Leaked cables’ blunt assessment should offer incentive for Albania to deal with its well-known problems.
TIRANA TIMES
It often takes a good friend to be blunt when needed, giving an incentive to improve one’s behavior. U.S. diplomats never meant to be so blunt in a public setting, nonetheless Albanians were given a chance this week to access through media coverage or directly on the web hundreds of documents that were part of the unauthorized release of U.S. diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks.
There were more than 300 documents authored by the U.S. Embassy in Tirana in the release. These documents provide a clear view on U.S. concerns about corruption in Albania, the bad conduct of its politicians and other issues that have slowed down EU integration and otherwise generally damaged lofty goals of Albania becoming a developed country where the rule of law runs smoothly and politics is seen as a service to the community rather than a business opportunity.
Almost all the Tirana cables were unclassified, though they not meant to be read outside U.S. diplomatic circles. Newspapers and other media in Albania are still sifting through the cables, but it appears a lot of the information is based on what Albanians have been reading in their 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. As such, it is helpful if it serves as a driver of change.
Of course, Albanians already know or at least suspect most of what the cables say. Corruption runs at all levels of government at all levels of society. Folks are getting rich through political connections. And neither the governing parties, nor those in opposition are immune to corruption.
“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,” one cable notes, adding there is “endemic corruption throughout senior officialdom in particular and the broad society in general.”
If previous trends are any indication, the culture of impunity will continue to impede Albania’s progress. As the cables note, court cases against high public officials get closed on shaky judicial grounds as soon as the media starts focusing elsewhere.
Albanians and their leaders already know the perennial problems the country faces. They just need to find the will to do something about it. They should be thankful for the help and advice of international partners but nothing can be achieved without taking local ownership and changing things from within Albania.
Ironically, one of the cables quotes the former Kingdom of Albania Ambassador to Washington Faik Konica. A wise man, Konica’s words come from many decades ago, but unfortunately still ring true today: “Albania was protected by chance, made by idealists and killed by politicians.”
