S11- 1 NGO Protection

S11- 2 NGO Protection A Tirana editor advises friends in the government that claims of nepotism is rampant in the prefecture. The writer alleges that half of the officials in the prefecture are from one family and run it as a family “Fiefdom.” The editor plans to investigate. There are reports from a remote prefecture in the Southwest that there is a three way conflict among an English-based NGO, the local government, and villagers. The central point of difference is potable water.

S11- 3 NGO Protection (continued) Without any consultation, the NGO chief traveled to Tirana, and held a news conference in which he claimed that failure to follow through his plans for water purification is resulting in massive illness and some deaths. He names several officials who in his view are responsible and, in the heat of the interviews, labeled them “murderers.”

S11- 4 NGO Protection (continued) Local officials are infuriated claiming the NGO’s charges are wildly exaggerated. They state that they are making progress, and the NGO is frustrated because he can’t run the program his way. The police receive reports from the prefecture that relatives of the officials named as “murderers” are planning to do the NGO physical harm should he return to the prefecture.

S11- 5 NGO Protection (continued) Since the sources appear reliable, the police recommend that the government contact the NGO and the U.K. Embassy advising that he delay his return, and that he be careful in Tirana. In the meantime, the issue has become complex politically, and the NGO community appears to be banding together to support their fellow NGO.