LUSTRATION LAW PASSES, BUT WHAT NEXT?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000899 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018 TAGS: KJUS KDEM PREL PGOV AL SUBJECT: LUSTRATION LAW PASSES, BUT WHAT NEXT? REF: TIRANA 883 Classified By: Ambassador John L. Withers II, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On December 22 Parliament passed the controversial Lustration Law by a vote of 74-2, with one abstention. Sixty four opposition MPs boycotted the session. The Lustration Law now moves to the President, who has 20 days to either sign the bill into law, send it back to Parliament for revisions, or refer the bill to the Constitutional Court for review. Presidential advisors told PolOff that the President is likely to sit on the law until the last minute. Prime Minister Berisha forced the bill's passage on a straight party-line vote, and over the considerable objections of the international community, domestic political opposition and domestic and international legal observers. Political analysts in Tirana are expressing widespread disbelief that Berisha would defy what observers are calling an "unprecedented" level of international opposition to the draft Lustration Law, with many seeing this as the truest sign of Berisha's growing desperation to shut down number of investigations that threaten to implicate members of the Berisha family as well as members of his inner circle. END SUMMARY. Berisha Swims Against the Tide -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Parliament wasted no time in passing the controversial Lustration Law, ramming the bill through on a straight-line party vote after only 90 minutes of discussion - with most of that taken up by a long-winded defense of the bill by Prime Minister Berisha. The vast majority of opposition deputies boycotted the session after it became clear over the weekend that Berisha was fully determined to push the bill through to passage. ¶3. (C) Analysts, including members of President Topi's staff, expressed incredulity that Berisha would defy the "unprecedented" level of international opposition to the lustration bill, including public statements by the U.S., U.K. and OSCE/ODIHR, along with private interventions by the U.S., U.K., France and OSCE. (NOTE: After two hours of contentious discussion, EU Heads of Mission in Tirana were unable to come to consensus on a public statement and ended up issuing nothing. END NOTE). President Topi's Diplomatic Advisor Arben Cici told PolOff that not since 1996 had the GOA shown so little regard to international opinion. On December 23, the Council of Europe also released a statement, expressing concern at the hasty passage of the Lustration Law and stating that the law as drafted could end up creating more injustices than it resolves. President Topi in the Hot Seat -------------- ¶4. (C) Attention now shifts to President Topi, who has 20 days to either approve the law, send it back to Parliament for reconsideration, or refer it to the Constitutional Court for analysis. Topi advisors told PolOff on December 22 that Topi is likely to wait until the last minute before deciding what to do with the law, citing the need for Topi to gauge domestic and international reaction to the law, along with potential internal Democratic Party political fallout, before he decides to act. Topi's advisors said that although President Topi is conscious of his duty to defend the constitution, they also admitted that he has his own political fortunes to consider as he decides what to do with the bill. Embassy Statement -------------- ¶5. (U) The Embassy released the following statement on the afternoon of December 23: -- The U.S. Embassy closely followed last night's vote in the Albanian Parliament that passed the Lustration Law by a simple majority. We are deeply concerned. This law raised serious legal, governmental and constitutional questions among Albania's international partners, including the United States. We call on the government of Albania to take immediate steps in consultation with national and international experts to ensure that this law would meet international standards. END STATEMENT. Berisha Going for Broke -------------- TIRANA 00000899 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Berisha's critics and even some of his more outspoken party allies have told the Embassy that Berisha's determination to pass the Lustration Law, despite overwhelming domestic and international criticism, is a sign of desperation on the part of the PM. Berisha has been trying for months, largely without success, to derail or influence a number of ongoing investigations such as those into the Gerdec tragedy or the Durres-Kukes road project - investigations that have already implicated or threaten to implicate members of Berisha's family or inner circle. With only six months to go until parliamentary elections and the Gerdec investigation nearing completion, Berisha is running out of time and options for shutting down these investigations. The fact that Berisha was willing to disregard strong international opposition to the bill and ram it through Parliament with no opposition party support at all means Berisha's back is against the wall, and is a bad omen for Albanian democracy in the coming months. WITHERS