The man who filled Milosevic's military tanks with oil, Sali Berisha, devoid of moral restraint sells political bullshit in Pristina

The man who filled Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic's military tanks with oil has chosen Pristina tonight to sell his political and patriotic slogans.

Albania's former president, Sali Berisha, who himself had acknowledged that he was personally the president who directed Milosevic's oil supply when the government opposed the embargo on the former Yugoslavia, tonight called them all traitors: Hashim Thaci, Edi Rama, Fadil Hoxha and Baton Haxhiun, etc.

He called President Hashim Thaci a traitor for his idea of correcting the borders between Kosovo and Serbia, saying this is the Serbian plan, and Milosevic's. And he seems to have been close because he knows his plans well because he had made his own shopping with him.

An American State Department document had discovered that Albania, at the time it was run by Berisha, had allowed oil smuggling towards Bosnian Serbs who carried out the massacre, among the worst of the last century, such as Srebrenica.

Such a fact, confirmed by investigations by the United Nations organization, has also been enriched by important documents of the American government.

Just a few months before the Srebrenica massacre, where more than 8 thousand men and boys were killed in July 1995 by Serb forces, the US administration has been very concerned about bringing the Albanian government in connection with oil smuggling.

During this period, significant quantities of oil went towards Bosnian Serbs, from Albanian ports and then on land roads through Montenegro, though international authorities had imposed embargos. Specifically, the National Security Council of the American Administration and Vice President Al-Gere's office have addressed just the measures to strengthen the embargo, mainly in its implementation. The Albanian government has been named in a document that has drafted the White House's number two office, as with a lack of will to implement measures required to block the transit of oil to Serbs.

The American concern over oil supply, weapons and other Serbian goods is summed up in a document, which has been sent to some deputies of a Congress commission. The memorandum underlines two main attempts to “ograph” Bosnian Serbs. On one hand, senior executives of the US administration of President Clinton have identified what is described as the “closing the back door”. This supply channel for Serbs passed through Croatia. While, on the other hand, it has been identified as problematic “control of Albanian oil deliveries”. Exactly, as far as the Albanian problem is concerned, the US government commits itself to exert pressure on official Tirana, led by President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi, for implementation of the blocking measures.

In detail, the memorandum also identifies the movements the Albanian government should take, including closing gas stations near the border and closing several border crossing points. The US administration and international embargo implementation groups have also called for increased police and military presence in the critical points where smuggling is developed, especially at Shkodra Lake. However, the American document, treated as the secret “” for many years, expresses concern about the Tirana government's lack of will to fight oil smuggling towards Bosnian Serbs.
The government of the timely president, Sali Berisha, has been charged several times with sending oil to the aid of Serbs, while an international embargo existed and had significant reports of massacres against innocent civilians. For many years, however, the Albanian state, not only did nothing to block oil smuggling, but did not lack the data even for its involvement in this illegal transport to assist the Serbian machine in Bosnia.

Americans' requests for smuggling blocking

Vice President's Office
Washington

April 25, 1995

Memorandum for MP Committee Members

Subject: The Issue of Strengthening Sanctions

The leaders agreed on March 28th to step up efforts to control the movement of goods towards Bosnian Serbs through Croatian territory (“by closing the back door” and restricting smuggled oil in Serbia and Montenegro through Albania. The attached material underlines steps to implement. Sandy Berger has demanded that Task Force of Sanctions, in co-ordination with NSC staff and relevant departments and agencies, begin implementing these steps no later than April 27, 1995, if there were no objections from MPs.

Leon Futh

National Security Vice President Assistant

Attached

1 Close the back door
2 Control Albanian oil shipments

Subject: Reduced oil smuggling through Albania

The proposed actions to take the following measures to reduce the amount of oil smuggled into the former Yugoslav Republic through Albania:

The support of SAMCOMM's efforts to strengthen the oil preversion system.
The Albanian government's incentive to improve implementation measures.
The promotion of Italian and Greek governments to establish greater control over local companies exporting oil to Albania.
A quest to expand the Adriatic mission NATO/ W EU Multinational Interceptive Force to include catching unauthorized vessels outside Albanian ports.

Summary: The closure of the port of Bar ended the direct access of the former Yugoslav Republic to oil shipments to the Adriatic. However, significant amounts of oil are currently imported through Albanian ports in the Adriatic and transported via land to Montenegro.
Albania lacks political will and implementation ability to stop this traffic. SAMCOMM and the Albanian government have started implementing an oil pre-version system aimed at preventing imports, except those destined for legal users. However, the system has had limited success. Following problems with the licensing process in Albania, Greek and Italian governments, whose companies are the source of most of the remittances, have given the system only a vague support and done little or no to ensure that their firms are respecting sanctions regulations.

Discussions: Co-ordinated diplomatic and operational steps are needed to reduce the amount of oil transits from Albania to Montenegro:

The US government (USG) should provide diplomatic support (see steps 2 and 3 below) and technical assistance to support SAMCOMM's efforts to relive the oil pre-version system.
2 The US government (with the support of the EU), if it can be secured), should encourage Albania to improve implementation measures, including closing gas stations near the border, closing several border crossing points, improving the implementation of the pre-versification system and increasing the presence of police and military at critical points especially at Shkodra Lake. In addition, the US Sanction Force for Serbia is prepared to provide support funds for existing sanctions to provide technical assistance and training with Albanian customs officials.
3 The US government must protest close to Italian and Greek governments to co-operate more fully with the oil pre-versification system, ensure that firms under their jurisdiction respect sanctions regulations and take legal measures against firms, found to be in violation of the embargo.
4 MIF should expand operations to include banning oil vessels from arriving at Albanian ports, without previously having a clarification from the oil pre-version system. The American government should seek a change in the MIF mission through NATO authorities. At the same time, the American government must work with the international co-ordinator of EU-OSCE sanctions (Napolitan) and SAMCOMM to ensure European support for this change.
To implement these steps, the Sanction Force will work with JCS to ensure the modification of MIF operations.

MPs are required to support the underlined efforts on the issue.

How did oil ascend from ports to Shkodra?

Due to the Balkan initial-year wars of BAR90, what was left of the state with the 6 republics of Yugoslavia was placed under embargo. The Belgrade government, under which Montenegro and Kosovo had remained dependent, was held responsible for the Balkan war machine. Serbs could not use the ports they controlled in the Adriatic, due to the embargo, and oil shipments passed on Albanian territory. They were downloaded into Albanian ports and then on land routes “were up” north towards the Shkodra area. Crossing the border was not a problem, as long as the Tirana government was involved.

Bulatovic: We had agreements with Tirana

Former Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, in a book with memoirs “silence rules”, has acknowledged there was an agreement between him and Albanian President Sali Berisha for violating the embargo imposed by the United Nations Organisation. It speaks of a verbal agreement, which benefited large amounts of financial both Albania and Montenegro and citizens. Such a fact has been confirmed by Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic in an interview given a few years ago for Albanian television media. Djukanovic has stressed that fuel has been bought expensive, but has also had consensus with neighbours.

Dade: Berisha, gun in Srebrenica

Parliamentary Foreign Policy Commission Chairman Arta Dade, while discussing the agreement with the United States on controlling narcotics a few weeks ago, accused former Prime Minister Berisha of sending weapons to the aid of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs. As for the opposition representatives, I would like them to be on our side, since we have been passed a heavy stone to the head. They'd help us. It has to be started by those who committed the crime since Gerdec, since the president and prime minister in the '97s. Even the Srebrenica weapons, there is evidence and evidence that were taken from Albania, and behind that is former Prime Minister”, Dade charged.

BErisa reasons under the clothes of patriotism: Embargo broken to help Kosovo, Montenegro

After 11 years, Sali Berisha has publicly acknowledged that he has violated the UN oil embargo, imposed on the former Yugoslavia, to help Kosovo and Montenegro. During a press conference in 2006, the then head of the government of iúu addressed a question about a statement by the former president of Montenegro, who in his memories has voiced a kind of silent agreement with Berisha on breaking the oil embargo on the border between Albania and Montenegro. If you return to the years, 92,-96 you will find my statements repeatedly, where I disagree with the embargo imposed on Kosovo and Montenegro. I said this publicly and I didn't hide it.

I didn't agree, because Serbia supplied ships after ships from the Danube, and, while these countries left them in a provoked state, nothing was missing in Belgrade. That was the truth of my attitude. This stand I have publicly expressed and for a stance, which I have publicly expressed at the time, I have been honest”, Berisha has expressed. He has rejected the existence of an agreement. “I don't say that there has been a dislike to Albania's position, but in total, the United Nations Organisation that monitored the embargo concluded that 96 percent of all loads of oil and fuel sent to Serbia were from other countries and only 4 percent belonged to what originated from Albania.

There has been no agreement, but a clear position of mine on this“, Berisha has said. According to him, breaking this embargo aimed only at helping Montenegro and Kosovo. I've been trying to help these two countries, but how much they've benefited was none of my business, because I didn't control their territory, neither Kosovo nor Montenegro. The important thing is that it is done outside any kind of unilateral interest in Albania. I didn't think it was right that they were taking ships from the Danube every night, while these remained without heat from“, Berisha said, broadcast Gayeta Shekulli.

We also remember that it was Sali Berisha who has been pushing for his political interests the civil war in Albania on March 7th 1997, where 4 thousand Albanians were injured in clashes between themselves and the State Police. The riots initiated by the fall of pyramid firms were entering an uncontrolled spiral that threatened the country's integrity. Armed gangs had established their political federations, also sponsored by politics.