VZCZCXRO9575
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL
DE RUEHTI #0058/01 0271621
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 271621Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8780
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000058 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR:SJONES, EUR/SCE:JISMAIL, S/GC:DFRIED; NSC FOR 
JHOVENIER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2020 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS PINR AL
SUBJECT: BERISHA SEEKS NEW SECRET POLICE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John L. Withers II for reasons 1.4 (c) and (d 
) 
 
¶1.  (S//NF) In early January, Prime Minister Berisha 
introduced a new draft bill to amend the law on the National 
Intelligence Service (SHISH).  In essence, the aim of the law 
is to limit the foreign intelligence responsibilities of the 
SHISH, increase its domestic intelligence responsibilities 
into clearly law enforcement functions, and increase the 
institution's dependence on the Prime Minister.  While there 
has been some public outcry over the limiting of the SHISH 
Director's term and likely removal of current director Bahri 
Shaqiri, there has otherwise been little public discussion of 
this very disturbing law.  The service as proposed in the 
draft law could become a political tool for Berisha or any 
future PM to intimidate and crush political rivals.  The 
changes will also impede cooperation with foreign 
intelligence services (including our own) and damage 
international confidence in Albania's ability to monitor any 
Guantanamo detainees it has already received or has accepted 
to receive in the future.  The head of the Parliamentary 
committee on national security has told Post that the law 
will likely be discussed in Parliament in February, which 
leaves little time for the international community to weigh 
in and convince the Berisha government of the damage such a 
law would cause to its Euro-Atlantic Integration. Embassy as 
well as EU legal experts have also reviewed the law and 
expressed serious concerns over the law's potential for 
abuse. End Summary. 
 
A HISTORY OF BAD BLOOD 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) This is not the first time the Berisha government has 
tried to bring the SHISH under his thumb and give it a 
domestic spying role.  Yet SHISH has so far been one of the 
only Albanian institutions that have been able to maintain 
their independence, although at the cost of increasing 
animosity between the SHISH and the PM.  In 2005, Berisha 
proposed a law to merge the SHISH into the Ministry of 
Interior, but backed down after intense international 
opposition.  In 2006, Berisha mounted a very public, but 
ultimately unsuccessful campaign to dismiss SHISH Director 
Shaqiri, with whom Berisha has very poor relations. 
According to sources, while by law the SHISH Director is 
currently supposed to brief the Prime Minister at least once 
a year, Shaqiri and Berisha have not met face to face for 
years and Shaqiri simply forwards a written annual brief to 
the PM.  After these failed attempts to reign in Shaqiri, 
Berisha has most recently tried to erode the power of the 
SHISH by giving other agencies wiretapping capabilities and 
eavesdropping rights or by cutting funding for SHISH. 
 
ALBANIA'S NEW SECRET POLICE 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) First, the current draft law seeks to divert SHISH 
activities into domestic law enforcement and domestic spying. 
 Specifically, the amendment gives SHISH the responsibility 
of "supporting the activities of the police force and other 
law enforcement agencies in preventing serious crimes." 
SHISH will be given the additional responsibilities of 
collecting information on human trafficking, arms 
trafficking, contraband, money laundering, and - most 
troubling - on "corruption by persons in public office." 
While the previous law allowed the SHISH to collect 
information on organized crime that threatened national 
security, the new law removes the need to consider national 
security and expands organized crime functions to include 
recognition, detection and prevention.  In conclusion, the 
new law gives the SHISH the vague responsibility of defending 
national security from "any actions that aim to overthrow the 
system of parliamentary democracy." 
 
¶4. (SBU) The amendment adds several other vague 
responsibilities, such as "certifying persons according to 
legal criteria," and "guaranteeing the implementation of 
agreements signed with third parties." 
 
¶5. (SBU) These roles are in clear contradiction of Council of 
Europe Guidelines on the Control of Internal Security 
Services (April 1999) and could endanger Albania's visa 
liberalization with the European Union and Albania's 
candidate status in the EU.  (Note: So far, European 
embassies have been surprisingly silent, although we have 
expressed to them our concerns, and the EU legal assistance 
 
TIRANA 00000058  002 OF 002 
 
 
mission has conducted its own highly critical review of the 
law. End Note).  Moreover, the amendments would allow Berisha 
to use the SHISH to spy on domestic political rivals and 
blackmail any politician.  Information collected could also 
be used for bribery or extortion. 
 
BRINGING SHISH UNDER BERISHA'S THUMB 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The amendment also severely decreases SHISH's 
independence from the Prime Minister.  The SHISH Director 
will be limited to 5 year terms and can only serve two terms. 
 Further, while previously the SHISH director briefed the PM 
and President separately once a year, now the SHISH will only 
brief the PM and must brief him "at any time on any issue 
tied to his activities." 
 
¶7. (SBU) The law also severely decreases SHISH's ability to 
conduct foreign intelligence and counter-intelligence. 
Mention of SHISH's responsibility "to collect information 
from outside the country" is completely removed, as is the 
responsibility "to conduct activities of 
counter-intelligence" and to collect information on weapons 
of mass destruction.  Moreover, SHISH will now only be able 
to cooperate with foreign intelligence services "with the 
approval of the Prime Minister."  It should be noted that in 
Albanian legal culture, laws define what can be done, as 
opposed to what cannot be done, as in U.S. legal culture. 
Hence, the removal of these sections from law is in essence a 
ban on these activities by SHISH. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (S//NF) In a January 27 meeting with Ambassador Withers, 
President Topi also expressed his deep concern with the draft 
law, saying the intel service envisioned in the bill reminds 
Topi of the much-feared communist era Sigurimi.  Sources have 
confirmed that Berisha's clear intention with the draft is to 
assert control over one of the few remaining GOA institutions 
that has so far eluded elude his direct control.  They have 
also confirmed that the current SHISH Director Shaqiri, a 
friend to the USG and a professional, will likely be removed 
and replaced with a Berisha crony - something that could 
happen within a matter of days.  This will cause a ripple 
effect where much of the SHISH staff, many of whom have 
received U.S. training, will be replaced by political hacks 
with little intelligence experience.  Others have also noted 
the close ties between Shaqiri and Prosecutor General Ina 
Rama, another public official who has challenged Berisha's 
institutional attacks.  They believe if Shaqiri is dismissed, 
Rama will also likely resign. 
 
¶9. (C) Leonard Demi, chair of the Parliamentary committee on 
national security, has told Post that his committee has not 
yet received the draft bill, but will receive it shortly and 
likely discuss and seek to pass the law during February. 
This leaves a matter of days for the international community 
to weigh in and warn the Albanian government of the dangers 
of this law. 
WITHERS