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Albanian Times, 96-10-17
Albanian Times
October 17, 1996
CONTENTS
[01] Police Cracks Down On Suspected Terrorist Group
[02] Paper Warns on Pyramid Schemes in Albania
[03] ODIHR Observers Opt to Stay Out of Sunday's Vote
[04] Shehu Says "Trust Crisis" With ODIHR, Opposition Reacts
[05] Albanian Court Upholds Jail For Briton
[06] Police Arrests Ring Members
[07] Italian Company to Build Trade Center in Tirana
[01] Police Cracks Down On Suspected Terrorist Group
TIRANA, October 17 - Albania's interior minister said Wednesday police had
issued arrest warrants for 14 persons suspected as belonging to a terrorist
group and has arrested the son-in-law of former ruler Enver Hoxha. Halit
Shamata told reporters in Tirana group members are responsible for the killing
last July of Bujar Kaloshi, Director General of Prisons. Shamata said police
had found an arsenal of sophisticated weapons belonging to the organisation
and had identified other members of the group and its ringleaders. Shamata
suggested the group might be responsible for the February 26 bombing of a
supermarket in Tirana but gave no details. He said police has arrested Klement
Kolaneci, son-in-law of former communist dictator Enver Hoxha, after a search
of his home had discovered large cash in a safe. (Albanian Times)
[02] Paper Warns on Pyramid Schemes in Albania
NEW YORK, October 17 - An American-Albanian newspaper has called on the
Albanian government to act swiftly and decisively to end pyramid-type
investment schemes which it says have infested Albania. In an editorial on
Wednesday, the newspaper "Illyria" funded by the Albanian-American business
community in New York, estimates that as many as one in two Albanians may have
recently invested in such a scheme. "Those stricken by the fever are selling
their homes, land and other valuable assets as nearly unbelievable returns of
eight percent per month and greater are advertised," the editorial says. The
newspaper warns of dissapointment by those who in the future turn to the
government for the inevitable bail out. "Someone is going to get badly hurt,"
the editorial says. A recent statement by Albanian finance minister Ridvan
Bode suggested that the International Monetary Fund has been pressuring Tirana
to end pyramid schemes. The statement stopped just short of panicking pyramid
investors but the situation appears
to have cooled off again with new streams of cash flowing into the Ponzi
schemes. (Albanian Times)
[03] ODIHR Observers Opt to Stay Out of Sunday's Vote
TIRANA, Oct 16 - Observers from ODIHR, a branch of the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will not monitor Albanian local
polls on Sunday after the government approved only part of its team list, the
OSCE said. Tirana government had asked for less monitors from the Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which criticised Albania's
May 26 elections as flawed. The OSCE said in a statement on Wednesday it was
withdrawing its representatives from Tirana because the size of the ODIHR
observer mission for the local elections was not negotiable. ``The ODIHR will
therefore not be observing Albania's municipal elections and its representatives
are being withdrawn from Tirana,'' the forum said in its statement. ``The
ODIHR would like to state that the number of observers for any election
observation mission is not a matter for negotiation with the host
government,'' the statement said. However, the OSCE's parliamentary assembly
and the Council of Europe still plan to monitor the vote. (Albanian
Times)
[04] Shehu Says "Trust Crisis" With ODIHR, Opposition Reacts
TIRANA, October 16 - Albania's foreign Minister Tritan Shehu has defended the
government's demand that a monitoring delegation from ODIHR, a branch of the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should reduce its
size, a move that prompted ODIHR to withdraw its delegation. Shehu has cited
ODIHR's highly critical report following the disputed parliamentary elections
in May and June as a reason for the demand. He blamed a "crisis of trust" with
ODIHR for the recent dispute. Shehu was speaking at a press conference in
Tirana on Wednesday night. The opposition Socialists have reacted negatively
to ODIHR's withdrawal. Socialist Party spokesman, Katriot Islami told
reporters in Tirana that ODIHR's failure to send monitoring delegation may
damage the image of democracy in Albania. The Socialists have boycotted the
new parliament but are participating in Sunday's local vote. (Albanian
Times)
[05] Albanian Court Upholds Jail For Briton
TIRANA, October 16 - An Albanian appeals court on Wednesday upheld
a two-year jail sentence on a 34-year-old Briton convicted of sexually
abusing two young boys. ``We find Paul Thompson guilty of the charges of
immoral acts with persons under the age of 14...and uphold the sentence from
the first instance court of two years in jail,'' Judge Fatos Qato said,
reading the appeal court decision. Thompson, who had been held under house
arrest, would now be transferred to a jail cell. He can appeal further to the
Supreme Court, Albania's final appeals court. Thompson, a divorced father of
two, was arrested on August 25 after befriending two boys, aged 11 and 12, and
luring them to his hotel room. The age of consent for heterosexual and
homosexual relations in Albania is 14. (Albanian Times/Reuter)
[06] Police Arrests Ring Members
TIRANA, October 15 - Albanian police arrested members of a crime ring
suspected of killing a senior justice official in Tirana last July, Albanian
television reported. ``Police uncovered a terrorist organisation, members of
which were also the killers of (director general of prisons) Bujar Kaloshi,''
the interior ministry said in a statement. Police found an arsenal of arms
belonging to the organisation and identified other members of the group and
its ringleaders, the statement added. Kaloshi, 40, died when six bullets were
fired at him through the front window of his vehicle. (Albanian Times/Reuters)
TIRANA, October 15 - The Council of Europe said it will
send two delegations to Albania to oversee Sunday's local elections,
widely
regarded as a test of the nation's commitment to democracy. Local polls on
Sunday come five months after a disputed general election which heightened
tensions between President Sali Berisha's Democratic Party and the opposition
Socialists, reformed heirs to the communists. ``The Parliamentary Assembly has
agreed to coordinate the observation of these elections,'' the Council of
Europe said in a statement. It said a 19-strong team from the parliamentary
assembly of the Council of Europe and a 17-strong team from the congress of
local and regional authorities of Europe would travel to Albania to monitor
the vote. ``The forthcoming elections and the preceding campaign will serve as
a test and provide an opportunity to reopen dialogue between Albania's
political parties,'' the statement quoted team leader Victor Ruffy as saying.
Italy and the United States have also said they intend to send observers.
(Albanian Times)
[07] Italian Company to Build Trade Center in Tirana
TIRANA, October 3 - An Italian company plans to start building a $17
million world trade centre in central Tirana by the end of this year,
with
completion targetted for early 1998, the company's property advisors said.
Advisors DTZ Mihalos of Greece said the five-storey building would
be
constructed within walking distance of government buildings near Tirana's
main boulevard. DTZ spokesman Kenny Evangelou said the Italian firm, Pescara-
based property developer Di Vincenzo Estero (DVE), hoped to attract funds from
other investors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD). DVE, part of Italy's Igefi Group, was involved in
restructuring the Tirana International Hotel. The trade centre developers
believe Tirana in time could become an important business location in the
Balkan peninsula. Albania is considered to have made significant strides in
switching to a free market economy after throwing off more than four decades
of rigid communist rule in 1990. (Albanian Times)
This material was reprinted with permission of AlbAmerica Trade & Consulting
International. For more information on ATCI and the Albanian Times, please
write to AlbaTimes@aol.com
Copyright © ATCI, 1996
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