THE BURNED CARD OF CORRUPTION
Corruption is always with those who control the licenses and customs, enterprises and prices, budgets and jobs, visas and privatization boards.
Corruption makes the “cross” with power, not with the poor person who has nothing in hand.
What is happening openly before everyone’s eyes, but is deliberately covered up by the highest state leaders, is corruption. Although a great deal has been said about it over these past 2-3 years, and concrete denunciations have also been made of corrupt officials in ministerial posts, the head of state keeps his ears closed and speaks and acts as if nothing has happened. The least that can be claimed about all this disregard, or inaction, toward corruption, is that it is serving the purpose of creating a great noise where there is none, and where that noise, on the other hand, begins to drown out the noise and the deeds of real corruption. Let the people verify in words and with these two facts:
1) Ilir Hoxha publicly testified and showed in the press that 50 million dollars from the Italian firm "Atriina" and 1.2 million dollars from the firm "Levroni" were paid to the firm "Shqiponja" of Sali Berisha for approving their request to import tobacco into Albania. He presented copies of the checks in the newspaper and asked the state and judicial authorities to verify everything to the end. Nothing was done. On the contrary, instead of being astonished by the highest state body’s failure to respond to such a blatant violation, we were astonished by Mr. Sali Berisha’s boldness in harshly attacking Ilir Hoxha and threatening him with prison. It was called slander, but no one answered the simple question: did this sum enter or not into the account of the firm "Shqiponja", and who is its owner? That was all that had to be done and the story would have ended. Responsibility would have shifted to Sali Berisha, just as it did for Ilir Hoxha. In any case, the matter was forgotten not only by the official bodies. It was just as quickly forgotten by the opposition press, which meanwhile has begun beating the drum about a corruption that is nothing more than a small abuse of office, compared with the abuse of power at such high levels. Likewise, before our eyes and under our noses there have been, or are being, corruptions far more staggering than the tobacco affair. Not understanding this, or pretending not to understand it, means one cannot tell the mountain from the thorns, or is playing the fool. More clearly and more briefly: corruption is where there is the privileged place to put one’s hands on money, goods, and material benefits, that is, in the government, in all its organs, in state enterprises, in privatization boards, in banks, in the police and customs directorates. Is it difficult to understand why policemen and traffickers, policemen and waiters, policemen and prostitutes, policemen and common thugs, politicians and businessmen, directors and customs officers, immigration officials and visa brokers, government officials and privatization administrators are only a part—indeed only the visible part—of a world of corruption? Everyone sees this, except those who pretend not to see. Especially for the former president and the head of government, exposing and punishing corruption presents no difficulty. They only need to want to. Why do they not want to? Because the very machinery of power they have built nourishes this corruption. Because it is needed to keep a system of privileges and clientelist ties standing. Because they need noise about petty corruption so that the big corruption can be hidden.
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