As reported in several Albanian media, Minister of Interior Affairs Fatmir Xhafaj, has met former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh. The Ministry of Interior Affairs released the following press statement regarding the meeting:
Minister of Interior Affairs Fatmir Xhafaj, on his first day of work, met in his office Louis Freeh, one of the most renowned international experts in the battle against organized crime and issues of justice, and former director of the FBI.
Mr. Freeh congratulates Minister Xhafaj on his nomination to office, and offered the maximum support of the US government and the FBI to strengthen the battle against crime and lawlessness in the country.
Unfortunately for Minister Xhafaj, Freeh is in no position to promise such a thing, as he visited Albania as a private citizen and not in any official function.
In an interview with newspaper Panorama, Freeh explains that he visited Albania primarily to meet with the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, an Iranian resistance group of about 3000 fighters resettled over recent years in Albania at the request of the USA, that he first met during his former function as FBI Director.
Asked by journalist Suela Xhonuzi whether he has had any contact with Albanian officials or the US Embassy in Tirana, he answers:
I have not had any contact with the US Embassy in Tirana. I have met several elected officials in order to thank them for their humanity, support, and the possibility of freedom that they have given to my friends of the MEK. Nevertheless I do not know much about the political situation here.
Thus it seems clear that Ministry Xhafaj, on his “first day of work,” immediately took the opportunity to misinform Albanian citizens through his newly acquired public relations department.
