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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
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DE RUEHTI #0151 0651250
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061250Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7938
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 3549
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0794
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS TIRANA 000151 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KJUS KDEM PREL PGOV AL
SUBJECT: RULING PARTY SHOWS SACKED MINISTER NO MERCY 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU) Prime Minister Berisha on March 4 fired Minister 
of Culture, Youth, Sports and Tourism Ylli Pango less than 
one hour after a TV program broadcast video from a hidden 
camera showing Pango requesting sexual favors from a job 
applicant at Pango's Ministry.  Pango's sacking marked a 
quick and ignominious end to years of rumored sexual 
misconduct on the part of Pango, first as a professor and 
then as Minister of Culture.  During a  March 5 session of 
Parliament, Speaker Jozephina Topalli urged the Parliament to 
strip Pango of his immunity and expel him from Parliament. 
Media coverage, including the pro-government press, has 
excoriated Pango's outrageous personal behavior and blatant 
abuse of office.  Pango, for his part, has struck a defiant 
tone, claiming during a live TV interview that the hidden 
camera video shown on TV had been taken out of context, and 
that the "provocative dress" of the young woman job seeker 
"would have tempted anyone." 
 
¶2.  (SBU) COMMENT: With one sitting minister (FM Basha) about 
to go on trial for abuse of office and a former minister 
under indictment (former DefMin Mediu), Prime Minister 
Berisha and Speaker Topalli cannot afford another scandal 
involving a minister in the run-up to the June parliamentary 
elections.  Their ferocious response to the TV expose reveals 
the degree to which Pango was disliked in many circles, but 
also Berisha's election-year sensitivity to avoid yet another 
scandal involving a high government official.  The PM hopes 
that his instant response on this occasion will prevent a 
bleeding wound from hemorrhaging. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) COMMENT CONT'D: The reaction today in Tirana is 
largely one of "he got what he deserved," as Pango has been a 
notorious figure for years, first for extorting sexual favors 
from students when he was a professor, then from job 
applicants and others during his tenure as Minister of 
Culture.  But a larger, more important change may also be 
taking place: it is increasingly evident that Albanians in 
the media and the judiciary, as well as society at large, are 
becoming less tolerant of misbehavior and corruption on the 
part of government officials, with Pango becoming the third 
minister in less than a year to become ensnared in a 
high-profile scandal and investigation.  Just two years ago, 
the prosecution and downfall of even a deputy minister was 
big news.  Now it seems all too common. 
 
 
 
WITHERS