GOA ATTEMPTS TO CLOSE CRITICAL NEWSPAPER

UNCLAS TIRANA 000017

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AL
SUBJECT: GOA ATTEMPTS TO CLOSE CRITICAL NEWSPAPER

REF: 09 TIRANA 2 AND PREVIOUS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE TREAT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Summary: In the latest move to muzzle critical voices,
police forces have surrounded the offices of the small daily paper
Tema and have prevented Tema's staff from entering the premises for
the past four days, despite a Tirana court's January 6 ruling that
Tema may remain in its offices. The imbroglio started when the GOA
unilaterally cancelled Tema's 20-year lease on December 16. Tema's
editor Mero Baze said the blockade is political in nature and said
it is a response to his criticisms of PM Berisha and the GOA. For
its part, the GOA claims it needs Tema's office space for "national
security" reasons. Two opposition parties, the Movement for
Socialist Integration (LSI) and the Socialist Party, have also
criticized the GOA for its actions. End summary.


2. (U) On January 8, police forces surrounded the offices of the
small circulation newspaper Tema and barred employees from entering.
The next day, newspaper staff and other journalists and academics
held a protest outside the building. As of January 12, Tema's staff
still cannot enter its offices, but continues to work and print
newspapers out of alternate office space donated by other
sympathetic press outlets. Tema has not received an eviction
notice, according to its editor Mero Baze.

GOA TO TEMA: GET OUT!
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3. (U) On December 16, 2008, the Ministry of Economy, unilaterally
and without notice, cancelled Tema's 20-year lease for the building,
according to Baze. Baze described the actions of the GOA as
intimidation against a paper critical of the government. For its
part, the GOA has stated that Tema must relocate due to "national
security" issues; the GOA claims it needs the space to house offices
for the national voter ID card program. Tema filed suit against the
seizure and on January 6, the Tirana Court ordered the GOA to cease
efforts to evict Tema pending a final decision by the court on the
merits of the Tema motion. Tema now plans to file a lawsuit against
the police for ignoring this ruling. Interestingly, Baze's car also
caught fire and exploded on December 31, in an event police labeled
an accident.

OPPOSITION PARTIES SUPPORT TEMA
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4. (U) LSI leader Ilir Meta, told media outlets that the right of
the press to criticize the government is a key element of democracy,
and SP Leader Edi Rama also appealed to the government in a press
release to halt the blockade and allow the courts to settle the
issue. Rama also urged the Director General of Police to not involve
his officers in a political matter and reminded him that a Tirana
court has previously ruled in Tema's favor.

COMMENT
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5. (SBU) Even though the GOA probably has the right to evict Tema
from the premises, surrounding the Tema building with police sends
exactly the wrong message - a point we and others have made
repeatedly with the GOA. The heavy handed GOA reaction to Tema
gives the strong impression that this is just another example of GOA
attempts to muzzle any opposition or critical voices as the June
parliamentary elections approach and the Gerdec investigation draws
to a close (reftel). While Baze was a longtime supporter of PM
Berisha, he withdrew his support in 2008 as his paper was the first
to connect Berisha's son to the Gerdec affair and report on
Berisha's ties with suspected money launderer Damir Fazlic, a
Bosnian-Serb businessman. This is also not the first time the GOA
has attacked media outlets critical of its rule; in 2006 the GOA
ordered the sometime critical Top Channel TV station to vacate its
premises. The case is still pending in the courts.

CRISTINA