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
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.
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