Tirana Times
TIRANA, Dec. 1 – With the whole world talking about the Wikileaks release of secret American documents, Albania has also joined in the discussion. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the leak was “a grave act, an offense, violating the laws and rules of the world … the greatest attack against the modern system of communication, which opens up great uncertainty.”
Berisha went further to say the move was “threatening people’s lives and security in the free societies.”
“In general that is a very irresponsible, dangerous, threatening and shameful act,” he said in an interview with a talk show of a private Albanian TV station, TV Klan.
Still Wikileaks documents may help Albania uncover details about the role its neighbors have played in the country in the past, especially during the massive unrest of 1997.
Albanians have also already learned about how in 2008 a French official considered Albania’s NATO membership premature due to the lack of progress in fighting corruption, adding it was given as a gift for its role in the region and more.
But they also learned that an oil company could have been the cause of the damage caused to the houses of villagers in Visoke, Fier district while looking for oil in the area. Villagers were told that was caused from an earthquake and not from the company’s work.
They may also learn some details of the hidden talks between Tirana and Athens on the maritime border and continental shelf deal signed last year but turned down from the Constitutional Court.
The deal, signed by Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis in late April 2009, created a stir of controversy in the local media and Tirana was accused of giving territorial waters to its southern neighbor
The dispatches on Albania are part of some 250,000 U.S. embassy cables sent between 1966 and 2010 that WikiLeaks has obtained and is gradually releasing.
A search for “Albania” reveals 822 files published on Wikileaks.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s secret-spilling group has leaked a series of confidential U.S. intelligence and diplomatic reports this year, including the disclosure earlier this week of hundreds of classified State Department cables. U.S. officials have reacted with outrage, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accusing WikiLeaks of acting illegally and promising “aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this information.”
Assange is wanted on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion in Sweden. The exact nature of the allegations aren’t completely clear because formal charges have not been filed.
The former computer hacker’s exact whereabouts remain unknown, although he has conducted online interviews with some media organizations.
