Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TIRANA116
2008-02-15 15:31:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:
THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL (FEBRUARY
how-toVZCZCXRO9678 RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHTI #0116/01 0461531 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 151531Z FEB 08 FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6695 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000116
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KV AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL (FEBRUARY
8-15, 2008)
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000116
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KV AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL (FEBRUARY
8-15, 2008)
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. This special edition focuses
on the average Albanian's impressions and expectations of an
expectecd declaration of independence by Kosovo this weekend.
--------------
SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT FOR KOSOVO
--------------
2. (U) HISTORY REWRITTEN, JUSTICE DELIVERED: As the day approaches
for an expected declaration of independence for Kosovo, Albanians of
Albania feel that history is about to be rewritten. The process has
been longer than anyone expected, but momentum was never lost.
Albanians here have the impression that closing the book on Kosovo
opens a new chapter in the history of the Albanian people,
correcting a centuries-old injustice and giving self-rule to
Kosovars.
3. (U) Albanians, including those outside Kosovo, consider
independence the most important event in their collective national
history of the last one hundred years. The partition of Kosovo from
Albania in 1913, which turned it over to Yugoslav rule, was
considered by Albanians everywhere an historic injustice. While
most of the world became aware of the plight of Albanian Kosovars in
the late 90s, for most Albanians those tragic events were only
another chapter in the history of Kosovar oppression and struggle
for self-rule.
4. (U) Every Albanian in the region was affected by this history.
As Albanians here in Albania lived under the isolation and
repression of their own communist dictator, Kosovar Albanians were
protesting Serb rule. The anti-government protests of Kosovar
students in Pristina in 1981, a hunger strike by minors of Trepca in
1989, and continued state oppression until the NATO conflict were
all images that deeply affected the perceptions and understanding of
Albanians. Now, across the region, Albanians are relieved that
Kosovar citizens will have the right to determine their own path for
the first time in one hundred years.
5. (U) The average Albanian was closest to the Kosovar issue during
the 1999 crisis. The atrocities of the Serb army and paramilitaries
pushed about half a million Kosovar refugees across the border,
sheltered by regular Albanian families throughout the country.
Their first-hand reports of the tragedies brought the anguish
directly into Albanian homes. However, when Kosovo was freed of
Serb units, the refugees returned home almost without exception to
rebuild their homes and their lives in Kosovo. Notably, few
remained behind.
6. (U) A side effect of Kosovar history has been the perceptions
created regarding Europe. The Great Powers' partition of Kosovo
made Albanians suspicious of European intentions. In contrast,
President Wilson's 1913 stand on the side of the right to
self-determination for small nations raised U.S. stock in the mind
of Albanians, an anecdote still well-remembered and often raised by
Albanian leaders in discussions of U.S. policy toward their country.
7. (U) MOVING PAST 1999: Albanians accept what Serbia has chosen
so far to avoid: that their future lies with EU integration. But
the widespread feeling of gratitude over Kosovo is paid to the U.S.,
which consistently sustained momentum for independence. The EU,
which has set the Western Balkans on a path to membership in its
exclusive and lucrative club, represents its future, but Albanians
uniformly believe that without U.S. involvement Kosovo's
independence would never have been realized.
8. (U) AN END TO GREATER ALBANIA: The independence of Kosovo,
along with what Albania hopes to be a quick path to NATO membership
and an eventual path to the EU, puts "Greater Albania" on the trash
heap of history. Proud to support the independence of their national
kin, Albanians here do not have a sense that unification will join
that solidarity. Polls consistently show that the overwhelming
majority of Albanians have no passion for unification. One hundred
years of living apart have had an irreversible impact, creating two
distinct identities among ethnic Albanians, differences which have
led to a sense of otherness that both easily admit and a sense of
separateness further enforced by the fact that elites on both sides
of the border look with suspicion on the idea of unification.
--------------
CELEBRATIONS AND EVENTS THIS WEEK
--------------
9. (U) Though average citizens wait with excitement for a
proclamation of independence, this is not expected to translate into
TIRANA 00000116 002 OF 002
large crowds in the streets. The government has planned no events
for this weekend, and has already called on all to show restraint.
However, hundreds are expected to descend upon Pristina this weekend
to be present for the historic occasion. Others plan to stay glued
to the television, following live coverage from Albanian newscasters
in Pristina. While there were initial rumors that Prime Minister
Berisha could go to Kosovo on independence eve, official reports now
say that the visit has been postponed. Albanian police authorities
in Tirana say they expect spontaneous gatherings in the streets and
have taken measures to ensure the orderly proceeding of any such
celebrations.
--------------
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
--------------
10. (U) Prime Minister Berisha, during a meeting with the Mayor of
the Kosovar city of Gjakova: "The Albanian spirit and culture are
the common and inalienable values of our national identity.
Therefore, Independence Day will bring happiness to every Albanian
family in the world. Every Kosovar must rise to the level of a
contained and legitimate celebration, as the eyes of the world have
already turned to their victory. Independence must be handled with
dignity, an obligation to sacrifices the Kosovar people have made in
the last century, and celebrations must be an expression of
gratitude to all well-wishers, wherever they are in the world, who
supported with sympathy the Kosovar cause."
WITHERS
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KV AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL (FEBRUARY
8-15, 2008)
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. This special edition focuses
on the average Albanian's impressions and expectations of an
expectecd declaration of independence by Kosovo this weekend.
--------------
SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT FOR KOSOVO
--------------
2. (U) HISTORY REWRITTEN, JUSTICE DELIVERED: As the day approaches
for an expected declaration of independence for Kosovo, Albanians of
Albania feel that history is about to be rewritten. The process has
been longer than anyone expected, but momentum was never lost.
Albanians here have the impression that closing the book on Kosovo
opens a new chapter in the history of the Albanian people,
correcting a centuries-old injustice and giving self-rule to
Kosovars.
3. (U) Albanians, including those outside Kosovo, consider
independence the most important event in their collective national
history of the last one hundred years. The partition of Kosovo from
Albania in 1913, which turned it over to Yugoslav rule, was
considered by Albanians everywhere an historic injustice. While
most of the world became aware of the plight of Albanian Kosovars in
the late 90s, for most Albanians those tragic events were only
another chapter in the history of Kosovar oppression and struggle
for self-rule.
4. (U) Every Albanian in the region was affected by this history.
As Albanians here in Albania lived under the isolation and
repression of their own communist dictator, Kosovar Albanians were
protesting Serb rule. The anti-government protests of Kosovar
students in Pristina in 1981, a hunger strike by minors of Trepca in
1989, and continued state oppression until the NATO conflict were
all images that deeply affected the perceptions and understanding of
Albanians. Now, across the region, Albanians are relieved that
Kosovar citizens will have the right to determine their own path for
the first time in one hundred years.
5. (U) The average Albanian was closest to the Kosovar issue during
the 1999 crisis. The atrocities of the Serb army and paramilitaries
pushed about half a million Kosovar refugees across the border,
sheltered by regular Albanian families throughout the country.
Their first-hand reports of the tragedies brought the anguish
directly into Albanian homes. However, when Kosovo was freed of
Serb units, the refugees returned home almost without exception to
rebuild their homes and their lives in Kosovo. Notably, few
remained behind.
6. (U) A side effect of Kosovar history has been the perceptions
created regarding Europe. The Great Powers' partition of Kosovo
made Albanians suspicious of European intentions. In contrast,
President Wilson's 1913 stand on the side of the right to
self-determination for small nations raised U.S. stock in the mind
of Albanians, an anecdote still well-remembered and often raised by
Albanian leaders in discussions of U.S. policy toward their country.
7. (U) MOVING PAST 1999: Albanians accept what Serbia has chosen
so far to avoid: that their future lies with EU integration. But
the widespread feeling of gratitude over Kosovo is paid to the U.S.,
which consistently sustained momentum for independence. The EU,
which has set the Western Balkans on a path to membership in its
exclusive and lucrative club, represents its future, but Albanians
uniformly believe that without U.S. involvement Kosovo's
independence would never have been realized.
8. (U) AN END TO GREATER ALBANIA: The independence of Kosovo,
along with what Albania hopes to be a quick path to NATO membership
and an eventual path to the EU, puts "Greater Albania" on the trash
heap of history. Proud to support the independence of their national
kin, Albanians here do not have a sense that unification will join
that solidarity. Polls consistently show that the overwhelming
majority of Albanians have no passion for unification. One hundred
years of living apart have had an irreversible impact, creating two
distinct identities among ethnic Albanians, differences which have
led to a sense of otherness that both easily admit and a sense of
separateness further enforced by the fact that elites on both sides
of the border look with suspicion on the idea of unification.
--------------
CELEBRATIONS AND EVENTS THIS WEEK
--------------
9. (U) Though average citizens wait with excitement for a
proclamation of independence, this is not expected to translate into
TIRANA 00000116 002 OF 002
large crowds in the streets. The government has planned no events
for this weekend, and has already called on all to show restraint.
However, hundreds are expected to descend upon Pristina this weekend
to be present for the historic occasion. Others plan to stay glued
to the television, following live coverage from Albanian newscasters
in Pristina. While there were initial rumors that Prime Minister
Berisha could go to Kosovo on independence eve, official reports now
say that the visit has been postponed. Albanian police authorities
in Tirana say they expect spontaneous gatherings in the streets and
have taken measures to ensure the orderly proceeding of any such
celebrations.
--------------
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
--------------
10. (U) Prime Minister Berisha, during a meeting with the Mayor of
the Kosovar city of Gjakova: "The Albanian spirit and culture are
the common and inalienable values of our national identity.
Therefore, Independence Day will bring happiness to every Albanian
family in the world. Every Kosovar must rise to the level of a
contained and legitimate celebration, as the eyes of the world have
already turned to their victory. Independence must be handled with
dignity, an obligation to sacrifices the Kosovar people have made in
the last century, and celebrations must be an expression of
gratitude to all well-wishers, wherever they are in the world, who
supported with sympathy the Kosovar cause."
WITHERS