Albanian officials arrested in corruption probe

21/09/2007

Anti-corruption efforts remain too haphazard and selective, bloggers argue.

By Klodjan Seferaj for Southeast European Times - 21/09/07

The arrests were sparked by corruption charges stemming from the Kukes-Durres Highway project. [File]

Albania was shaken this week by the arrests of several government officials on corruption charges related to a road infrastructure project. Deputy Transport Minister Nikolin Jaka, Director General of Roads Bashkim Kamberi, and junior officials at the transport ministry stand accused of rigging tenders for the construction of a highway linking Kukes to Durres.

Most of those arrested belong to the Christian Democratic Party, a junior member of Prime Minister Sali Berisha's ruling coalition. With prosecutors saying they also wish to question Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha -- whose former post was at the transport ministry -- the scandal could reach the highest levels of the current administration.

The news has fired up debate among Albanian bloggers. A posting this week at peshkupauje.com drew over 50 comments.

"What happened? Did the Prosecutorial Authority start to function?" jokes Pozneg.

"Wasn't it necessary to make the arrests before?" Klodi writes. "This is why we need a reform in the field of justice, because justice is one of the three basic elements of democracy."

Others feel that when it comes to government corruption, justice in Albania is applied selectively and unfairly. "How will they cover the big abuses?" Artan asks. "Those arrests have been done in order to catch the small fish and to save the big fish."

Leon agrees. "The question is, do we have to sacrifice nine persons in order not to arrest the minister?" he writes.

Elsewhere in the Albanian blogosphere, Fato ponders the relationship between journalists and the media companies that employ them. The owners of media outlets do sometimes intervene to influence the published material in the interest of their businesses, he concludes.

However, he adds, "to think that the media exist only due to the owners and not due to the journalists is a big mistake. Even the journalists affirm this. Second, the media, both print and television, are public -- even if they are owned by someone."

He continues: "The journalist has to be a personality that needs to have his own vision about the world, his empathy, his dreams about friendship and his independence from both political and financial powers."

Finally this week, Visal discusses prospects for the tourist industry in Kosovo once its status is resolved. The province, being landlocked, has no beaches or seaside resorts to offer potential visitors. Nevertheless, Visal writes, its cultural and natural heritage are enough to open up investment possibilities and create an attractive tourism product.

"Even without a seaside, Kosovo is a place for tourism, with all the possibilities and characteristics that nature provides,' he writes. "But the development of tourism needs investment, and this investment will not come until the status is determined."