Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha has reacted to USA’s declaration persona non-grata of him and his immediate family, through a long post on Facebook.
In his response directed at US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Berisha stated that he had found out about the news about him being barred from entering US soil, from the media.
Berisha also stated that during his 30 years in politics, no accusation has ever existed in his address, by a person, institution, locally or internationally, regarding the abuse of public funds or any other form of corruption.
“I’d also like to add, that during all my years in power, and to this today also, my family members have never benefited from public funds or resources and they have rigorously obeyed all the laws of the land. To this day, I have never been accused by the Albanian justice system or any other nation.
While expressing my regret regarding your decision and while considering it lacking of any concrete base, I invite you to make public or publish any fact or document that your administration possesses, or that anyone else in the world could possess, in order to provide the reasoning behind your claims against me and my family,” wrote the former PM.
The former PM also stated that his administration has led a successful war against corruption and organized crime, which has been documented in reports and appraisals by the US government, adding that this recent decision could never and will never change his admiration for the great and friendly American nation.
“I have denounced more than anyone else in this country, publicly and internationally, the Albanian organized crime and gangs, drug cartels and their relations with high Albanian government officials as well as the unrestrainable corruption of the Albanian government.
Likewise, I have supported the Justice Reform and all the Constitutional changes, but I have also criticized and denounced every act that was undertaken in flagrant contradiction to our Constitutional Amendments, whose only aim was that of establishing complete political control over the [Albanian] justice system,” wrote Berisha.
