Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TIRANA12
2009-01-09 11:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:
Resurrecting the Communist Bogeyman
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UNCLAS TIRANA 000012
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR EUR/SCE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PGOV PREL KJUS AL
SUBJECT: Resurrecting the Communist Bogeyman
UNCLAS TIRANA 000012
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR EUR/SCE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PGOV PREL KJUS AL
SUBJECT: Resurrecting the Communist Bogeyman
1. (SBU) Prime Minister Berisha announced on January 7 a draft bill
for the establishment of an anti-communism institute that would
study the crimes of communism and educate the younger generation
about the evils of that system. He also announced the erection of a
massive obelisk in honor of the victims of communism, as well as the
opening of a museum to document the crimes of that period. The
government last week also decided to release a compensation package
of 20 million USD to formerly persecuted people as a compensation
for the time they served in prison during the communist period.
These measures follow the approval of the controversial bill on
lustration. The recent anti-communist campaign is progressively
taking the place of the anti-corruption theme that helped propel Mr.
Berisha back into power in July of 2005. The commie bashing
measures, however, are generally met with skepticism as people find
it ironic that a former communist party secretary resorts again to
the same weapon of anti-communism to cement his stay in power.
2. (SBU) This is the second time in the recent history of Albania
that Mr. Berisha is making an anti-communist mantra part of his
pre-election rhetoric. In 1995, nearly five years after the fall
of communism in Albania, Berisha passed the first lustration bill
and staged what he called the anti-genocide trials that sentenced a
number of former politburo members and other high ranking communist
officials to death and long prison sentences. These kangaroo trials
were poorly staged, provided no real evidence against those charged,
and lacked any comprehensive investigative work. The Supreme Court
overturned most of these decisions and the convicts were compensated
for the time served in prison. Widely perceived then as nothing
more than political maneuvering, the campaign nevertheless succeeded
in manipulating the politically persecuted layer of the population
and provided Berisha with a tool to eliminate a number of political
opponents. In addition, government propaganda, buttressed by the
absence of a free press, placed the Socialist Party - as the heir of
the Communist base - in a weakened position.
3. (SBU) According to commentators there are three reasons why the
Prime Minister is resorting to anti-communism for a second time, 18
years after the fall of communism. The introduction of such an
anti-communist campaign helps the Prime Minister conceal the real
intent of the lustration law - the elimination of prosecutors and
judges that are investigating official corruption. Anti-communist
propaganda will also help Berisha fill the vacuum created by the now
discredited anti-corruption theme. At a time when two members of
his government are under investigation and the town is full of
rumors about the affairs of his two children, anti-corruption has
understandably lost much of its luster. Such an initiative will
also help Berisha cement his support among the politically
persecuted people that have traditionally formed a strong support
base for Berisha - as well as steal some of those voters away from
potential political rival President Topi, who also considers former
victims of communism among his strongest supporters.
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR EUR/SCE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PGOV PREL KJUS AL
SUBJECT: Resurrecting the Communist Bogeyman
1. (SBU) Prime Minister Berisha announced on January 7 a draft bill
for the establishment of an anti-communism institute that would
study the crimes of communism and educate the younger generation
about the evils of that system. He also announced the erection of a
massive obelisk in honor of the victims of communism, as well as the
opening of a museum to document the crimes of that period. The
government last week also decided to release a compensation package
of 20 million USD to formerly persecuted people as a compensation
for the time they served in prison during the communist period.
These measures follow the approval of the controversial bill on
lustration. The recent anti-communist campaign is progressively
taking the place of the anti-corruption theme that helped propel Mr.
Berisha back into power in July of 2005. The commie bashing
measures, however, are generally met with skepticism as people find
it ironic that a former communist party secretary resorts again to
the same weapon of anti-communism to cement his stay in power.
2. (SBU) This is the second time in the recent history of Albania
that Mr. Berisha is making an anti-communist mantra part of his
pre-election rhetoric. In 1995, nearly five years after the fall
of communism in Albania, Berisha passed the first lustration bill
and staged what he called the anti-genocide trials that sentenced a
number of former politburo members and other high ranking communist
officials to death and long prison sentences. These kangaroo trials
were poorly staged, provided no real evidence against those charged,
and lacked any comprehensive investigative work. The Supreme Court
overturned most of these decisions and the convicts were compensated
for the time served in prison. Widely perceived then as nothing
more than political maneuvering, the campaign nevertheless succeeded
in manipulating the politically persecuted layer of the population
and provided Berisha with a tool to eliminate a number of political
opponents. In addition, government propaganda, buttressed by the
absence of a free press, placed the Socialist Party - as the heir of
the Communist base - in a weakened position.
3. (SBU) According to commentators there are three reasons why the
Prime Minister is resorting to anti-communism for a second time, 18
years after the fall of communism. The introduction of such an
anti-communist campaign helps the Prime Minister conceal the real
intent of the lustration law - the elimination of prosecutors and
judges that are investigating official corruption. Anti-communist
propaganda will also help Berisha fill the vacuum created by the now
discredited anti-corruption theme. At a time when two members of
his government are under investigation and the town is full of
rumors about the affairs of his two children, anti-corruption has
understandably lost much of its luster. Such an initiative will
also help Berisha cement his support among the politically
persecuted people that have traditionally formed a strong support
base for Berisha - as well as steal some of those voters away from
potential political rival President Topi, who also considers former
victims of communism among his strongest supporters.