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
--------------


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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