THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 1

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SIPDIS
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TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL AL

SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 1

REF: 08 TIRANA 1078

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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.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
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2. (SBU) Oil In Them There Hills?: Albanian media reacted swiftly
to the news released by Manas Petroleum regarding potential large
oil and gas reserves in Albania. In December 2007, Manas Petroleum,
an international oil and gas exploration company headquartered in
Switzerland, was awarded a concession by the Albanian government to
explore Northern Albania for oil and gas reserves. Manas released
findings from a report compiled by Gustavson Associates, a U.S.
energy cons ery a "Saudi Arabian" dream for Albania.
Representatives of Manas Petroleum did not hide their enthusiasm
regarding the report's main findings. Albania has proven oil
reserves of 198 million barrels which is more than half the reserves
for the entire region. However, the country extracts a mere 8,000
barrels per day, supplying only 25-30 percent of Albania's growing
oil needs. As the price of oil continues to skyrocket, the prospect
of unearthing oil reserves in Albania may turn a dream into a
reality. (Note: Post will report further developments on the Manas
study septel.)



4. (U) Take the Test on Albanian Customs Performance: When the
Albanian Customs' General Director proudly announced that 2007
customs revenues hit 102 percent of the agency's targeted
projections, all were praised. The Director said anti-smuggling
efforts, better investigations, proper law enforcement, and
modernization spurred the impressive performance. Only one item in
the press release suggests underperformance - cigarettes. In 2007,
Albania officially imported 831 tons of cigarettes, 20 percent less
than in 2006. Surprisingly, while Albanians consumed more fuel
because of the electricity crisis, drank more alcohol, and drank
more coffee to relieve stress caused by long electricity shortages,
they suddenly decided to quit smoking. The official reduction in
cigarette imports was all the more curious given the long history of
cigarette smuggling throughout a region full of habitual smokers.
The public seeks to uncover why smoking has decreased in the past
year. Suggestions are welcome:

a) Albanians are obeying last year's poorly enforced ban on smoking
in public places;
b) They suddenly became aware of smoking's health risks;
c) Increased cigarette prices discouraged them from smoking; or
d) Custom's anti-smuggling efforts are an area for improvement for
the government.

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SOCIAL INDICATORS
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5. (U) May You Never Go to Hospital!: As Albania's Ministry of
Health struggles to increase levels of adequate health care across
the country, the poor state of the country's medical equipment begs
for attention. Albania's 36 regional hospitals are currently
plagued with outdated, dilapidated medical equipment. Most have
archaic apparatus dating back three decades, half of which is
broken, malfunctioning, or unusable due to lack of maintenance.
Patients are often advised to wait weeks or even months for
equipment to be fixed to have rudimentary tests and examinations
performed. There are even medical centers, albeit in rural areas
where state services traditionally lag behind those provided in
urban centers, which lack such basic amenities as a patient's bed.
Albanian Ministry of Health officials stated that they plan to
perform an inventory of all medical equipment to begin to remedy the
current lack of proper, working equipment in hospitals. A further
indignity that accosts Albanians are the small, routine bribes that
must be paid to virtually everyone from the hospital cleaning lady
to administrative staff up to the doctors treating them for
Albanians to receive their "free" healthcare. The common wish

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exchanged between Albanians continues to be, "May you never go to
hospital." (Note: The GOA's FY08 national budget boosts spending
for the health sector to USD 345 million or 2.9 percent of GDP, up
from 2.1 percent in 2006. See 07 Tirana 1078.)

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CULTURE
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6. (U) Art Piece Stirs Local Outcry: A 1987 painting of the
infamous Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha and his wife strolling in the
southeastern city of Pogradec is on display in a hotel restaurant in
Drilon. During Communism, Drilon was one of many areas Hoxha
forbade ordinary Albanian citizens to visit between 1964 and 1985.
Once utilized by the Hoxha family for vacations, the restaurant is
receiving mixed reactions over the painting from patrons. The
painting is offered for sale for 3,500 euros and has provoked fierce
reactions from diners, some of whom were quoted by local media: "No
way - it's a provocation," and, "It's irritating to look at that
face again," said another. One restaurant customer was not bothered
by the Hoxha portrait: "We are in a democracy. Anything can
happen."

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HISTORY
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7. (U) Holocaust Remembrance Day: This week Albania commemorated
Holocaust Remembrance Day with a series of high profile events aimed
at casting light on the country's record of assisting and harboring
Jews during World War II. The Honorable Warren L. Miller, Chairman
of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage
Abroad, addressed the Albanian Parliament in a plenary session
attended by Prime Minister Berisha, Members of Parliament and
Albanian family members whom saved Jews during the Holocaust. "One
simple fact says it all," stated Miller, "Albania was the only
country in Europe which had a larger Jewish population after the
Second World War than before." Prior to Miller's address, Prime
Minister Berisha affirmed, "On this day, we take pride in the fact
that the Albanian(s),even though under a savage occupation, not
only offered no cooperation in the exterminating hunt against the
Jewish community, but they also defended them with their own lives."



8. (U) Prior to World War II, there were only 200 known Jews in
Albania. By the end of the Second World War, Albania had
2,500-3,000 Jews from neighboring areas, including Dalmatia,
Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece.
Albanian quisling authorities refused to provide the Germans with a
list of Jews, as Albanian families vowed to provide shelter to
thousands. Mr. Refik Veseli was the first of 60 Albanians
recognized as a "righteous person" by the State of Israel for aiding
Jews during the Holocaust. When asked why so many Albanians saved
Jews, Veseli replied, "There are no foreigners in Albania, only
guests, and the Albanian moral code requires that guests be treated
hospitably."

9. (U) Story of the Week: "Another here was a farmer in Kruja, Sulo
Mecaj, who in 1943 sheltered 10 Jews in his home. When he was
warned that Germans were coming to his house to search for Jews, he
told the Jews to (use) a crawl space he had prepared for them in the
attic. The Jews were terrified of being found - and one asked what
would happen if the Germans were to set fire to the house. To
reassure them, Sulo Mecaj told his only son to hide with the Jews in
the attic, and suffer their fate if the house was set on fire.
Years later, his son said he understood why his father put his life
in danger- it was a matter of honor."
Excerpts from the remarks of Warren L. Miller, Chairman U.S.
Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad,
delivered to a session of the Albanian Parliament on the Holocaust
Remembrance Day.
WITHERS