SUPRISE POLICE SHAKEUP REVEALS AN "UNTOUCHABLE"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000755 SIPDIS STATE PASS TO EUR/SCE:JISMAIL, INL/RM:JWALSH, INL/AAE:SLOGAN JUSTICE PASS TO NICK ACKERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2019 TAGS: PGOV SOCI KCOR PINS AL SUBJECT: SUPRISE POLICE SHAKEUP REVEALS AN "UNTOUCHABLE" Classified By: Ambassador John L. Withers for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. After only one week in power, newly appointed General Director of the State Police Hysni Burgaj announced reassignments of almost all regional and functional police directors. Two weeks later, Burgaj made similar staff changes in the Border Police. While the speed of the shakeup took critics and international donors by surprise, Post agrees with the European Union Police Assistance Mission PAMECA's assessment that the changes were in compliance with regulations and Post's ICITAP believes many are positive moves. However, Post remains concerned about the Director of Intelligence, Agron Kulicaj, who was not moved in the shakeup. Sources claim Kulicaj is corrupt and international donors refuse to assist the Albanian Police due in part to his presence. The Ambassador has expressed our concern over corruption in the senior ranks of the State Police in general to Minister of Interior Basha, and Post's ICITAP has expressed our specific concerns about Kulicaj to Burgaj. Burgaj has noted that Kulicaj is closely connected to Prime Minister Berisha, and any attempt to dismiss or reassign him must come from the PM's office. End Summary. WIDESPREAD SHAKEUP ASSESSED POSITIVELTY -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On October 29, Burgaj was appointed by the Council of Ministers to replace Ahmet Prenci. It is widely rumored that although Prenci offered his resignation due to health concerns, in reality he took the fall over police mishandling of the arrest of organized crime figure Dritan Dajti in August. Burgaj was previously Prenci's deputy and enjoys a good reputation. To date, Post has been pleased with Burgaj's performance. Shortly after his appointment, Burgaj indicated to Post his intention to make sweeping personnel changes in the Albanian State Police (ASP). ¶3. (SBU) While the speed of Burgaj's announced changes was surprising, the changes have been assessed positively and have been in compliance with regulations in the Police Law. A concern reported by PAMECA is that normally, dismissed or reassigned officers should be given 30 day's notice, but PAMECA's report went on to say "practice in many UK forces would not be dissimilar after the appointment of a new Chief �00A;Constable, so PAMECA's response has been a balanced one." The moves have been reassignments rather than dismissals and have been assessed positively by both ICITAP and PAMECA. ICITAP has not cited any of the proposed moves as having a negative impact to date. ¶4. (SBU) The UK Embassy raised initial concern over the reassignment of Arjan Muca from the directorate of organized crime to be an advisor to Burgaj. British concerns stem from the substantial investment the EU had made in the organized crime directorate that they felt would be lost in the dismissal. However, after further deliberation, the EU concluded that historical knowledge and training will remain intact in the capacity of the staff. ICITAP believes Muca's reassignment is beneficial as Muca has been opposed to information-sharing with the Border Police. CONTINUED CONCERNS OVER KULICAJ -------------- ¶5. (C) One director that was not touched in the shakeup was Agron Kulicaj, Director of Intelligence in the ASP, who is widely believed to be corrupt. Sources have told post that several European donors refuse to get involved in police assistance partly due to Kulicaj's presence. We have reason to believe this may be true of some U.S. agencies also. Not only are Kulicaj's corrupt practices well-known, there are rumors that he may have been involved in the debacle that unfolded around the arrest of organizd crime figure Dritan Dajti in August, when Dajti was tipped off and several police officers died in the consequent shoot-out. Some in the police believe that Kulicaj may have assisted Dajti to escape previous arrest attempts. According to police sources, senior police officials decided to move against Dajti in August of this year because Kulicaj was out of Albania at the time and supposedly unable to tip off Dajti. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador has shared with Minister Basha our concerns about corruption in the senior levels of the ASP. Last week, ICITAP spoke with ASP General Director Burgaj about our specific concerns with Kulicaj. Burgaj concurred, noting that he has had his own problems with Kulicaj and that TIRANA 00000755 002 OF 002 others in the police are concerned with his alleged involtement in corrupt)on afd links to organized criminalc. How%v%r, Qurgaj noted that he does not have the power to transfer or dismiss Kulicaj. Burgaj intimated that this was due to Kulicaj's close t)es to PM Berisha, for whom he used to be a bodyg%ard. Burgaj suggested that if the Embassy was c/ncerned, the Ambassador should raise the specific matter of Kulicaj with Berisha, as only he can make decisions about Kulicaj's assignment. WITHERS