VZCZCXRO8877
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0444 1651507
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131507Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7176
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS TIRANA 000444 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR OPDAT, ICITAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AL
 
SUBJECT: GERDEC SURVIVORS' HUNGER STRIKE PRESSURES GOA 
 
¶1.  (U) Twelve weeks after the March 15 explosion at Gerdec, 
compensation remains a key demand for many survivors.  Eight former 
employees of the Gerdec ammunition disassembly plant began a hunger 
strike June 6, demanding additional financial compensation and other 
reimbursements from the GOA.  While the strike had initially 
garnered minimal public attention, a visit from Socialist Party (SP) 
MPs and G99 civil society activists on June 9 succeeded in raising 
the group's profile, prompting a heated exchange in Parliament 
between the opposition and majority. 
 
¶2.  (U) The strikers are demanding compensation of $4,000 for each 
former plant employee, one year's salary and health and social 
insurance coverage. (Note: Each employee working at the blast site 
received about $600 from the GOA immediately after the explosion, 
but further compensation has not been forthcoming.  Some of the 
employees who lived in Gerdec have also received compensation for 
lost property.)  In addition, the strikers are also demanding 
payment of $15,000 for each person who was injured in the blast. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The head of the SP Parliamentary Group, Valentina Leskaj, 
and SP Assembly Chairman Gramoz Ruci (the second highest official in 
the SP hierarchy) visited the hunger strikers on June 9 and roundly 
criticized the government for ignoring their plight.  G99 leader 
Erjon Veliaj, former head of the anti-corruption NGO Mjaft!, has 
also visited the blast site regularly, providing moral and material 
support to the strikers. 
 
¶4.  (U) A 17 year-old hunger striker was forced to abandon the 
strike yesterday after suffering from low blood pressure and other 
hunger-related medical symptoms.  Aside from the eight hunger 
strikers, approximately 40 to 50 relatives and supporters have 
congregated with the group, which is camped out near the blast site. 
 The Government has so far made no public statement on the hunger 
strike, but Democratic Party parliamentarians have said the group's 
demands are illogical and accused the opposition of manipulating the 
workers for their own political benefit. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Comment: The hunger strike is another example of the 
Berisha Government's relentless mishandling of the Gerdec tragedy. 
In addition to other private donors, a group of prominent local 
businesses led by the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund has raised 
over 100,000 euros to assist Gerdec victims.  However, despite weeks 
of urgent pleas, the GOA has refused to release the names of the 
dead and injured so the donated funds can be disbursed.  The 
frustrated donors are now considering returning the donations to 
contributors while the GOA twists in the wind of public opinion over 
the hunger strike from another self-inflicted wound.  The hunger 
strike is also coinciding with Prime Minister Berisha's "Albania in 
NATO" cross-country campaign tour while his Government has been keen 
to marginalize critics protesting issues surrounding the Gerdec 
tragedy.  The hunger strike, although still minimal in its impact, 
risks derailing the Government's efforts to focus public attention 
away from the Gerdec tragedy.  The involvement in the hunger strike 
of G99, loosely allied with the opposition, indicates the intent of 
anti-Government forces to ensure that Gerdec remains a persistent 
political headache for the Prime Minister. 
 
WITHERS