ATA News from Albania, 96-09-21

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From: The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at <http://www.telpress.it/ata>

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] SDP REPRESENTATIVES NOT YET IN CEC

[02] NEW POLICE REGULATION FOR ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND VOTING DAY

[03] Bulgaria's UN envoy launches attack on his government By Evelyn Leopold

[04] Bulgaria urged defiant UN envoy to resign

[05] SHAMATA - MORE OPERATIVENESS, LESS BUREAUCRACY TO CONSOLIDATE PUBLIC ORDER

[06] OPENING OF BORDER CHECK POINT IN SUKUBINA POSTPONED

[07] GOVERNMENT DECISION ON ALBANIAN CITIZENS' IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT

[08] PRESS REVIEW

[09] PROBLEM OF ALBANIAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS' OBSERVATION

[10] FOREIGN MINISTER OF SAN MARINO TO VISIT ALBANIA SEPT 23

[11] PROPOSALS FOR DISTRICT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS EXAMINED

[01] SDP REPRESENTATIVES NOT YET IN CEC

SDP sources said that this and the refusal to send until now its candidates to the Scrutiny of Political Figures Commission was a kind of pressure the SDP wants to exercise on these bodies.

The Centre Pole (made up by the SDP and the Democratic Alliance Party) decided two days ago to participate in local elections with common candidates.

"We have asked cooperation with political forces from the left to the right wing, but only the DAP was ready to cooperate" said the SDP leader Gjinushi.

After referring to the SDP as a political force which entered alone in elections in July 1992, Gjinushi explained that it has never made alliance with the SP but had "only cooperated." jz/fh/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[02] NEW POLICE REGULATION FOR ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND VOTING DAY

This regulation was presented in a press conference Friday, by Albanian Interior Minister Halit Shamata.

The new regulation "On measures and activity of police troops during the election campaign and the voting day" envisages by law that police workers are banned to make political or party propaganda or participate in election activities, even while out of duty. Non observation of this law, if it is not a penal act, will be severely punished administratively.

"The new regulation changed as result of the amendments the 'public gathering law' suffered, and what is more because the immunity of elecion commissions is sanctioned by law," answered Shamata to a question.

A special Article sanctions the security of the Central Election Commission, the districts' commissions and the polling stations with police services during the time of activity.

By issuing this regulation, the Albanian government fulfills some recommendations of US International Republican Institute (IRI), the CE and OSCE on the position of police during the polling day (IRI's 4th recommendation).

Another article of the regulation decides the duties of the police during election public gatherings. It envisages the necessary presence of police in all gatherings and technical details about them.

The Albanian Parliament on September 11, passed the law "On the right of public gathering." This law invalidated a decree of 1990, of the former President of the Republic Ramiz Alia "On the meetings, gatherings and manifestations of citizens in public places."

Special articles of the regulation sanction the security of order and calmness during election activities and security measures during movement for leaders of political parties, foreign observers, correspondents and representatives of local and foreign mass media. pas/fh/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[03] Bulgaria's UN envoy launches attack on his government By Evelyn Leopold

In an extraordinary account of diplomatic skulduggery, Ambassador Slavi Pashovski read a letter to his government in which he said pro-communist ministers were trying to sideline the constitution and stifle any kind of democratic reform.

He told reporters he did not fear for his life, but related an incident in which he said New York police confirmed that connectors to his steering wheel had been deliberately cut.

He also said the government had sent him a cook who did no visible work, collected his pay and could not cook. "It would be cheaper to bring over a chef from Paris for a week."

And he told of a colleague with similar anti-communist views who was ambassador to Albania and was driven off a cliff by a Bulgarian driver in the Macedonian mountains on his way back to his post in Tirana. He survived, although the driver left him on the mountainside to die.

"While the tears of the victims of communism have still not dried, we have been presenting new scenarios with a mafia plot," he said in the letter to Prime Minister Zhan Videnov and Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski.

"Let us ... put an end to the infamy of the Bulgarian umbrella once and for all," he said in reference to the 1978 incident of a Bulgarian defector being fatally stabbed by a poison-tipped umbrella on the streets of London.

Pashovski has been on the outs with the current government since it was elected in January 1995.

But the government has not been able to revoke his U.N. accreditation because President Zhelyu Zhelev, a founder of the anti-communist opposition, must approve such appointments and he has not agreed to a substitute candidate. Instead ministers have ignored him and refused to allow him to be a member of Bulgaria's General Assembly delegation.

The situation was particularly embarrassing at last year's 50th U.N. anniversary party when Pashovski, who was vice-chairman of the U.N. celebration committee, discovered he had been kicked off his country's delegation and had to wait outside the assembly's chambers.

He said he still signs checks at Bulgaria's U.N. mission.

"You are not satisfied with the provisions of the current constitution under which the president represents the country in international relations, " Pashovski said in his letter.

"If you choose not to correct your policy, you will be outside of the law and the constitution," he added.

"The ghost of communism is looming over Bulgaria, which means also over the Balkans and over Europe," he warned.

He requested a dialogue and said the prime minister should write the United Nations to include its ambassador among the assembly's delegates, since he had to conduct most of the business at hand anyway.

REUTER

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[04] Bulgaria urged defiant UN envoy to resign

SOFIA, Sept 20 (Reuter) - Bulgaria's U.N. ambassador, who denounced his own government and accused it of dirty tricks against anti-communists like himself, was told by the Foreign Ministry on Friday that he ought to resign.

"Common practice is for a state official, especially a diplomat, to relinquish his office with dignity when he disagrees with the politics of his government," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On Thursday in the United Nations headquarters in New York Ambassador Slavi Pashovski read a letter to his government in which he said pro- communist ministers were trying to sideline the constitution and stifle any kind of democratic reform.

"The ghost of communism is looming over Bulgaria, which means also over the Balkans and over Europe," he warned.

The Bulgarian Socialist government has divested Pashovski of his ambassadorial powers, but has not been able to revoke his U.N. accreditation without approval from President Zhelyu Zhelev, a founder of the anti- communist opposition.

Instead ministers have ignored him and refused to allow him to be a member of Bulgaria's General Assembly delegation.

"His (Pashovski's) conduct is worthy of pity and is another attempt to discredit Bulgaria before the international community," the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Pashovski has been at odds with the current government since it was elected in January 1995.

He said he did not fear for his life, but related an incident in which he said New York police confirmed that connectors to his steering wheel had been deliberately cut.

He also told of a colleague with similar anti-communist views who was ambassador to Albania and was driven off a cliff by a Bulgarian driver in the Macedonian mountains on his way back to his post in Tirana. He survived, although the driver left him on the mountainside to die.

"While the tears of the victims of communism have still not dried, we have been presenting new scenarios with a mafia plot," he said in the letter to Prime Minister Zhan Videnov and Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski.

"Let us ... put an end to the infamy of the Bulgarian umbrella once and for all," he said in reference to the 1978 incident of a Bulgarian defector fatally stabbed in Britain with a poison-tipped umbrella.

REUTER

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[05] SHAMATA - MORE OPERATIVENESS, LESS BUREAUCRACY TO CONSOLIDATE PUBLIC ORDER

"More operative structures and less bureaucracy" said Shamata.

He spoke on the perfection and widening of legal framework and norms according to European standards and police specifics. He presented the newly approved police regulation activity during the election campaign.

Shamata also focused on the law "On the right of public gatherings" and the new structure of the unique leading of Tirana police troops, on a decision of Albanian government to provide Albanian citizens residing abroad with passports. He added that a number of laws and codes like the (not final) draft law on the creation of the National Committee in prevention and fight against Crime, Road Movement Code, draft law on the Borders of the Republic of Albania, draft law on the Ethic Code in the police forces and draft law on the Code of discipline are under process or are waiting to be passed by the Parliament.

During the last six months in this process are newly nominated 14 Ciefs of Police Commissariat, 15 Chiefs of Criminal Police and 23 Police Chiefs.

"The widening of the structures of public relations, of dialogue and public inspections are important factors which help prevention of crime and protection of the citizens' rights and freedom" said Shamata.

The Minister introduced through figures the situation of criminality for the period January-August 1996. Some 3878 crimes were recorded, and 84.6 per cent or 3280 of which were discovered. Compared with the same period of the last year, when out of 4904 were discovered 4229 or 86 per cent, it results that number of crimes has decreased by 1029 or by 20 per cent.

Approximately one crime in 90 minutes and some 122 crimes in 100000 inhabitants have happened during this period.

A considerable lowering has suffered the crime of wounding, sexual abuse and others, while killings have increased with 24 cases more.

"The judicial system plays a special role in preventing and fighting criminality, Shamata said. He stressed that it results that during 1995 persons sentenced with one month in jail are 7.3% of the condemned, those with sentences from one month to one year are 67% of the condemned, those form one to three years are 16%, from five to 10 years 5% and over 10 years are 4.7%.

The implication of the persons aged from 14 to 18 years old results in 17% of the total number of crimes.

Shamata said that lenient punishments influence in repetition of the crime and added that the law observation is of special importance. He asked from the government and non government bodies a greater obligations in prevention of crime, particularly among youngsters.

Answering to a questions, Shamata said that the organized crime in Albania is in its initial phase. "This happens because of lack of experience and because the weapons and crime authors are of a young age"- he added and appealed on the government to perfect and modernise its police structures as long as the organized crime is in its first steps.

Shamata also talked about the structures which must be set up in order to prevent and fight the new forms of the organized crime, like the financial crime, prostitution, clandestine trafficking and others. /pas/fh/mt/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[06] OPENING OF BORDER CHECK POINT IN SUKUBINA POSTPONED

Regarding the opening of this check point, both sides have held so far a number of meetings, but the last one planned to be held at the beginning of this month in Shkodra was not.

Both sides have approved the opening of this border check point long ago. pta/mt/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[07] GOVERNMENT DECISION ON ALBANIAN CITIZENS' IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT

As identification document is considered the identity card, passport for abroad, personal certificate card with a photo and the military card. Albanian citizens are obliged to keep identity card and if not to have another identifying document.

All Albanian citizens are obliged to show their document whenever it is asked by police forces. If not kept or not showed, it would be considered after October 10, 1996, a break of law and according to the law provisions "On the public order police" will be punished by police with fees. If the citizen refuses to show the identifying document they will be accompanied to police stations.

The government decision stresses that the Civil State Office has been ordered to take all organisational measures to supply all citizens with identifying documents with photo.

Interior Ministry, State Secretariat on Local Government, prefectures, local government bodies, police troops and Civil State Offices have been asked to care about the observation of this law which takes effect immediately. ake/pas/fh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[08] PRESS REVIEW

Zeri i Popullit prints the article "The political parties - We want the money and the list of electors." The SP in Tirana has sued in the Tirana prosecution a request for penal proceedings against Sali Kelmendi, Mayor of the Tirana city, who is charged for irregularities in electors lists. It entitles its editorial "The second violation of the election law on local elections." Its fourth page is dedicated to the theme "Political parties in election campaign."

Republika publishes the article "In the SP all are against each other." It also carries "Opposition agrees to enter local elections." The Republican leader Sabri Godo has warned the opposition participation as it was asked by Europe and the US, underlines the paper.

Lajmi i Dites highlights a chronicle of the meeting of president Berisha with deputy director general of the International Work Organisation (IWO) Herbert Scharrenbroich, under the title "Cooperation Albania-IWO is successful."

"After playing ping-pong with itself, it remains unknown only the opposition loss on October 20" says the newspaper Tribuna. The press conference of Interior Minister Halit Shamata is under the title "Towards an operative and public police."

Rilindja carries a press conference of President Ibrahim Rugova under the title "Notable continuous care of international community for Kosova."

Dita Informacion in its column analysis carries the article "It is not a retrospective conference", regarding Interior Minister press conference.

Albania in the article "OSCE: The boycott mines democracy", writes that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is circulating a political report on the pre-election situation in Albania.

"The Democratic Party declared its new challenges for the local elections", writes the paper. It also publishes an article about the meeting of the Committee of Crossborder Program, under the title "10 million ECU granted to Albania within 1996".

Bashkimi entitles its editorial "Tolerance towards crime is payed with innocent lives". In the rubric "The tribune of the intellectuals", the paper publishes the article "What does gradual renovation of the Socialist Party or its real boycott help?"

Koha Jone entitles its editorial "An obligatory decision". "Interior Minister promises severe measures against crime", writes the paper regarding Interior Minister, Shamata press conference. The paper highlights even the yesterday's press conference of VEFA Holding President, Vehbi Alimuca, under the title "VEFA: We will open a bank".

There are three persons infected so far with AIDS in the hospital, writes Gazeta Shqiptare. It also points out that the vaccination against polio will start next week in Albania. Italy will finance some USD 300 000 for the new anti polio campaign, writes the paper. /kled/fh/mt/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[09] PROBLEM OF ALBANIAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS' OBSERVATION

Tirana, Sept 21 (ATA)- Follows the statement of Prof. Victor -Yves Ghebali, of Institut De Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva, held before the Swiss Parliament Foreign Commission in August 1996 on the problem of the observation of the Albanian legislative elections.

"At the request of the Tirana authorities, ODIHR was called to observe the Albanian legislative elections (the third pluralistic elections of postcommunist Albania) whose first round was held on May 26, 1996. Different incidents took place in these elections, with the boycott of the voting by the opposition parties (several hours before the polls closed) reaching the climax. This act, presented as a protest against vote fraud, manipulation and intimidation, pretended to have been made against the opposition, was denounced by the government as a maneuver which aimed to avoid the shame of an electoral disaster, especially of the Socialist Party (ex-communist).

A statement made public after the first round on behalf of ODIHR, the observers' mission affirmed that the elections were marred by gross irregularities. It ascertained that the decisions of the polling station commissions were taken arbitrarily, that the electoral lists, in many cases, were changed (so that the number of the enrolled coincided with the counted ballot papers) and that the presence of the armed individuals and unidentified persons inside the polling stations had an intimidating effect; at the same time the Albanian authorities were criticized for lack of cooperation with ODIHR during the pre-electoral period.

As regards the second round (June 2,1996), ODIHR admitted that the situation had improved and that only some minor irregularities might have been noted. It also notified that the second round took place in an already compromised electoral process.

In its final evaluation report ODIHR affirmed in a detailed and categorical way that the electoral law was violated in 32 out of its 79 articles and that the criteria fixed in the 7-8 sections of the Copenhagen Document on human dimension (1990), according to the case, were partially or not at all respected.

The abrupt and final character of such judgements aroused anger in the Albanian government. It, not only turned down point by point, on the technical plan, ODIHR's argument. It accused the latter of gravely violating its duty of political impartiality by including in the electoral observers' mission nine observers of the Norwegian Working Youth Party, friends of the Albanian former communist party who, besides other things, were its official guests.

Contrary to the practices in use, the Norwegian observers did not visit the polling stations according to their judgement but based on a programme defined under the care of their Albanian left wing colleagues, drawing, as a result, conclusions emerging from a limited number of polling stations. Besides this, in political solidarity with the Albanian socialists, they gave up the observation of the second round of elections in order not to "legitimate" it. This, among other things, resulted in a substantial reduction of ODIHR's presence in the June 2, 1996 elections.

These perplexing facts, which would call ODIHR in question regarding the composition of the observers' mission, the superficial procedure followed by the observers as well as the unusual negative tone and content of the evaluation report, were confirmed by one of the NGO-s present: "British Helsinki Rights Group". This also noted that the OSCE's severity towards Albania especially contrasted with the understanding shown towards Georgia in 1992 (presidential elections with only one candidate), Russia in 1993 (the constitutional referendum in which some six million votes were rigged) or in Azerbaidjan and Armenia in 1995 (the legislative elections which excluded the opposition parties) and that the bias of ODIHR's mission had been flagrant since the first pre-electoral briefing. More significant was the fact that the evaluations of the other international observers (often critical, but generally positive) in some way or another, ran counter to those of ODIHR. Such was the case of the evaluations coming not only from the "British Helsinki Human Rights Group" but also from the Irish parliamentary observers of the "International Republican Institute" (Washington) as well as from the OSCE parliamentary Assembly, which noted a number of technical insufficiencies and irregularities, but considered they did not call in question the legitimacy of the Albanian new parliament.

ODIHR, manifestly, fell victim of a political manipulation. The question merits an entire clarification in order to preserve not only the credibility of the Warsaw Bureau but also that of OSCE (direct or indirect) role in every electoral process.lm

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[10] FOREIGN MINISTER OF SAN MARINO TO VISIT ALBANIA SEPT 23

Foreign Minister of San Marino, Dr. Gabriele Gatto, will make an official visit to Albania on September 23, 1996.

During the one day visit Gatto will meet and hold talks with the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Aleksander Meksi, the deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Foreign Ministers, Tritan Shehu, and with the minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Arlinda Keci. a.ke/jz/lm

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[11] PROPOSALS FOR DISTRICT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS EXAMINED

The commission observed that the majority of the political subjects as well as the local government bodies, assigned by the law to organise the local elections, have presented according to the set terms the candidatures for the district commissions.

The Central Electoral Commission yesterday was completed with the deputy chairman and the other members proposed by the Socialist Party as well as with a member of the Agrarian Party, after the decree issued by the President of the Republic.

The Social-Democratic member of this commission is not yet presented. jz/lm

From the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at http://www.telpress.it/ata

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