Posted on 03/15/2003 11:11:02 PM PST by Destro
Report: Half of Albania's GDP comes from illegal sources
Thu Mar 13,11:45 AM ET
By LLAZAR SEMINI, Associated Press Writer
TIRANA, Albania - Responding to a report that says half of Albania's gross domestic product comes from illegal sources, analysts Thursday said the government must do more to fight organized crime and corruption.
The International Crisis Group, a think tank based in Brussels, Belgium, accused the government of showing "no signs of seriously tackling corruption" in a report published Tuesday.
"Albania's institutions are weakened and the reform process greatly hindered by endemic corruption and an inefficient public administration," the report said.
Albania's minister in charge of the battle against corruption, Blendi Klosi, told The Associated Press he did not want to comment on the report.
The report's harsh judgment ought to be a wake-up call for Albania's leadership, said analyst Lutfi Dervishi, arguing the report contained "the synthesis ... of what all international institutions ask from Tirana."
Dervishi is the editor in chief of the daily newspaper Albania.
The report said Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his administration faced a challenge "to deprive organized crime of its powerful political backers in Tirana."
It added that an estimated 50 percent of Albania's GDP (news - web sites) "is generated from illegal activities ranging from people and drug trafficking to the smuggling of cars and cigarettes."
But they're our criminals, damnit, just like Musharraf is our fascist terrorist supporter. It would be anti-American to criticize them, just like it was anti-American to criticize Turkey, until it turned its back on us.
VRN
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