Sali Berisha is trying to feed opposition's anger with his attacks against the US Ambassador

4 Maj 2023, 20:18Op-Ed Mero Baze

Sali Berisha is trying to feed the opposition’s anger with his attacks against the US Ambassador to Tirana, Mrs. Yuri Kim. When the diplomat handed to Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs the formal notice regarding the end of her term, Berisha claimed that this was a sign of difficult relations between the US and the Albanian government.

This provided Berisha and the opposition with a little more time as well as the opportunity to continue with their lies. However, when the new Ambassador appointed by President Biden started his evaluation process with the Senate’s Foreign Committee and his arrival is being delayed due to procedures, Berisha changed his theory. He claimed then that the delay was a conspiracy plotted by Edi Rama and Ambassador Yuri Kim. In other words, from claiming that the government was happy that Ambassador Yuri Kim was going to leave, Berisha switched started to claim that government and the US diplomat were plotting to extend her term.

In reality, Ambassador Yuri Kim has neither tried to extend her term, nor does she have control over the process. Almost all US Ambassadors to Albania have had to wait one year after the end of their term in order to be replaced and this is because of bureaucratic procedures in their country.

Having served as President and Prime Minister of Albania in the past, Sali Berisha is well aware of such procedures and the time it takes for US diplomats to be replaced. The fact that he pretends to be ignorant of such procedures has nothing to do with his lack of knowledge, but rather with his need to lie his supporters that the US Ambassador is the main reason of their current struggle. Furthermore, the lie needs to continue until the day of the local elections on May 14th.

In the meantime, Sali Berisha knows better than anyone else what the new ambassador represents, since he used to work as a diplomat in Albania and left exactly when the United States began to track Berisha’s actions, starting with his breach of oil embargo with Former Yugoslavia, the arresting of the opposition leader and that of activists from the Greek minority. He is aware that, the more time passes, the worse it is for his image in the eyes of US diplomats. This is a torture that has started since 1994.

It is also safe to say that every new ambassador has held a harsher attitude towards Sali Berisha. However, he is not interested in his future, since he knows it is dark and hopeless. Berisha is only interested in lying at his supporters, at least for ten more days, until May 14th and blame his loss in elections to the US Ambassador. After that, he will have to find a different strategy.

 

 

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