USA pressuring Tirana for Iran

The US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton wrote ambassador John Withers in 2009 that Tirana should sign no agreement with Teheran.

According to a Wikileaks cable, for this issue was invited at the embassy of Tirana the Deputy Minister Edit’h Harxhi.

Besides some cooperation agreements, Teherani asked for a direct airline to Tirana, which, according to the diplomatic cable, would expose Albania to unintentionally support their terrorist and nuclear activities.

Wikileaks: Berisha fears Gerdec

The visit of the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in Albania has been preceded by a detailed information of where should he focus the dialogue with the Albanian officials.

This information comes from a cable that the US Embassy sent on 24 October 2008, through which Mr. Jones is asked by the US embassy to transmit the message of Washington to Prime Minister Berisha for stopping the attacks against the General Prosecution, who is conducting the “Gerdec” case on top of her agenda.

“Your visit comes at a time of growing uncertainty for the Albanian public and especially for Albania’s political class.  Although the past year and a half – a period bookended by President Bush’s visit to Albania and U.S. ratification of Albania’s NATO invitation – has been repeatedly hailed by the GOA as confirmation of Albania’s emergence into the Euroatlantic community, the visit and invitation are now yesterday’s news”, says the beginning of the cable.

“Increasingly, Albanians are focusing on next year’s parliamentary elections as well as trying to gauge (and manage to their own advantage) the fallout from the nearly-completed investigations into the Gerdec explosion and into alleged corruption involving the Durres-Kukes road project.

Although still firmly in charge of both his Democratic Party (DP) and government, Prime
Minister Sali Berisha faces growing discontent within the DP as potential successors maneuver for position.  Under growing pressure from the investigations, Berisha has become increasingly erratic in recent months, lashing out at the Prosecutor General’s Office and judiciary in an attempt to limit political and potentially criminal damage to himself, his family and his allies”, the cable continues.

What position should Jones express to Prime Minister Berisha, is suggested below:

“During your bilateral meetings you will have the opportunity to deliver the message straight from Washington that ongoing government attempts to intimidate prosecutors, control the judiciary, and take greater control over the country’s intelligence services as well as the free media, are unacceptable.  Such actions not only threaten Albania’s NATO aspirations, but also risk doing long-term damage to the bilateral relationship.”

The US embassy warns Stuart Jones that Berisha and FM Basha will spare no effort in using his visit to prove to Albanians that all is well with the bilateral relationship. 

“Your public and private comments will need to be carefully calibrated to show in no uncertain terms that although we remain Albania’s committed friend and ally, we will not stand by silently as the GOA tries to roll back hard-won democratic reforms”, the document continues.
 
 
The second part of the cable analyzes the figure of Berisha, saying:

“The key meeting during your visit will be your bilat with Prime Minister Berisha.  Although many in
Berisha’s own party increasingly see him as a political liability, he remains firmly in control of both the party and the Albanian government.  A hard worker and micromanager, no important decision within the government is made without his approval.  We have every reason to believe that recent attempts to seize files from the Prosecutor General’s Office and threaten prosecutors with arrest were approved by Berisha himself.  As the Gerdec investigation nears completion, it appears increasingly likely that Berisha’s son could be implicated – an outcome that would be politically devastating to Berisha and have
potential criminal consequences for his son Shkelzen.”
 
“Fear of this outcome is what is likely driving Berisha’s increasingly anti-democratic behavior – behavior that will likely only intensify as the investigation continues.  Berisha will need to hear from you in the most direct terms that his ongoing attempts to undermine independent institutions are unacceptable, and that we will not stand aside and allow him to damage Albania’s vibrant, yet still fragile democracy”, the cable continues.

“Berisha must also hear the message that next year’s elections will be a key indicator of how serious Albania is about democracy, and that even a technically botched election will be seen not as a simple technical problem but as a lack of political will and seriousness about democratic norms”, the document goes on.

In this informative cable, the US has also included Edi Rama, with the subtitle: “Edi Rama, next Prime Minister?”

“Your meeting with Tirana Mayor Edi Rama will give you an opportunity to meet the man who could be Albania’s next Prime Minister.  Over the past two years Rama has worked hard to boost his and his party’s image across the country, in hopes of winning next year’s parliamentary elections.  Rama and his Socialist Party have been enthusiastic supporters of Albania’s NATO aspirations and of a strong relationship with the U.S.  However, many within Rama’s own party are growing impatient with Rama’s seeming reluctance to aggressively confront Berisha over Gerdec.” 

Wikileaks: “Secret Service members connected with crime?”

The US embassy has closed the last days of the year 2007 by sending a cable to Washington in which they cast shadows of doubt on a possible infiltration of organized crime elements at the Albanian Secret Service.

The cable of 31 December 2007, categorized as “secret”, says that “there are several incidents where investigations on OC have stalled due to unknown circumstances or have not turned up evidence that was suspected, suggesting that there may be some low-level penetration of the SHISH by OC elements, but we are unable to detect any suggestions of this above low levels.” 

The report doesn’t say when the investigations have failed and what cases were they addressing to.

By analyzing the relations of Prime Minister Berisha with “SHISH”, the US Embassy has noted that the Prime Minister Berisha and the current head of SHISH, Bahri Shaqiri, are reported as people who do not communicate with each other, but regardless, after the return of the ruling Democratic Party reports that at least two DP militants have been hired as SHISH workers.

“Known militants of the governing Democratic Party (DP) with direct ties to the Prime Minister were appointed as the current SHISH Chief of Personnel and in the Office of Inspector General (OIG).  The Personnel Chief has orchestrated certain appointments and hirings that do not meet SHISH’s professional development goals, although Director Shaqiri theoretically has the final decision on all hiring.”

On-going financial cuts, recently drastic in nature, have inhibited SHISH’s ability to conduct its work and are perceived by some in the agency as an attempt to influence its behavior.  Despite these challenges, there is little evidence that the majority of SHISH personnel have succumbed to specific political influence. 

The cable says that the SHISH has made excellent progress against organized crime (OC) targets but is hampered by legal constraints, chiefly Albania’s broad legal immunity for government officials. The SHISH is aggressive in targeting organized crime suspects, but many times must cease investigations that are tied to officials with immunity.

The cable closes with this statement:

“Both SHISH and SHIU are excellent partners with the USG.  There is close cooperation on all intelligence activities including OC, Kosovo and other issues of regional stability, and on counterterrorism.” 

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