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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBW RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0353/01 1231451
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021451Z MAY 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7056
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ECON AL
 
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, APRIL 26-MAY 2, 2008 
 
TIRANA 00000353  001.5 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) The following is a weekly report prepared by Embassy 
Tirana's local staff to provide political and economic context and 
insight into developments in Albania. 
 
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POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) ANNUAL FREEDOM HOUSE RESULTS:  Albania scored a mid-range 50 
(on a scale of 0-100) from Freedom House in its annual evaluation of 
press freedom across the world, placing it 105 of 195 countries 
evaluated, strongly in the Partly Free category.  The score is based 
on estimations of the legal, political and economic media 
environments country-by-country.  The report notes that Prime 
Minister Berisha exercised selective pressure on opposition-oriented 
media throughout the year, and accuses unidentified outlets of 
receiving funding from organized crime groups.  On a positive note, 
the report says that the broadcast media curbed much of their usual 
bias to provide balanced coverage ahead of local elections in 
February 2007. 
 
¶3.  (U) The survey rates Albania as less free than its regional 
neighbors, and is on par with last year's evaluation and that of 
local international embassies and organizations.  Freedom House 
reports that the media continued to reflect a diversity of 
viewpoints in 2007, though key outlets tended to support one 
political faction or another and journalists practiced 
self-censorship to support the political or economic interests of 
their employers.  While the media is free, is it largely political 
and driven by economic interests rather than the heady goal of "All 
the News That's Fit to Print." 
 
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) WHEN GOOD TENDERS GO BAD:  Last month the Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) announced a tender for automatic digital radars for 
Albanian traffic police.  This initiative was applauded by everyone 
who battles Tirana's chaotic traffic, characterized by generally bad 
driving habits and a high accident rate.  The police need such 
equipment to effectively nab the worst offenders, however, to the 
surprise of interested companies, the tender's specifications 
coincided exactly with a specific project manufactured by only one 
company, and interestingly, exclude the most advanced technology in 
the field, laser technology. 
 
¶5.  (U) Noting these problems, one bidder in particular sent a 
formal letter of inquiry to the MOI, and when initial concerns 
weren't addressed, followed up with a letter of complaint, 
highlighting the advantages of the newest technology and emphasizing 
that procurement procedures should offer a fair playing field for 
all competitors.  So far, the Ministry has not addressed these major 
concerns.  This is not the first time the GOA has apparently taken 
the specifications for a tender verbatim from a product description, 
the most infamous case being the high profile tender for national 
identification cards, which was ultimately unsatisfactory to bidders 
even after the GOA released a revised set of specifications. 
Embassy Tirana will continue to follow the radar case to advocate 
for equal opportunity for interested American companies. 
 
----------------------------- 
THIS WEEK IN ARTS AND CULTURE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) ORTHODOX EASTER IN ALBANIA:  Orthodox Easter is a curiosity 
for some non-Orthodox Christians, as it seems to be the same 
celebration, different day.  The Orthodox use of the Gregorian 
calender is at the root of this difference, while the rituals 
marking the event are largely similar.  In Tirana last weekend, 
Orthodox Christians began to gather at their churches before the 
midnight hour, and en masse, proceeded on foot to the nearby 
headquarters of the Orthodox Church.  Here the Archibishop greeted 
them in the courtyard with a holy fire, a light traditionally taken 
from candles at the tomb of Christ, and the hundreds present lit 
their own candles from this symbolic light.  Children carried hard 
boiled eggs painted red (symbolic of blood), smashing theirs against 
those of friends and family, in search of the egg that could survive 
uncracked.  (A few do, and these are kept in a place of honor 
throughout the year until the next Easter.  Some kids reportedly try 
to slip in wooden eggs to beat the odds, which prove infallible 
until a parent investigates beyond the red paint.)  With candles 
still lit, everyone returned home in the early hours of the morning, 
lighting the streets as they went, and rising late on Easter for a 
traditional lunch of lamb with friends and family. 
 
¶7.  (U)  MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS: May Day, a celebration of the common 
worker that takes place in many parts of the world, is no longer 
 
TIRANA 00000353  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
celebrated in Albania with the proletariat fervor of the communist 
era.  However, the day was marked this year by many Albanian 
families with a traditional outdoor picnic, while the government 
hosted popular concerts and events in Tirana's Mother Theresa 
Square. 
 
¶8. (U) EUROPEAN WEEK: Today through next Friday the European 
Commission will host a series of events across Albania to enhance 
cultural diversity in the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 
(2008).  These activities are supported in the spirit of EU 
integration, a goal to which the country is moving closer. 
Activities include a wide span of cultural genres such as films and 
documentaries, photo and painting exhibitions, middle and high 
school essay competitions about the EU, and classical and modern 
concerts organized by EU member embassies.  These activities aim to 
provide a current snapshot of the shifting dynamics of the many 
cultures that comprise the EU, as well as to highlight recent 
cultural and social developments of Albanian society. 
 
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THE WEEK AHEAD 
-------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Parliament will likely vote on the Prosecutor General's 
request to lift parliamentary immunity for former Defense Minister 
Fatmir Mediu.  The PG announced last Friday that Mediu was being 
investigated on up to 20 charges of corruption and abuse of power 
related to the Gerdec tragedy.  Ambassador Withers will speak at 
Tirana University on corruption in Albanian society at an event to 
release the results of an annual USAID-funded report on this 
subject. 
 
CRISTINA