VZCZCXRO9343
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0338 1541217
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031217Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8165
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS TIRANA 000338 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL AL
SUBJECT: SOME VICTIMS OF COMMUNIST REGIME TO RECEIVE 
COMPENSATION 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) On May 28, the GOA published the second of two 
lists of individuals who were persecuted under the Communist 
regime and are entitled to compensation from the state.  The 
lists were prepared by the Ministry of Justice and approved 
by the Council of Ministers and are now in the hands of the 
Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for allocating the 
compensation.  According to the Council of Ministers 
decision, each individual would receive one to ten million 
Lek (USD 1,000 to 10,000) as compensation in equal 
installments over eight years.  The first list of the 
persecuted was published on March 16 and combined the two 
lists number 3,198 individuals.  Initially more than 10,000 
names were put forward to receive compensation but the lists 
were reduced considerably by the GOA. (Note: The exact 
criteria for being on the list are not clear. End note.) 
Adrian Kati, Executive Director of the Albanian 
Rehabilitation Center for Trauma and Torture, estimates that 
about 18,000 individuals are still living today that should 
be eligible for some sort of compensation due to mistreatment 
under the Communist regime. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Despite the approval of the first list in March and 
the GOA's statement that USD 30 million is available to 
compensate this group only 800 have received any 
compensation, according to Kati.  He blamed bureaucratic 
inertia and incompetence for the GOA's slowness in making the 
payments.  In an attempt to draw attention to their plight, 
the Kati's ARCT marked the National Day of the Former 
Political Prosecuted on May 21 with a ceremony that drew 
attendance from the DP, the President's office, the 
diplomatic corps, and religious bodies.  During the speeches, 
President Topi's representative said that payments should be 
made as quickly as possible, however the DP representative 
announced that only USD 12 million is available in 2009 for 
this program instead of the USD 30 million promised earlier 
in the year. He did not elucidate what happened to the other 
USD 18 million. 
¶3. (SBU) Comment:  After 17 long years, this unfortunate 
group may finally receive some compensation for the angst, 
punishment, and pain that it had to endure during the 
Communist regime.  Compensation at this point for many of the 
victims may seem a small token, but it is important for the 
GOA and Albania as a whole to attempt to come to terms with 
its past and this is one small step in that direction.  The 
fact that the lists were published less than six weeks before 
the elections and payments began being made a few months 
before the elections is no big surprise, given the fact that 
everything is political these days.  Prime Minister Sali 
Berisha's Democratic Party (DP) has long seen victims of the 
communist regime an important part of its base.  Whatever the 
motives for GOA actions, many recipients, according to the 
ACRT at least, are relatively happy with the payments. 
WITHERS