Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TIRANA444
2008-06-13 15:07:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

GERDEC SURVIVORS' HUNGER STRIKE PRESSURES GOA

Tags:  PGOV PREL AL 
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VZCZCXRO8877
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0444 1651507
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131507Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7176
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS TIRANA 000444 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

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

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

SUBJECT: GERDEC SURVIVORS' HUNGER STRIKE PRESSURES GOA

UNCLAS TIRANA 000444

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

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

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

SUBJECT: GERDEC SURVIVORS' HUNGER STRIKE PRESSURES GOA


1. (U) Twelve weeks after the March 15 explosion at Gerdec,
compensation remains a key demand for many survivors. Eight former
employees of the Gerdec ammunition disassembly plant began a hunger
strike June 6, demanding additional financial compensation and other
reimbursements from the GOA. While the strike had initially
garnered minimal public attention, a visit from Socialist Party (SP)
MPs and G99 civil society activists on June 9 succeeded in raising
the group's profile, prompting a heated exchange in Parliament
between the opposition and majority.


2. (U) The strikers are demanding compensation of $4,000 for each
former plant employee, one year's salary and health and social
insurance coverage. (Note: Each employee working at the blast site
received about $600 from the GOA immediately after the explosion,
but further compensation has not been forthcoming. Some of the
employees who lived in Gerdec have also received compensation for
lost property.) In addition, the strikers are also demanding
payment of $15,000 for each person who was injured in the blast.


3. (SBU) The head of the SP Parliamentary Group, Valentina Leskaj,
and SP Assembly Chairman Gramoz Ruci (the second highest official in
the SP hierarchy) visited the hunger strikers on June 9 and roundly
criticized the government for ignoring their plight. G99 leader
Erjon Veliaj, former head of the anti-corruption NGO Mjaft!, has
also visited the blast site regularly, providing moral and material
support to the strikers.


4. (U) A 17 year-old hunger striker was forced to abandon the
strike yesterday after suffering from low blood pressure and other
hunger-related medical symptoms. Aside from the eight hunger
strikers, approximately 40 to 50 relatives and supporters have
congregated with the group, which is camped out near the blast site.
The Government has so far made no public statement on the hunger
strike, but Democratic Party parliamentarians have said the group's
demands are illogical and accused the opposition of manipulating the
workers for their own political benefit.


5. (SBU) Comment: The hunger strike is another example of the
Berisha Government's relentless mishandling of the Gerdec tragedy.
In addition to other private donors, a group of prominent local
businesses led by the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund has raised
over 100,000 euros to assist Gerdec victims. However, despite weeks
of urgent pleas, the GOA has refused to release the names of the
dead and injured so the donated funds can be disbursed. The
frustrated donors are now considering returning the donations to
contributors while the GOA twists in the wind of public opinion over
the hunger strike from another self-inflicted wound. The hunger
strike is also coinciding with Prime Minister Berisha's "Albania in
NATO" cross-country campaign tour while his Government has been keen
to marginalize critics protesting issues surrounding the Gerdec
tragedy. The hunger strike, although still minimal in its impact,
risks derailing the Government's efforts to focus public attention
away from the Gerdec tragedy. The involvement in the hunger strike
of G99, loosely allied with the opposition, indicates the intent of
anti-Government forces to ensure that Gerdec remains a persistent
political headache for the Prime Minister.

WITHERS