Berisha-Shaqiri, 7 years of clashes

To the point that they have met only once, as declared by the US Ambassador John Withers, when Berisha became Prime Minister in 2005.

They even had a strong public clash when the government sent to Parliament some amends for the Secret Service law, through which they gave a mandate to the head of the Secret Service that would allow the Berisha to change him within his mandate.

This clash didn’t in fact happen with Shaqiri, but with the US Embassy, when it was led by Ambassador John Withers, who declared that the law was unacceptable the way it was planned.

“It is of vital importance that the Secret Service remains professional, independent and free of every political intervention. We are concerned that the law undermines these principles”, Withers declared.

Under this influence, some majority MPs rejected the law and the DP did not have the majority to pass it.

This conflict went even to Brussels, and intervention of the NATO secretary, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who had a phone conversation with Berisha, was decisive for making him back off the decision for replacing the Secret Service Director.

The relation between the Secret Service Director became even worse after the January 21st events, when Berisha declared that the Secret Service gave no information for what Berisha called “coup” of the opposition and some institutions for overthrowing the government.

Coincidentally, two days before the January 21st events, the current US Ambassador, Alexander Arvizu, answered to journalist Sokol Balla on Top Channel’s “Top Story”:

“The cooperation with the Secret Service and Mr. Shaqiri is excellent. If he would have another mandate, it would be welcomed by the US”, Arvizu declared. There are no more assumptions now, and if Arvizu would have placed a bet, he would have lost it.

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