Embassy Tirana Weekly Report

UNCLAS TIRANA 000805 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ENRG EFIN PREL PHUM AL SUBJECT: Embassy Tirana Weekly Report Pundits and Politicians Agree: U.S. Truly Democratic -------------- -------------- ¶1. Throughout the several months preceding the U.S. Presidential Election, major dailies carried local experts' comments on the U.S. electoral campaign and potential policy changes for the Balkans and Albania. Most concluded that whoever would emerge president-elect, U.S. policy toward Albania was not going to change, arguing that both tickets were strong supporters of Albania and Kosovo. ¶2. Major TV stations in Albania turned Washington into a virtual battle ground, vying for the "best U.S. election coverage" prize. They deployed crews to Washington, led by their most prominent news editors and figures, offering commentary, analysis, and live coverage. Other more modest TV stations tried to catch up by offering local perception of the significance of an African-American running for President of the U.S. through street interviews and mini-polls. The commentaries following the announcement of Barack Obama as President-elect predicted that Obama's presidency will be historic and that U.S. policy toward Albania, with Joe Biden as VP, will remain unchanged. ¶3. And the U.S. election served well the IlDeBaSpS b`d to selL A "n%w podhthcs," promise to Albanians, called Kbama's elecdion victory "The most spectacular example of new politics." On the other hand, for PM Berisha, "Obama's victory is the realization and most major transformation of the American dream into reality." ¶4. Commentators, analysts and politicians agreed that the electoral campaign, the voting itself, the election of the first African-American to be President, as well as John McCain's moving concession speech, were telling of a truly democratic country. A lonely voice in the crowd of enthusiastic U.S. election commentators attempted to relate the lessons of the U.S. election to the local reality of an erratic election system and the "fight-till-the-bitter-end" campaign mentality, exclaiming: "We're so good at talking about elections in the U.S.!" New Definition for Bribe: A Tip For Outstanding Service -------------- -------------- ¶5. The Task Force on Financial Crimes arrested last week two well-known surgeons on charges of corruption in a first-ever law enforcement operation targeting the pervasive culture of bribery in Albanian public hospitals. Following two separate and unrelated police operations, the Head of the Oncological Surgical Department and the head of the Surgical Unit at the Prison Hospital were found in possession of cash ranging from $ 200 to $600, allegedly received from patients shortly after performing an operation. The two doctors have so far denied the charges, and one of them has been remanded to house arrest following a court hearing. One of the accused reportedly said, "I get whatever cash is given to me as a gift, I ask for no bribes." The recent arrests, however, have sent shock waves through the medical profession, with doctors privately expressing their anger at being punished for a practice that was considered almost a right for doctors in Albania in the last decade. ¶6. Commenting on the arrests, many regular citizens have said that were the law to be enforced across the health sector, law enforcement authorities would have to shut down the entire sector and arrest everyone working there. It is common knowledge in Albania that you have to pay under the table for any service you receive at public hospitals. Informal prices exist for all types of operations or treatments. So far, however, the accepted wisdom is that such bribery is necessary to compensate for the doctor's low salary. The recent law enforcement arrests have greatly upset the status-quo and sent alarm signals throughout the Public Health administration. Quote of the Week -------------- ¶7. "It is the victory of a new generation. It is the victory of hope and dreams, just as was the leitmotif of a campaign built on the conviction that hope should overcome fear and the future should overcome the delusion of the past...It is the most spectacular example of new politics and the overcoming of the boundaries between the right and the left . . .I am confident that the world today woke up in a new spirit, one which undoubtedly Albania and the Albanian people are feeling too." - Socialist Party Chairperson Edi Rama, commenting on the Presidential Election results in the US. WITHERS