FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
While Elbasan faces toxic smoke from the landfill, the Fan River is stained with chrome, and the Vjosa "drowns" in oil: a chronicle of hereditary fiascos that are destroying the environment...
An environmental drama of worrying proportions is unfolding in Albania, which is leaving serious consequences for the health of citizens and natural ecosystems.
In Fushë-Arrëz, the Turkish concession company "Ber Alb" is discharging sterile copper waste directly into the Fan River, without any filtration or treatment.
Drone footage from "Report TV" clearly shows that the river has turned into a chrome-laden stream, with the pollution starting right from the dam where the waste disposal site is located. The polluted water flows through several villages in the Gjegjan administrative unit, causing serious damage to agriculture and the surrounding flora and fauna.
Even though this situation has been reported before and the company has been fined 10 million lek by IKMT, nothing has changed; the pollution continues as before, without any real intervention from the institutions.
In this worrying panorama, another environmental alarm continues in Elbasan. For five days, the city's landfill has been engulfed by a massive fire that continues to emit thick smoke and a poisonous smell throughout the surrounding area. Although dozens of forces and vehicles have been deployed to stop the burning, the fires have not been extinguished and residents are reporting difficulty breathing and health concerns.
The lack of initial measures to protect the community and the indifference of the majority of municipalities in the Elbasan district in the urgent meeting called by Prefect Ilir Bejtja is another proof of the lack of institutional responsibility.
These two cases are joined by another environmental scandal that occurred a few days ago on the Vjosa River, which was covered in oil residue in the Gorisht-Kocul area. This is the same river that has been promoted as “the last wild river in Europe” and has been declared a National Park. Local and international activists denounced that thick layers of oil had invaded the riverbed, killing biodiversity and tarnishing the image of one of the country’s natural wonders. Albpetrol’s response was a dry justification of “old inherited residue”, but no real punitive measures were taken against the perpetrators of the pollution.
The case of “Ber Alb” in Fan is perhaps the most scandalous; a foreign company that makes millions from Albania’s mineral wealth and at the same time dumps toxic waste into our rivers, with a ridiculous fine as the only deterrent. The pollution contains not only copper, but also small percentages of gold and other heavy metals, which directly endanger public health and make ecological recovery almost impossible.
A few days ago, " Pamphlet " denounced that for 24 years, copper ore in Albania has been being plundered by the Turkish-Chinese mafia disguised as the "BERALB-NESKO METAL" company, granted a 45-year concession until 2046.
The Copper concession was granted free of charge for 30 years to the Turkish mafia Orel Kohen on January 18, 2001, by Ilir Meta, then prime minister, but in February 2004, Fatos Nano blocked it, as pressure to take control of it brought him into conflict with the Turks.
In November 2005, the concession was unblocked by Sali Berisha, who had just come to power, while in December 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta removed all taxes from the copper concession and the 10% dividend that it had to give to the Albanian state, while during the SP government, the concession was extended for another 15 years.
In May 2014, the Turkish concession company "Berlab", again in a bargain with Ilir Meta, who was the Speaker of the Parliament, and with the approval of Prime Minister Edi Rama, sold 50% of the shares to the Chinese mafia company "Jiangxi Koper" for 30 thousand dollars and from "Beralb Sh.A", it was registered as the owner under the name "NESKO METAL". Like Bnakers, this company also comes out with a loss and pockets millions. /Pamphlet
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