Investigation begins over alleged arms trafficking between Albania and Kosovo Agence France Presse

Investigation begins over alleged arms trafficking between Albania and Kosovo
Agence France Presse -- English - November 12, 2004 Friday 8:22 PM GMT

TIRANA Nov 12 - Albania's state prosecution said Friday it has begun an investigation into alleged arms trafficking between Albania and Kosovo, following accusations by an opposition deputy who claims that Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano had been involved in the affair.

Newspaper editor and opposition deputy Nikoll Lesi on Monday presented to the parliament an alleged transcript of a conversation between Nano and former Constitutional Court chairman Fehmi Abdiu, which he said had been recorded by Western secret service agents in a Tirana hotel.

During the 1997 meeting, Nano and Abdiu allegedly discussed ways to smuggle arms from Albania to the neighbouring southern Serbian province of Kosovo, before the outbreak of war there between Belgrade forces and ethnic Albanian separatists.

The prosecution said in a statement that Nano had been questioned on Friday, as well as Abdiu, former general prosecutor Arben Rakipi and ex-police chief Sokol Kociu, who allegedly had transcribed the conversation between the two officials.

According to the document presented by Lesi to the Albanian parliament, the conversation between Nano and Abdiu had been focused on "personal profits coming from arms trafficking between Albania and Kosovo and possible changes of the law concerning fines for the smugglers".

Nano on Tuesday rejected Lesi's allegations, with his spokesman saying that the claims could have repercussions for "national security and Albania's alliances with other countries".

The Albanian parliament, dominated by Nano's ruling socialists, rejected a call to lift the immunity of Lesi, a member of the opposition Christian-Democratic Party.

His numerous claims have provoked wide debate in the Albanian media and political scene, questioning the credibility of the document he presented.

Albanian secret services denied the existence of such a document in their archives.

Lesi has also been accused of libel by the prime minister's wife, Xhoana Nano, after his Koha Jone newspaper accused her of "illegal economic activities" carried out with the support of her husband.