Introduction:
Hacking the Albania’s government systems on several occasions last summer and Iran being accused in this regard and the widespread propaganda against Iran, the disclosure of documents obtained from the hacks, which the public prosecutor of Albania declared prohibited, widespread poverty among the people and increasing corruption in the judicial system and the government of this country (including security and police), which wants to join the European Union, the protests and unrest of the last several months in Albania, the prospect of the opposition winning the upcoming elections, and the lack of full support of US and NATO from Albania changed the conditions of this country this year in such a way that Edi Rama’s government became closer and even totally dependent on Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of which are supporters of the MEK.
It seems that despite the fact that the meeting of the MEK was canceled last summer due to the intervention of the American embassy, and the State Department of the US government publicly opposed this group, the MEK has expanded its place due to the influence of the United States, money of Saudi and UAE, and propaganda machine of Israeli. MEK gained much more freedom of action in this poor and mafia-based country, especially in Durres province, where the MEK is very active politically, financially and by propaganda.
Some observations:
Albania has been seeking to enter the European Union for a long time, and in this regard, there is a consensus among all parties, despite their conflicts, and no one in Albania is against this. On the other hand, the European Union must evaluate and confirm the eligibility of this country to be a member of this union, and many delegations, commissions and personalities have been responsible for this task, and high-level officials of the European Union and various delegations have made many trips to Albania.
Among other things, on December 2, 2022, the President of Germany visited Albania. On December 6, a number of European Prime Ministers and Presidents attended a summit in Albania, on December 7 the Prime Minister of Greece visited Albania (Greece is important to Albania as an EU member neighbor).
On the other hand, it seems that the European Union, which did not go along with the US in some international issues, is compromising and giving concessions to Iran after failing in the recent unrest. England, which is no longer a member of the European Union and is considered US’s closest ally, dismissed the Iran International TV channel (against IRI) based in London and forced them to go to Washington.
In addition to corruption in the government and the judicial, security and law enforcement systems of Albania, one of the topics discussed is the presence of the terrorist organization of the MEK in this country, which was transferred to an isolated and remote camp during the administration of Donald Trump and is free to carry out Illegal acts, and even violation of the basic human rights of the members.
An internal report:
What is significant in the current situation is an internal report of the Albanian government that has been made available to EU officials. In part of this report, it is stated:
“After the Munich conference, Prime Minister Rama is trying to assess the real importance of the MEK. He is not sure that Maryam Rajavi is of great importance, because no one from the MEK was invited to that conference. While the heir to the throne of Iran was invited to that conference and held a press meeting at the conference. French President Macron, who was the former host of Maryam Rajavi, never agreed to meet her and even Maryam Rajavi’s asylum status in France was canceled, but He met with Masoume Alinejad and other figures of the opposition of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Prime Minister Rama will definitely take some steps to distance himself from Maryam Rajavi, of course, without burning the bridges behind him.”
Following this report, a source from within the Albanian judicial system predicted: “There is a possibility that Musa Jabrifar (Ashkan) will be released from prison for humanitarian reasons and all claims against him will be withdrawn. I think tomorrow or the day after tomorrow he may be at home under a restraining order (Ashkan was released two days after the date of this prediction). If that happens, it is possible that the Iranians of Karrec Camp will be released as well. We will have to wait and see if that happens. Will they be released before the Iranian New Year or not?”
Summary of reports and data:
Other reports have been received from various sources in Albania, which can be summarized as follows:
1. MEK is strengthening its influence in various ranks of important Albanian institutions, such as the state police (especially the counter-terrorism department), which tries to create legal problems for former members not with the organization, and any legal basis for sending them to prison.
2. Police officials and prosecutors and judges are tired of the MEK and their letters of protest and their continuous fake information about Iran’s spy rings and Iran’s terrorist efforts with the help of former members in Albania, but because they received good sums. They do not immediately deny such claims. They play with time and justify that it takes time to investigate such information and complex cases, and they need more facts and evidence.
3. The MEK constantly delivers fake information to the Albanian authorities under the title of Security and Anti-Terrorism Commission of the National Council of Resistance to prove that the former members are engaged in espionage and terrorist activities against them. Most of this information is considered unimportant.
4. MEK is strengthening their relations with the Durres City Council (the mayor and other managers and members of the city council). They use Israeli and Abu Dhabi diplomats and entrepreneurs, as well as the Jones International Company owned by a retired American 4-star general. Jones himself is in contact with Durres City Council as an intermediary.
5. MEK uses a soft method to infiltrate the local community:
First. Inviting selected groups of people from the city of Manëz to enter the camp for reception. They donate prescription glasses not only to the residents of Manëz administrative unit, but also to other areas of Durres municipality.
Second. The MEK is doing a lot of advertising for the residents of Manëz to convince them that with the cooperation of the Albanian government, the MEK and the Durres Municipality, they are investing in the Manëz region and also receiving financial aid from friendly Arab countries (investment in construction such as: asphalting roads, upgrading the local power grid, installing new trash cans, etc.).
Third. They even tell the people that the reconstruction of houses damaged and destroyed by the November 2019 earthquake in Manëz is being done faster than other regions of Albania thanks to the intervention of the MEK among the Albanian authorities.
6. The MEK has given some of its members a one-year residence permit by the border police and immigration of Albania, but they keep the documents with themselves. The MEK has set up small businesses using Albanian citizens as cover (even money exchanges). The elected commanders of the MEK are conducting the driver’s license test to obtain an Albanian driver’s license.
7. The MEK donates aid packages to 120 families (generally in Manëz city) every month. The package is nothing big (15 kilos of flour, sugar, rice, cooking oil, can of cheap sardines, cheap macaroni, biscuits, 1.5-liter bottle of Albanian cola, etc.) and the price of each package is no more than 20 euros. However, such moves have allowed the MEK to have their circle of informers among the local population.
8. The MEK is strengthening its ties with high-ranking Albanian politicians, both from the opposition and from Edi Rama’s party. In May, we have local elections in Albania, where the opposition has a high chance. MEK is in contact with the current mayor of Durres (she will run again) as well as with someone from the opposition who will challenge her.
9. MEK pays a lot of money to media owners (tens of thousands of dollars) to prevent the publication of any positive news about ASILA, especially the hunger strike that happened in the refugee camp in Karrec. This help is also given on the condition that such media, publish negative advertisements about Iran as much as possible.
Based on evidence and reports, it can be concluded that in the near future we will see changes in the conditions of Albania.