Abazi: The man who shut down the American-Albanian Council lobbies for Kosovo in the US

Former member of Self-Determination, now an independent member of the Kosovo Parliament, Haki Abazi points out that the contracts on lobbying in the US, which were signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by Donika Gervalla Schwarz, with two companies, which are not registered in the US, show that the current government in Kosovo has no idea what it is doing.

In a post on Facebook, Abazi points out that, according to available information, a representative of a company hired by the Kosovo government for lobbying in the US was in the Albanian-American Council, which was shut down due to mismanagement of funds, losing the status of "dedicated funding" by the US government. Abazi adds that as a result, the Albanian-American Council does not exist today.

"Then, that representative was the biggest opponent of any political change in Kosovo. He actively and even very unprofessionally participated in disinformation and manipulation of information against all those who had an attitude and determination against corrupt and criminalized groups, for which he was directly confronted. The influence of the one who was hired to lobby in the US is equal to zero, primarily because of his role in shutting down the Albanian-American Council. The lack of knowledge and arrogance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs not only seriously harmed the interests of Kosovo, but also became a source of despair and discouragement for diplomats and their work in the respective countries," Abazi said.

Radio Free Europe announced that two firms hired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for lobbying in the US - "Aferdita Rakipi Communications" and "Ambal" - did not have any lobbying contracts previously registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of the US Department of Justice.

Based on the contract signed on June 26, which is valid for one year, Rakipi and Mustafaj will be paid 147,000 euros by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their activities.

"Ambal" representative Avni Mustafaj was a key figure in the American-Albanian National Council.