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Albanian Times, 96-10-18
Albanian Times
October 18, 1996
CONTENTS
[01] OSCE Cancels All Monitoring Plans in Albania
[02] U.S. Officials Worried Over Albania-OSCE Rift
[03] U.S. OSCE Commission Criticizes Albania Over Monitors
[04] Italy to Send Record Observer Team to Albania
[01] OSCE Cancels All Monitoring Plans in Albania
VIENNA, Oct 17 - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) has cancelled all plans to send observers to monitor
Albanian local polls on Sunday, an OSCE spokeswoman said on Thursday.
The OSCE decided to scrap a 19-strong delegation from its parliamentary
assembly following a dispute between Tirana and the OSCE's main observer
body, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),
the spokeswoman said. The ODIHR announced on Wednesday that it would
not monitor the local polls after the Albanian government rejected
part of its team list. ``The parliamentary assembly decided today
to cancel its delegation because of the Albanian government's refusal
to accept the full (ODIHR) list,'' the spokeswoman told Reuters.
In Tirana, the opposition has reacted negatively to the new development.
Socialist spokesman Kastriot Islami said the dispute strengthens the
isolationist tendencies of the government. Arben Puto from the Albanian
Human Rights Group said the withdrawal of the OSCE observers raises
doubts on the credibility of Sunday's election. (Albanian Times/Reuter)
[02] U.S. Officials Worried Over Albania-OSCE Rift
WASHINGTON, October 16 - State Department officials have voiced
disappointment at Albania's rift with OSCE, the Washington Post said in a
report on Thursday. According to the report, spokeswoman Elizabeth Pryor
said the United States reacted to the circumstances surrounding the OSCE's
move with "more than disappointment." "We are deeply troubled," she was
quoted as saying. The Clinton administration supports the monitoring unit's
decision not to send an insufficient election team, she said, and, as it
did in May, called on Albania to conduct its election in accordance with
OSCE standards. According to the Post, The Council of Europe will be the
sole intergovernmental organization monitoring the elections in
Albania. The incident marks the first time since the Warsaw-based OSCE
monitoring group was established four years ago that it has bowed out of an
election. It follows a flurry of diplomatic visits by Western ambassadors
in Tirana, the Albanian capital, to high-ranking officials, including
President Sali Berisha, to try to allow the OSCE to remain, the report
said. Albanian officials insist the OSCE has caused problems and
cooperation will normalize only after a proper and reasonable solution has
been found, the newspaper said. (Albanian Times) For full text go to
http://www.worldweb.net/~ww1054/articles/election.html.
[03] U.S. OSCE Commission Criticizes Albania Over Monitors
WASHINGTON, October 17 - In a statement Thursday on Albania's refusal to
accept the full team of OSCE observers, the U.S. OSCE Commission chairman
Rep. Christopher H. Smith and Co-Chairman Sen. Alfonse D'Amato called the
decision extremely regrettable. Albanian authorities "seem to feel they can
determine not only how many observers will be allowed but specifically whom
they shall be. This is unacceptable within internationally accepted
observation criteria. We therefore support the decision of the ODIHR to
withdraw its representatives from Albania, and applaud the OSCE's
Parliamentary Assembly for canceling its planned observer team in support
of the ODIHR," the statement said. The latest decision indicates that
"Albania is becoming less open and possibly less tolerant of political
pluralism," it added. The U.S. OSCE commission is made up of nine Senators,
nine Representatives and one official each from the Departament of State,
Commerce and Defense. (Albanian Times)
[04] Italy to Send Record Observer Team to Albania
ROME, October 17 - The 150 strong team of young volunteers flying to
Albania Friday as observers for Sunday's local elections will be the
biggest such team ever sent by Italy. Ambassador Luigi Ferraris, the
Foreign Ministry official responsible for making advance arrangements, told
the group ''This has been a unique effort by Italy.'' He said the ministry
had received applications from 500 would-be volunteers in just five
days. The observers will be split up into 50 three-person teams to work
alongside volunteers from the United States and other European
countries. Voting is due to take place in 43 cities, 20 small towns and 36
administrative districts, with 38 parties competing for seats. The Italian
mission is travelling under the aegis of the Council of Europe, in
agreement with the European Union, and it has been coordinated by the
Italian Society for Multilateral Organisations. (Albanian Times/ANSA)
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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