Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TIRANA1070
2007-12-21 15:05:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, DECEMBER 15 - 21, 2007

Tags:  ECON PGOV PREL SOCI AL 
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 001070 

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DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL SOCI AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, DECEMBER 15 - 21, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 001070

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SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL SOCI AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, DECEMBER 15 - 21, 2007


1. (U) The following is a weekly report prepared by Embassy
Tirana's local staff to provide political and economic context and
insight into developments in Albania. These updates will supplement
post's DAR reports and reporting cables.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
--------------


2. (U) ALBANIAN PROPERTY CLAIMANTS SET THEIR HOPES ON STRASBOURG:
On December 18, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) in
Strasbourg ruled in favor of an American-Albanian citizen named
Marini over a property dispute claim he filed with the court against
the GOA. The court found against the government for failing to
implement prior domestic court decisions and fined the GOA USD
480,000. The verdict was a victory for Marini, who had waged a 14
year-long fight with various state institutions over an abrogated
commercial partnership he entered into with the government in the
early 1990s. Marini's was the fourth case involving property
disputes brought by Albanian citizens to be heard by the ECHR. All
four decisions have gone against the GOA; total compnsation and
penalties exceed USD 2 million. To date, almost 200 Albanian
citizens have filed suit with the ECHR in Strasbourg against the GOA
over property claims. (Note: It is not yet known whether the GOA
has paid any of the four winning claimants.)


3. (U) Property restitution and the enforcement of court decisions
are two of the most serious problems that have afflicted Albanian
society during the post-communist transition period. Large-scale
property confiscation during communist rule and the subsequent
nationalization of the economy completely altered Albania's economic
landscape. Competing property claims, an over-burdened state
administrative process for adjudicating claims and a lack of
financial resources to compensate property owners all make the issue
difficult to correct. Property restitution and compensation have
progressed slowly, generating a lot of corruption and social tension
in the process. It is estimated that almost 70 percent of all civil
cases in the Albanian courts involve property disputes; most of
these cases linger for years before reaching a final ruling.



4. (U) The property restitution issue has gained political momentum
in recent years as increased public attention has put pressure on
the government to act. While the restitution of confiscated
property might be completed in the nearer term, property
compensation remains a distant dream, with some estimates putting
total compensation at approximately USD 5 billion. The recent
decisions by the ECHR have ratcheted up pressure on the GOA to
finally resolve this long-running national headache.


5. (U) ELECTORAL SYSTEM PROPOSAL THREATENS SMALL PARTIES' SURVIVAL:
The electoral reform debate took a new turn this week when the
Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI),the second largest
opposition party, proposed the adoption of a pure proportional
electoral system. This would be a positive step toward eliminating
the "horse-trading" for votes from one party to another that
currently takes place in parliamentary elections. (Note: Forty of
the 140 seats in Parliament are elected under a proportional
respresentational scheme that was originally designed to protect
minority rights. In practice, most of the 13 parties in Parliament
are one- and two-member parties whose constantly shifting loyalties
contribute to Parliament's political gridlock.)


6. (U) Under the LSI proposal, voters would vote only for one
political party and parties would publish their list of candidates
for Members of Parliament. LSI pointed out that this proposal would
not only allow all political parties to compete equally, but it
would also solve other issues, such as improving the gender
imbalance in Parliament. This proposal petrified the other small
political parties, as its adoption could cost most of them their
parliamentary representation. While discussion over electoral
reform continues, the two main parties have recognized that there is
increased urgency to reach an agreement ahead of the NATO summit
next year. The adoption of a pure representational system would,
for the first time in 16 years of Albanian democracy, demonstrate
the real representation of the existing political parties across the
country.

"O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet."
Saint Augustine


7. (U) KOSOVAR SINGERS RATTLE ALBANIA'S MUSICAL SCENE, BUT NOT THE
JURY: Albania's cultural scene was engulfed last week by a heated
controversy over the winner of the annual song festival that
represents Albania in the EuroSong competition. While allegations
about flawed voting procedures have plagued this festival in the
past, the controversy this year took nationalistic tones as
allegations surrounded a song that featured two girls from Kosovo.
Two members of the jury, a well known Albanian film producer and a
young singer, aroused heated public debates with their decision to
give zero points to the two Kosovar girls' song and push forward
another song that was trailing behind in second place. The votes by
the two members of the song jury guaranteed that the winner was a

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sixteen-year-old making her first appearance on the national stage.
The two jury members insisted that their votes were based on their
musical preference and had no ethnic undertones. However, many
obervers are having a hard time understanding how a song that was
considered the best by the majority of the jury failed to get a
single point in their votes. With the coming EuroSong festival set
to take place in Serbia, speculation abounded that the jury members
failed to support a song sung by Kosovar Albanians to avoid any
controversy in Belgrade. With the debate set to continue over the
coming weeks, this year's contest highlighted the lingering
importance of the national music festival that first started in 1962
and continues to play an important role in Albanian contemporary
music across all Albanian inhabited territories. You can listen to
both songs in youtube: winner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4kIiwQfUkU Second place:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPC6sW8rVnc


8. (U) The Festival i Kenges was the premier music event during the
communist period and was strictly controlled by the Party to ensure
compliance with "socialist art principles." With the communist
government's intention to preserve its hold on the country's
cultural life, many who failed to live up to the party's artistic
standards ended up in prison. While the festival continued to play
an important role after the fall of communism, its influence
diminished as new musical events made their debut in the public
scene. Since 2003, however, the festival has garnered greater
attention (and controversy) as it is the venue that selects
Albania's song for the European EuroSong contest.


9. (U) HOLIDAY SEASON IN ALBANIA: Albanians have great respect for
family values. So whenever they decide to celebrate, they do it
together with their entire family. Albania has a mix of Christian
and Muslim populations. Although New Year's Eve is the most
celebrated national holiday, Christmas is also greatly celebrated.
The tradition of gift giving is maintained through New Year's Eve.
It originates from the communist era in Albania when religion was
prohibited - i.e. a Christmas tree was called a New Year's tree,
Santa Claus was called New Year's Grandpa, etc. Feasting takes a
prominent place during the Christmas season in Albania. Like in the
U.S., almost all families prepare special meals for their Christmas
or New Year's dinner. Typical food includes turkey, stuffing,
Russian salad and different side dishes. And the Christmas desert
takes a special place. Albanians call it "bakllava" which in
America is known as "baklavash." It's like a pie, but far more
complicated, featuring primarily nuts. And it's delicious.
Albanians also mark Christmas by putting up a big and brightly
decorated Christmas tree in the center of the capital, which is
enjoyed by people of all traditions.
WITHERS