Who are Berisha’s mercenaries in “KJ” and the PS?
A forced response to the chairman of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano
Pages 4-5
Berisha’s anti-Western line: demagoguery or strategic choice
BY FERDINAND XHAFERRI
Berisha’s political mosaic, especially during his activity in opposition, has evolved consistently along an anti-Western line, not only to expose the feeble intent of Albanian anti-Westerners, but also to reflect with richness and practice that foreign force should not dominate in Albania. He opposed the undirected Orthodox episcopal cardinalities by OSCE, UNDP, DDFH, UNHCR, or the bosses who leave no room for analysis. Not only against the so-called “dossier syndrome,” but also against the link of the Albanian anti-Western monopoly. He opposed the change in the pace of relations with America and NATO. Not only with anti-Western means, but with a new walling-off of the anti-capacity of Albanians in emigration. Not only by launching attacks against the distinguished contribution of the Americans and their help for NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia, but also by projecting in relations with Serbia, or covertly a not at all insignificant anti-Americanism. In function of this, he seeks to put in place a special membrane focused only on the path the country is following: by severing relations with the West in the name of “balance,” by calling Euro-Atlantic orientation a kind of historical betrayal and by accusing opponents of being foreign “mercenaries.”
Berisha has given this stance of his against the West a distinct form: not only through opposition to integration initiatives, but also by neutralizing forces that seek an anti-Western orientation, not least by massively using media close to him and his political apparatus. In this sense, he tries to revive an old rhetoric against figures and groups he labels as people from abroad or captured by external interests. This tactic, built on fear and prejudice, is not aimed only at gaining political points, but also at keeping a climate of conflict alive in order to avoid accountability to Albanians.
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At the rally in Tirana, Berisha with the candidate for mayor, Besnik Mustafaj. Photo: P. LIO