MEDIA ATTACKS CONTINUE ON PG'S Office

UNCLAS TIRANA 000793 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AL SUBJECT: MEDIA ATTACKS CONTINUE ON PG'S Office SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE TREAT ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) Over the weekend, two pro-PM Berisha media outlets unleashed another wave of attacks on Prosecutor General (PG) Ina Rama. TV Klan, one of the main pro-GOA TV outlets, aired an editorial which claimed Rama has smeared GOA officials during the course of her investigation of the Gerdec tragedy. It went on to say that Rama has abused her position and is "destroying" the case by "selling" information obtained during the investigation. ¶2. (U) Not to be outdone, TV Klan's newspaper, Our Time, led with an editorial which claimed Rama's "political" investigation appears to be violating the law and accused her of using "communist" tactics. It too criticized Rama for releasing results of the investigation and called on the Minister of Justice Enkelejd Alibeaj to investigate Rama. The screed ended with a vague reference to "Ambassadors" who will believe everything Rama says, if Alibeaj does not act. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: If past practice is any guide, these media attacks likely signal the government's next move in an ongoing campaign to undermine the independence of the PG's Office. Whether directed by the PM (or one of his lieutenants) or not, it is clear that these latest tactics are nothing more than an attempt to get her to toe the GOA line and go soft on the investigations of the Gerdec and Fazlic cases with their possibly damaging implications for the government. WITHERS