FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The two companies contracted for lobbying in the US by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora (MPJD) of Kosovo have contacted, in most cases, the same American politicians to discuss the same issues on the same days.
Avni Mustafaj - owner of the company Ambal LLC - and Afërdita Rakipi - owner of the company Afërdita Rakipi Communications - were contracted individually, with 147 thousand euros each, according to the contracts published on the website of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of US Department of Justice.
However, from February to the end of July this year, they operated as if they were a single company. Of the 13 contacts reported by Mustafaj, all are identical to those reported by Rakipi.
Apart from these, Rakipi has also reported two additional contacts - a meeting on March 11 and a meeting on May 24.
Radio Evropa e Lire has contacted Rakip and Mustafaj regarding their activities, but has not received a response from either until the publication of this article.
They have not responded even in the past, when REL has reported about their expenses in restaurants and hotels in Kosovo and about their contracting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, despite the lack of experience in lobbying.
Mustafaj and Rakipi were contracted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for lobbying in the USA on June 26 of last year. Their one-year contracts have already expired. REL has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if their contracts have been extended, but has not received an answer.
In July last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it does not comment on lobbying contracts "for understandable reasons".
However, contracts, details of work done and expenses of US lobbyists are published on FARA's website every six months.
According to these documents, the Ministry of Justice paid Rakip and Mustafaj's companies a total of 351.8 thousand dollars - including additional expenses, in addition to the amount stipulated in the initial contracts.
In the second half of their lobbying in the US, Rakipi and Mustafaj contacted American politicians mainly through email.
However, the documents show that even during the time they lobbied via email, they reported expenses for flights and hotel stays.
Unlike the first six months, when Rakipi and Mustafaj had reported numerous expenses for work lunches and dinners - including in restaurants in Pristina - this time they did not report expenses for food.
They have spent thousands of dollars on flights, hotels and taxis. From the documents published in FARA, it becomes clear that Mustafaj spent money again during his stay in Kosovo.
Neither Mustafaj nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have answered the REL's questions about how these activities have served in Kosovo, considering that the lobbying contracts provide for the provision of advice and representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "within the United States".
In addition to expenses, dates and contacts, in the FARA documents, Rakipi and Mustafaj also specify the purposes of their meetings.
While many of them have been reported simply as discussions about relations between Kosovo and the US and current events, in some cases they have expressed criticism regarding the positions of US political representatives.
"It has been emphasized that punishing Kosovo for its security measures undermines its governance, weakens its negotiating position with Serbia and endangers its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. A call has been made for US support towards Kosovo as a key ally, instead of public criticism and economic restrictions", the documents of Rakip and Mustafaj state, among other things.
Members of the Government of Kosovo, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, have expressed similar attitudes to the criticism of the USA and the EU for the various actions in the north inhabited by a majority of Serbs in Kosovo.
The lobbying agreements were signed precisely at a time of tension in this part of Kosovo, when the local Serbian residents were protesting against the Albanian mayors of the municipalities.
Who are Afërdita Rakipi and Avni Mustafaj?
Ten years ago, Rakipi, born in Michigan, USA, was tagged by Gërvalla in a reading challenge, through a post on her Facebook account.
Mustafaj, born in New York, USA, has been a key person in the Albanian-American National Council (NAAC), as well as a member of the Germin organization in Kosovo, which mainly deals with diaspora issues.
Mustafaj still appears as a member of the board of Germin, an organization co-founded by Liza Gashi, now deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora.
According to the description given by Germin, Mustafaj led American delegations of congressmen in the negotiations on the Kosovo issue in Rambouillet, France, in 1999. Rakipi, who was also part of the NAAC, also participated there.
In March 1999, both of them attended a meeting with then US President Bill Clinton at the White House.
In 2012, Mustafaj, as executive director of NAAC, also met with the then Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi.
Kosovo also had lobbying contracts in the past. Since 1992, political parties and government institutions have spent millions of euros on lobbying in the US.
However, in most cases, well-known American lobbying companies, such as Podesta Group and Ballard Partners, have been contracted for lobbying. / REL
Lini një Përgjigje