Asked in a televised interview about the designation of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who has not been in government for 8 years, Kim said, “it has to do with corruption and the process of designating someone for corruption takes years. It is not done overnight, it is not done by an individual. There are no conspiracy theories behind it. It is not something that can be reversed. The idea that this designation is made for political revenge, or that it happens because we do not like someone’s position on Kosovo, or that some ordered us to do that; the kindest thing I can say about this argument is that it is fantasy. Fantasy! Here are the facts. More than 200 people have been designated by the State Department for involvement in significant corruption. All those cases go through a very rigorous process of review by a number of agencies. This includes hundreds of people, hundreds of experts who go over all the data. Examine each evidence and then develop a package. So when it comes to the Secretary of State’s desk, any Secretary of State, regardless of which party, regardless of which administration, the Secretary has the assurance that the information is completely trustworthy. Here is another fact: out of 200 or so people designated by the Secretary of State, you know how many names met with the public reaction: well, what a surprise! We did not know !? Zero. Do you know how many people have managed to reverse the designations? Zero. Albania is not exception to the rule. There are no surprises here. The evidence is in front of everyone. In front of your eyes. And as stated in the designation statement by the Secretary of State, the persons escaped prosecution not because they were innocent. They escaped prosecution because they used their power, abused their power to ensure that they would be regarded above the law. “And what we intend to say through these designations is that no one, no one is above the law.”

“If you use the authority of the post to break the law, to steal from your country, and then use political force to intimidate others, not to allow prosecution, proper prosecution, this is no longer acceptable. This has been the case for some time. President Biden has made it completely clear. Last year, he issued several Presidential Proclamations as well as several Executive Orders urging the State Department and the rest of the U.S. Government to hold individuals accountable for significant corruption or attempts to undermine democracy anywhere in the world and specifically in Western Balkans. So the answer is that this has nothing to do with anything else; it has nothing to do with political views; it has nothing to do with conspiracy theories; it is not about those fantasies, but it is about the facts. And the facts are before your eyes, mine, and the eyes of the Albanian people. “They are visible,” said Kim.

Kim added: “The United States is serious about corruption and efforts to undermine democracy. We are so serious when we say that all, all leaders will be held accountable for their actions. Let me also say, as I repeated last year: if you are involved in corruption, if you are abusing the authority and power of the post, if you are abusing public trust, now is the time to stop and think about the consequences. Now is the time to weigh yourself if what you are doing and benefiting from is worth the cost you will eventually have to pay. Justice is coming and if nothing else, the designations made by the United States, last year and now this year, demonstrate that anyone will be held accountable. No one is above the law. Nobody.”

Regarding the progress of justice reform, Kim said, “Justice reform has not been easy, fast or perfect, but I think if you look at the facts, progress is being made towards full implementation. Five years have passed since the adoption of the reform in parliament, and in these five years, the first years have been particularly difficult. Thus, for three years, for example, the Constitutional Court could not function. Last year, all relevant institutions, from the President’s office, the Judicial Appointments Council, the People’s Advocate, and everyone else contributed and did their part to bring more judges, more judges to the Constitutional Court. It works now. I think this year will see more judges appointed to CC in order to have the full body. What I have noticed here about justice reform is that there are a lot of people who would very much prefer it to fail. That is very good as it is. Because they benefit from this.”

Kim added that ordinary Albanians want justice reform to be implemented. I think, for example last year, when they saw senior officials being arrested by the SPAK, they thought: finally, justice reform is working. I think they deserve more and I think they have the right to continue to put pressure on all justice institutions, to keep up the pressure on all politicians,” Kim said.
/sm/