get a copy of the draft law and to get sensible changes introduced. Only after the Ambassador spoke with Berisha himself did this happen.”
During the meeting, Berisha spoke about the Gerdec tragedy, expressing his support to the investigation, but according to the cable, Berisha left unsaid the fact that he and his government attempted early in the investigation to shift the blame to the military.
“A passionate defense”, this is the evaluation of Mr. Withers for the defense that Mr. Berisha made during the meeting with the Bosnian businessman, Damir Fazlic. The Prosecution suspects that Fazlic has laundered money, but Berisha declared that the Prosecution’s investigation started without any proof and that they tried to stop him at the airport and freeze his assets. According to Berisha, all of this was without facts. By the end of the meeting, Berisha declared that he has never made Fazlic a favor, nor did Fazlic ask for one.
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