THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 2

NEGLECTING GEOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BALKANS COULD HAVE SERIOUS REPERCUSSIONS FOR EUROPE

Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos 

A 2006 article in Balkanalysis revealed interesting facts on the interrelation between USA domestic politics, the role of the TURKISH lobby and the AMERICAN foreign policy. Even though it is extremely delicate to draw conclusive explanations about the real roots of organized crime activities; it is beyond any reasonable doubt that in the case of the BALKANS the WEST has dramatically failed to monitor narcotics flow and political developments. Despite the fact that thousands of troops, intelligence officers and police are based in the BALKANS, assigned by the International Community (IC), there has been no real confrontation with the realities of criminal syndicate pervasion in the BALKANS. On the contrary in the areas where the Western presence is most powerful, like in Pristina, KOSOVO, it is the stronghold areas of the mafias and their collaborators.

It is more than certain that if WESTERN societies along with their partners in the BALKANS; cannot control the narcotics trade their incompetence will certainly spill over to the overall antiterrorist security framework that they are trying to enforce. The Hybrid forms that modern crime is currently experiencing will most certainly ensure the continuous flow of capital to terrorist enterprises along with the recruitment of loyal assistants and the corruption of public officials in sensitive sectors of the public sectors. The initiatives by the heads of state of the BALKANS to curb in organized crime should give the opportunity for further decisive measures. BALKANS have already being developed as EUROPE’S soft underbelly-Not quite as Churchill imagined- and one of the top priorities of the EU has to be the unquestionable joint effort to “close down” the BALKAN route, achieving thus a real advance against terrorism in a worldwide level.

Since the end of the Communist era in the BALKANS in the early 90’s, organized crime activities have soared, by expanding their activities in fields such as narcotics, human trafficking, racketeering and goods smuggling. The civil wars in former YUGOSLAVIA and the continuous strife in ALBANIA provided an excellent framework for crime syndicates becoming stronger and gaining political and societal clout.

The first and foremost criminal group that can be to an extent classified as a “Mafia” is the ALBANIAN organized crime. Its geographical spread is in and between the triangle Pristina (KOSOVO) – Tetovo (FYROM) and Tirana (ALBANIA). During the 1999 and the NATO campaign against Serbia, it was a common secret amongst the members of the IC that the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) was financed and assisted by the organized crime that hoped to achieve a safe haven in the KOSOVO area. The importance of Pristina is mainly associated with its use as a transit point in the infamous BALKAN drugs route. Moreover the capital of KOSOVO is a massive hideout for heads of crime syndicates across the BALKANS and beyond.

VAST AMOUNT OF KOSOVO-ALBANIANS HAVE MANAGED UNDER NOT-SO-LEGAL WAYS, TO IMMIGRATE TO USA AND ACT AS “LIAISON” WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY.

Furthermore the high unemployment rate in the region along with the chronic industrial decay, have forced masses of the population to remain tolerant –at beast- in the practices of illegal activity. The capital flowing from heroin trade mostly, have helped towards the revitalization of the local economies. To that point it is interesting to note that 4/5 of the heroin flowing to EUROPE from ASIA (AFGHANISTAN) is being transferred by ALBANIANS that have established bases all across EUROPE from Oslo to Barcelona and from Budapest to Rome. The ALBANIAN organized crime as Xavier Raufer has pointed out operates on a dual basis. That means it has also the function of a strong societal force that virtually governs peripheral areas of ALBANIA, mostly in the North, as well as, KOSOVO currently. The ALBANIAN crime syndicates work in close contacts with their AMERICAN-ALBANIAN counterparts that are mainly located in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Since 1991 quite a few KOSOVO-ALBANIANS have managed under not-so-legal ways, to immigrate to USA and act as liaison with the EUROPEAN community.

“GREY ECONOMY” IS BOOMING IN THE BALKANS 

 This highly sophisticated criminal network has been able to control much of the drugs trade in Europe and also the trafficking of women and children from the BALKANS to WESTERN EUROPE. Both of these activities are complementary to each other and frequently criminal groups switch from one activity to the other.

The ethnic conflicts in Former YUGOSLAVIA, provided ample opportunities for weapons smuggling that reached unprecedented proportions in 1997. The same year a civil unrest in ALBANIA, led to the overthrow of the government and the lack of the rule of law for almost 6 months. During this period 700,000 Kalashnikov and about 200,000 ALBANIAN passports were stolen. Consequently a large portion of the above was sold to criminal groups in the BALKANS and in EUROPE, whilst there are many allegations of terrorist connection whereby Al Qaeda members were able to obtain ALBANIAN passports and an easier access to the EUROPEAN Continent. 

See:  “KEEPING THE BALKANS FREE OF AL-QAEDA”. Website:http://www.cfr.org/publication/4344/rule_of_law.html?breadcrumb=%2Fregion%2F385%2Fbalkans and 

“THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU-CENTRAL ASIA ACTION PLAN ON DRUGS”. Website: http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/drugs/hero.htm

The KOSOVO experience has been up to date, a great disappointment for the IC. The UN administered territory has not been able to withstand the all-pervading influence of the organized crime. Despite numerous acts of violence and a very high homicide rate; very few convictions have been handed out to culprits, none of those was a member of the organized crime either. Nowadays the existence of regular heroin supply from AFGHANISTAN, and the control by the “ALBANIAN Mafia” of the BALKAN route, has enabled it to obtain a large capital base that is laundered money mainly though the construction centres in ALBANIA and the use of offshore financial centers. Actually the largest enterprise in terms of sales and profits in SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE is the ALBANIAN organized crime.

In the case of GREECE, there is not a national organized crime network that can be classified as a national mafia one, although that does not mean that criminal networks are not influential. Nevertheless, the perils of BALKAN crime have surely affected the country in numerous ways. Apart form the current crime statistics –that show a stronger pervasion of organized crime related activities- money laundering is a present and clear danger. The spread of the Greek banking system in S.E EUROPE will certainly address in the near future the issue of capital transfer of criminal activities through those financial institutions.

Also the interstate relations between GREECE and the other BALKAN states should always take into consideration the influence of organized crime groups that are the 21st century non state actors. For that reason it is of outermost importance to construct in the GREEK territory “An observatory of organized crime” that will act as a counselor for the Greek government-Perhaps for the EU as well- and will be compromised by experienced analysts, law enforcement agents, criminologists and international relations experts. The use of this foundation or institute would be to detect, collect, analyze relevant Balkan crime information and produce consultation. In essence an intelligence unit that will be able to predict future trends in organized activities.