WikiLeaks’ release gives insight into U.S. embassy’s views on Albania’s endemic corruption, problems with elections and political conflict.
TIRANA TIMES
Albania’s perennial problems with endemic corruption, bad politicians, suspect elections and a series of other ills have been highlighted by WikiLeaks’ unauthorized public release of U.S. diplomatic cables this week. In addition, the cables have provided some insight into missed opportunities in EU integration.
The organizations’ latest release of the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables contained more than 300 documents authored by the U.S. Embassy in Tirana and several other Albania-related cables by other diplomatic posts, attracting wide interest among the Albanian media and public.
The Albania-related cables were part of a larger group of 134,000 cables, more than six times the total number published by WikiLeaks and many news organizations over the past nine months. There was a total 251,287 diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks last year, according The New York Times, which was given all the cables by WikiLeaks at that time.
Beyond the boasting headlines by Albanian media about nuggets of information found in the Albania-related cables, almost the entire batch of files out of the Tirana embassy is unclassified, albeit some is labeled for official use, and does not contain a lot of information beyond what has been widely available through the Albanian media over the past few years. Despite this, getting an uncensored view of what American diplomats think about Albania offers a blunt assessment of the problems this country faces.
Following a meeting with Albania’s foreign minister, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Arvizu said he would not comment on the leaked cables.
“We do not comment on anything relating to WikiLeaks,” said Ambassador Arvizu, adding the release of the documents was harmful and unfortunate.
All of the Albania-related documents originating in Tirana are of the 2006-2010 period, when other ambassadors were serving in Tirana. There are sporadic mentions of Albania in earlier cables from other posts, however.
The United States and other governments have expressed concern that the release of documents could endanger the lives of sources who had spoken candidly to officials of U.S. Embassies, particularly in authoritarian regimes.
Available for just a couple of days on WikiLeaks’ main site, the vast majority of the Albania documents had disappeared from the site by the end of the week, though they were still available and searchable in other sites that had indexed the information.
Corruption endemic, widespread
A cable dated Nov. 13 2009 sheds light into how widespread corruption is in Albania. In it, the embassy recommends caution in providing Millennium Challenge Corporation funding to Albania’s government noting “endemic corruption throughout senior officialdom in particular and the broad society in general; and the stark lack of government capacity to manage funding levels.”
The cable further notes, “Although prosecutions and convictions of corrupt, mainly lower level government officials have increased in the last two years, there remains a crippling atmosphere of impunity for the highest [Government of Albania] officials. In just the last six months, for example, two current government ministers have had abuse of office charges – involving graft in a billion dollar road project and a major demilitarization
scam – dismissed or dropped based on shaky rulings by the courts.” (The two ministers in question are Lulzim Basha, currently mayor of Tirana, and current Environment Minister Fatmir Mediu, who then served as defense minister.)
In a damning statement for Albanian politicians, the embassy notes corruption reaches high levels and the entire political spectrum.
“There is growing credible evidence that the Prime Minister’s immediate family, senior members of the opposition party, and numerous members of the parliament engage in corrupt acts on a large scale. The actions generally go unreported and unpunished.”
It adds, “The Embassy has documented in recent months numerous cases of political
interference in the judicial system, itself riven by pandemic corruption, to protect senior level malfeasants.”
Albania has a hard time managing funds, the cable ads.
“The GoA’s ability effectively to budget for, spend and account for its own funds remains woefully inadequate — not only because of corruption, but because the government lacks the necessary expertise and bureaucratic structures necessary to manage its money in all but the most elementary ways,” the cable notes. “In recent years the Albanian Ministries of Defense and Health, to name just two, have been unable to spend their modest budgets due to a lack of procurement procedures and expertise.”
The embassy also gives a surprising view that just as corruption grows, some are so terrified of being accused of it, they refuse to spend any public funds.
“In 2008, the Ministry of Defense was forced to return nearly one half of its entire budget to the treasury. Other government officials are in such fear that they will be charged with fraud or corruption that they refuse to spend money at all, leaving large amounts of budgetary funds unspent.”
Politicians’ disrespectful language
The U.S. embassy in Tirana has taken note of the intolerant and unacceptable language Albanian political leaders use. In the following detailed report, they note what many Albanians have also found very hard to stomach:
“The homes of Albanians were invaded via their TVs by rivers of foul language and harsh tones coming from both sides of the political spectrum. It happened gradually, day by day, person after person. It started from the very mouth of the country’s Prime Minister and continued with the country’s opposition leader, and it was diligently pursued by high level officials of both sides upon specific instructions from the top. The enduring shock of every single Albanian citizen, including our Embassy staff, gave birth to the idea of collecting a few choice words from the endless terminology used. Although these words have been aired over and over again for consecutive days, the very writer of these lines was so dismayed by the process that he had to leave it with only the
below two paragraphs,” the author of one cable writes.
“The terms used by PM Berisha and the ruling Democratic Party to refer to the Socialist Party and SP Chairman Edi Rama: ‘We will use the pincers of the law to pull out the teeth’ (of the opposition), Mafiosi; leader of the cupola of Albanian Mafia; goat-head; the last castle of corruption; wife beater.
Terms used by Edi Rama and others in the Socialist Party to
refer to PM Berisha and members of the Democratic Party: ‘We will use our fist to break the teeth (of the GOA) one by one’; Greedy and ignorant; liar; rooster strutting on top of a pile manure; Albanian Duce; Stalin; tyrant; clown man; a pervert prime minister; mentally incapable; Enver Hoxha’s most distinguished hunting-dog; pitiable, ballot thief.”
EU integration – German worries
A couple of cables originating in EU capitals show Albania’s lack of progress toward an official EU candidate status stems not only from internal, but also external factors. Elections irregularities in Albania are a huge problem too, according to the cables, but EU’s own enlargement fatigue is also an issue.
Apparently, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt pushed for Albania in August 2009 to keep its candidate status on track only to be told by the Germans that Albania had to wait.
“Bildt wants to push forward Albania’s lagging membership application. At the last GAERC [EU General Affairs & External Relations Council] in July, all Member States agreed to keep Albania and Iceland on track. Germany . . . wants to avoid discussion of enlargement until after its domestic elections in order to prevent xenophobic rhetoric. Germany is key to moving forward with Albania’s accession, but electoral irregularities still must be addressed by the Albanian government,” the cable, dated Aug. 31, 2009, notes.
In another cable, there is also some apparent friction between Italy and Germany over Albania’s progress, with Albania’s immediate neighbour pushing for Albania’s faster integration and Germany having a more wait and see attitude due to Albania’s lack of political progress.
Elections coverage
The leaked cables show the U.S. Embassy in Tirana provided its own in-depth coverage of the Albanian general elections in 2009, providing analysis on all aspects of the race, much of it similar to what was available in the media. The cables provide good analysis on how the parties were preparing and gives some forecasts on the likely outcome. It was correct in its prediction that it would be a very tight race, with the governing Democratic Party being slightly better organized than the opposition Socialists.
Another cable notes the electoral reform following the agreement between Mr. Berisha and Mr. Rama had as ultimate goal to eliminate small parties like the Socialist Movement for Integration, which became king-maker after the elections.
Tirana fears Athens over Chams
In another cable, dated November 2008, the embassy concludes the Albanian government does not want to put at risk its good relations with Athens over the Chams’ plight for property and citizenship restitution, so it is afraid to bring up the issue, though it is sympathetic to the displaced Chams.
