Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TIRANA353
2008-05-02 14:51:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, APRIL 26-MAY 2, 2008

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL ECON AL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7167
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0353/01 1231451
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021451Z MAY 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7056
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000353 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ECON AL

SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, APRIL 26-MAY 2, 2008

TIRANA 00000353 001.5 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000353

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ECON AL

SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, APRIL 26-MAY 2, 2008

TIRANA 00000353 001.5 OF 002



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.

--------------
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
--------------


2. (U) ANNUAL FREEDOM HOUSE RESULTS: Albania scored a mid-range 50
(on a scale of 0-100) from Freedom House in its annual evaluation of
press freedom across the world, placing it 105 of 195 countries
evaluated, strongly in the Partly Free category. The score is based
on estimations of the legal, political and economic media
environments country-by-country. The report notes that Prime
Minister Berisha exercised selective pressure on opposition-oriented
media throughout the year, and accuses unidentified outlets of
receiving funding from organized crime groups. On a positive note,
the report says that the broadcast media curbed much of their usual
bias to provide balanced coverage ahead of local elections in
February 2007.


3. (U) The survey rates Albania as less free than its regional
neighbors, and is on par with last year's evaluation and that of
local international embassies and organizations. Freedom House
reports that the media continued to reflect a diversity of
viewpoints in 2007, though key outlets tended to support one
political faction or another and journalists practiced
self-censorship to support the political or economic interests of
their employers. While the media is free, is it largely political
and driven by economic interests rather than the heady goal of "All
the News That's Fit to Print."

--------------
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
--------------


4. (U) WHEN GOOD TENDERS GO BAD: Last month the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) announced a tender for automatic digital radars for
Albanian traffic police. This initiative was applauded by everyone
who battles Tirana's chaotic traffic, characterized by generally bad
driving habits and a high accident rate. The police need such
equipment to effectively nab the worst offenders, however, to the
surprise of interested companies, the tender's specifications
coincided exactly with a specific project manufactured by only one

company, and interestingly, exclude the most advanced technology in
the field, laser technology.


5. (U) Noting these problems, one bidder in particular sent a
formal letter of inquiry to the MOI, and when initial concerns
weren't addressed, followed up with a letter of complaint,
highlighting the advantages of the newest technology and emphasizing
that procurement procedures should offer a fair playing field for
all competitors. So far, the Ministry has not addressed these major
concerns. This is not the first time the GOA has apparently taken
the specifications for a tender verbatim from a product description,
the most infamous case being the high profile tender for national
identification cards, which was ultimately unsatisfactory to bidders
even after the GOA released a revised set of specifications.
Embassy Tirana will continue to follow the radar case to advocate
for equal opportunity for interested American companies.

--------------
THIS WEEK IN ARTS AND CULTURE
--------------


6. (U) ORTHODOX EASTER IN ALBANIA: Orthodox Easter is a curiosity
for some non-Orthodox Christians, as it seems to be the same
celebration, different day. The Orthodox use of the Gregorian
calender is at the root of this difference, while the rituals
marking the event are largely similar. In Tirana last weekend,
Orthodox Christians began to gather at their churches before the
midnight hour, and en masse, proceeded on foot to the nearby
headquarters of the Orthodox Church. Here the Archibishop greeted
them in the courtyard with a holy fire, a light traditionally taken
from candles at the tomb of Christ, and the hundreds present lit
their own candles from this symbolic light. Children carried hard
boiled eggs painted red (symbolic of blood),smashing theirs against
those of friends and family, in search of the egg that could survive
uncracked. (A few do, and these are kept in a place of honor
throughout the year until the next Easter. Some kids reportedly try
to slip in wooden eggs to beat the odds, which prove infallible
until a parent investigates beyond the red paint.) With candles
still lit, everyone returned home in the early hours of the morning,
lighting the streets as they went, and rising late on Easter for a
traditional lunch of lamb with friends and family.


7. (U) MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS: May Day, a celebration of the common
worker that takes place in many parts of the world, is no longer

TIRANA 00000353 002.2 OF 002


celebrated in Albania with the proletariat fervor of the communist
era. However, the day was marked this year by many Albanian
families with a traditional outdoor picnic, while the government
hosted popular concerts and events in Tirana's Mother Theresa
Square.


8. (U) EUROPEAN WEEK: Today through next Friday the European
Commission will host a series of events across Albania to enhance
cultural diversity in the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue
(2008). These activities are supported in the spirit of EU
integration, a goal to which the country is moving closer.
Activities include a wide span of cultural genres such as films and
documentaries, photo and painting exhibitions, middle and high
school essay competitions about the EU, and classical and modern
concerts organized by EU member embassies. These activities aim to
provide a current snapshot of the shifting dynamics of the many
cultures that comprise the EU, as well as to highlight recent
cultural and social developments of Albanian society.

--------------
THE WEEK AHEAD
--------------


9. (U) Parliament will likely vote on the Prosecutor General's
request to lift parliamentary immunity for former Defense Minister
Fatmir Mediu. The PG announced last Friday that Mediu was being
investigated on up to 20 charges of corruption and abuse of power
related to the Gerdec tragedy. Ambassador Withers will speak at
Tirana University on corruption in Albanian society at an event to
release the results of an annual USAID-funded report on this
subject.

CRISTINA