Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TIRANA92
2008-02-07 06:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

ALBANIA WELCOMES CODEL TANNER

Tags:  OREP OVIP NATO AL 
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VZCZCXRO1390
RR RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0092/01 0380619
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070619Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6644
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000092 

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DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, H/AMACDERMOTT

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: OREP OVIP NATO AL
SUBJECT: ALBANIA WELCOMES CODEL TANNER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000092

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E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: OREP OVIP NATO AL
SUBJECT: ALBANIA WELCOMES CODEL TANNER


1. (U) Embassy Tirana warmly welcomes the Tanner Congressional
Delegation to Albania February 22, to assess Albania's readiness for
NATO.

Overview
--------------

2. (U) Albania has made good progress on NATO- and EU-oriented
reforms and is committed to continuing implementation. Albania is a
valuable partner in maintaining regional security, demonstrated most
consistently in its constructive engagement on Kosovo and its
significant contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Albania has
contributed to the GWOT by keeping Weapons of Mass Destruction out
of the hands of terrorists. In July it became the first country to
destroy its stockpile of chemical agents and is making progress in
eliminating over 100,000 tons of surplus munitions. While Albania
has made progress to confront the challenges of rule of law and the
fight against corruption, consistent implementation of reforms
achieved or in progress is the next challenge. A persistent
criticism by the Allies has been that the Government and opposition
have not been able to work together for the good of the country. As
one sign of a possible break-through, on January 21, an
opposition-sponsored resolution calling for unity and declaring NATO
accession to be Albania's number one goal passed with a unanimous
vote in Parliament. This is the first time an opposition-sponsored
resolution has been passed unanimously by the Parliament in
Albania's democratic history.

Contributions to Regional and Global Stability and Security
-------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------

3. (SBU) Albania contributes significantly to Balkan and global
stability and security. GOA officials and opposition leaders serve
as a moderating influence on the ethnic Albanian populations in
Kosovo and neighboring states and support the international
community's efforts to resolve Kosovo's status in a peaceful manner.
The GOA has pledged to remain a positive force in these and other
international spheres, including, for example, its membership on the
Board of Governors of the IAEA. As a signatory to the Chemical
Weapons Convention, Albania used Nunn-Lugar funding to destroy its
stockpile of chemical weapons and agents, and became the first
country under the CWC to do so. It is also making progress in

destroying over 100,000 tons of surplus munitions, including
seamines, torpedoes, aerial bombs and depth charges. The GOA has
indicated that it is willing to destroy its MANPADS as well.


4. (SBU) Albania's commitment to Iraq and Afghanistan deployments
has also been consistent and gratifying; in both cases, Albania had
troops on the ground at the outset of operations, despite its
limited financial and human resources. With almost 400 troops
deployed at any given time, Albania has the greatest number per
capita of troops deployed on NATO and Coalition missions than any
other Ally.

Democracy, Rule of Law, Anti-Corruption
--------------

5. (U) With less than two decades of democratic history, Albania
continues to bolster its democratic institutions and free market
mechanisms. The GOA has passed legislation to strengthen the
political independence and to improve professionalization of the
Albanian State Police; established more efficient structures to
fight corruption and organized crime, including the recent formation
of a Joint Investigative Unit to increase coordination between law
enforcement and the judiciary; and entered into agreements to
enhance regional economic cooperation and to impede cross-border
trafficking. Elected on an anti-corruption platform, Prime Minister
Sali Berisha has repeatedly stated that this issue is one of his
government's highest priorities. The GOA selected corruption as its
most important Millennium Challenge category.


6. (U) An early success of the newly established Joint Investigative
Unit (JIU) was the September arrest of three high-level Ministry of
Transport officials, including a Deputy Minister. While many
low-level officials have been arrested for corruption, these were
the highest level arrests since 2002 and may indicate that the fight
against corruption is gaining in strength and professionalism. The
JIU fosters better cooperation among crime-fighting institutions,
including prosecution, investigation and intelligence. (The JIU was
founded with Embassy support and encouragement, in particular the
Department of Justice's Overseas Prosecutorial Development and
Training program.) In an unrelated action, Minister of Foreign
Affairs Basha was accused in September by former Prosecutor General
Sollaku of abuse of office in connection with the Bechtel
Durres-Kukes Highway award when Basha was Minister of
Transportation. Basha says that the accusations are politically
motivated, and, in a show of confidence, voted to lift his own
parliamentary immunity.


7. (U) The Parliamentary Committee on Legal Issues is working on a
package of laws to make the judiciary more independent and
transparent. Reform of Albania's judiciary to provide greater
transparency and efficiency is a key requirement for NATO

TIRANA 00000092 002 OF 002


membership.


8. (U) Former Prosecutor General Sollaku, considered by the Prime
Minister and his governing coalition as a roadblock to prosecuting
organized crime and high-level corruption, was replaced last summer
by Ina Rama, a former judge. Rama has stated her intent to improve
efficiency in the Prosecutor's Office and to defend the
institution's independence. Rama plans to travel to Washington and
other cities on an International Visitors Program in February to
observe rule of law and the criminal justice system as practiced in
the U.S. and may be meeting with high level officials.

Electoral Reform
--------------

9. (U) OSCE experts believe the GOA is on track to complete its new
automated civil registry by summer 2008. The second technical
element of electoral reform is the issuance of improved identity
cards. A request for proposal to implement a system for biometric
ID cards and passports was issued in November with bids due February

28. The GOA is projecting it will begin issuing biometric documents
in December 2008. Concerning reform of the electoral system itself,
a bipartisan Parliamentary commission is evaluating various
proposals, but has made little concrete legislative progress.

Trafficking In Persons
--------------

10. (SBU) The GOA has a National Action Plan for 2005 - 2007 which
lays out goals and how it would meet them. It has consistently
worked toward these goals, but has sometimes fallen short of
reaching them. The Plan highlights the National Referral Mechanism,
which is designed to coordinate government and private resources
(anti-trafficking and customs police, NGOs, and social workers) to
identify victims and refer them for appropriate services. The GOA
needs to continue efforts toward better coordination. In 2005
Albania signed an agreement with Greece to improve anti-trafficking
coordination. Albania has ratified it; Greece has not. Albania is
working with Kosovo and Macedonia on similar agreements. There are
criminal penalties for trafficking, which are enforced. Albania is
a Tier-2 country on the State Department's 2006 Trafficking in
Persons Report.

Regional Issues - Kosovo
--------------

11. (SBU) The Government and Opposition strongly support Kosovo's
independence as proposed in the Ahtisaari plan and have used close
relationships with Kosovar political leaders to urge moderation and
cooperation with international leadership through the Contact Group
and the UN. Albanian leaders have expressed concern that unrest and
violence in Kosovo could reflect badly on Albania, possibly hurting
Albania's chances for NATO and EU membership. Albania has offered
Kosovo economic help in the event of a Serbian embargo. Foreign
Minister Basha, in his January 29 meeting with Secretary Rice,
reiterated Albania's full support for and coordination with the U.S.
policy on Kosovo.


WITHERS