EXBS ALBANIA REPORTING CABLE FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000694 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR ISN/ECC - JFRIEDMAN, ACHURCH, JBALDWIN, LSPRINGER STATE FOR EUR/ACE USCBP INA FOR BSUBER SECDEF FOR DTRA MMYERS VIENNA PLEASE PASS TO ICE ATTACHE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP AL SUBJECT: EXBS ALBANIA REPORTING CABLE FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2009 ¶1. (U) BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS --August: The results of the election were officially announced with the Democratic Party winning by a small margin. The new cabinet is as follows: Sali Berisha, Prime Minister; Ilir Meta, Deputy Prime Minister; Ilir Meta, Foreign Affairs Minister; Lulezim Basha, Interior Minister; Arben Imami, Defense Minister; Ridvan Bode, Finance Minister; Sokol Olldashi, Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications Minister; Dritan Prifti, Economy, Trade and Energy Minister; and Petrit Vasili, Health Minister. ¶2. (U) COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD See paragraphs 4 and 5 below discussing equipment and training. ¶3. (SBU) MEETINGS DURING REPORTING PERIOD --August 4-7: Maritime Advisor (MA) participated in various meetings with the Prototype Deployable Assessment and Assistance Team (P/DAAT)in preparation for a Security Sector Reform Assessment in Albania. --August 18-21: MA in DC for consultations with EXBS and Coast Guard. DHS has signed on to be a primary partner with FRONTEX. MA met with representatives from NAVEUR at USCG HQ to discuss NAVEUR engagement in Albania and NATO priorities for Albania. --August 26-29: MA met with Montenegro Customs in connection with the Best Practice Exchange at the Muriqan/Sukobirts to discuss the outQoth land and sea borders. They are based in Vlore and lack the resources to respond rapidly to incidents at land borders or outside the Vlore arQa. They have five vessels, one fiberglass hull bat and four inflatable boats. They have received specialized training to respond to escalated incidents that exceed the training of regular police officers but they need boarding officer training as well as personal protective equipment and gear to safely perform their job at sea. --September 23: Met with Captain Artur Mecollari, Commander of the Navy Southern Flotilla. Discussed personal protective equipment needs for Coast Guard personnel and showed him the maritime equipment that was donated and delivered to Navy Headquarters, of which half is earmarked for the boarding team based at the Southern Flotilla. --September 24: Met with the Deputy Director of the Unit for the Neutralization of Armed Elements (RENEA),Mr. Besim Sakajani. Mr. Sakajani requested training on radiological materials and for RAD pagers. RENEA recently responded to a possible radiological incident at the border with Montenegro but they lacked the appropriate expertise and equipment to assess such an incident. RENEA also needs CO2 meters to detect other gases when they are doing confined space searches. RENEA is another agency that is poorly supported but is on the frontline for dealing with WMD and terrorist incidents. ¶4. (U) TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD --August 24-28: A Best Practice Exchange was conducted at the newly inaugurated Muriqan/Sukobine Joint Border Crossing Point. This training was conducted in collaboration with the Police Assistance Mission of the European Community to Albania (PAMECA). Two Austrian Customs Officers and two Austrian Border Police Officers served as subject matter experts (SMEs) to assist their Montenegrin and Albanian counterparts with the operation and organization of a joint TIRANA 00000694 002 OF 002 border crossing point. The SMEs are drafting a report outlining gaps and recommendations to be shared with the Governments of Albania and Montenegro. --August 26-December 4: Two Navy/Coast Guard officers are attending the U.S. Coast Guard International Maritime Officer Course at thetraining center in Yorktown, Virginia. --Septemer 14-18: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officrs conducted an Internat ional Border Interdictio Training in Pogradec/Qafa Thane. The course wasdelivered to twenty-four participants from Custom and Border Police and i(ncluded practical exercie s conducted at the Qafa Thane border crossing poitt with Macedonia. ¶5. (U) EQUIPMENT DELIVERED URING THE REPORTING PERIOD --September: MA delieered maritime equipment to the Navy/Coast Guard, Border Police's Delta Force and RENEA. The donated q uipment included personal protective gear/tactical equipment with a total value of $168,000. ¶6. (SBU) IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS REPORT: --October 26-30: DTRA will provide a Basic WMD Investigative Analysis Course to participants from Customs, Border Police, Navy/Coast Guard, SHISH, Prosecutor General's Office, Center for Applied Nuclear Physics and the Civil Emergencies Directorate. --October 26-November 6: A representative from the State Export Control Agency and a representative from Customs will attend a two-week session at the University of Georgia Export Control Academy. --November 2-5: EXBS, in conjunction with IAEA, will provide a Combating Illicit Trafficking in Nuclear and Radioactive Materials course. Participants from Customs, Border Police, Navy/Coast Guard, SHISH, Radiation Protection Office, Center for Applied Nuclear Physics and the Civil Emergencies Directorate will attend the course. ¶7. (SBU) SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY --None. ¶8. (U) PORTAL MONITOR ALERTS -- None. ¶9. (U) RED FLAG ISSUES -- None. ¶10. (U) POC: LT Cari Bower, email: bowerc@state.gov.