Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 97-03-05

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

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] ALBPETROL AFFILIATES OPERATE NORMALLY

[02] SITUATION IN FIER GETS BACK TO NORMAL

[03] REPORT OF THE INTERIOR MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

[04] "NOT A SINGLE ORDER WAS GIVEN TO FIRE ON CIVILIANS" - spokesman

[05] "NO ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED TO FIRE ON CIVILIANS" - spokesman

[06] TENSION IN SARANDA CALMING DOWN

[07] REFUTATION OF SPOKESMAN OF ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT

[08] "CRUSHING ARMED REBELS IS COMPLETELY INTERNAL AFFAIR OF ALBANIA" - spokesman

[09] PRESS RELEASE

[10] POWERFUL EXPLOSION IN PRISTINA

[11] REPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

[12] GREAT FLUX OF BUYING HAS INCREASED PRICES OF FOOD STUFF ARTICLES

[13] CALM DAY IN BERATI TOWN

[14] SP MAKES KNOWN ITS OPTIONS FOR THE SOLUTION OF CRISIS

[15] - according to Italian authorities -

[16] CHAOTIC SITUATION IN VLORE CONTINUES

[01] ALBPETROL AFFILIATES OPERATE NORMALLY

The spokesman says that the regime of control and readiness of the wells and other means has been strengthened. The processing plants in Balls, Fier and Kucove have also been normally operating. s.sh/pas/lm/k

[02] SITUATION IN FIER GETS BACK TO NORMAL

The Fier prefect Haki Mustafa confirmed today for ATA that around 13:OO in this town the "situation has been normalising." The police, reservist and army forces in the town have been engaged in gathering weapons".

A part of the police forces have left for the villages to collect the weapons and munition seized by the terrorist gangs, Mustafa says.

According to him, calm is restored in the town and communes of the district. The supply of the population with bread, electricity and water has not been stopped for any moment.

Various citizens continue to hand over the weapons in the police stations. Many arms and munitions have also been found on the streets, channels and fields.

The Fier prefect has called on the inhabitants to hand over to the police commissariat the weapons and munitions which they find, in a bid to avoid, among other things, the danger of different accidents. s.sh/eva/lm/e

[03] REPORT OF THE INTERIOR MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

In the roadblock of Qafa e Koshovica, in Fier, police arrested three people because they found a considerable amount of ammunition and arms in the car they were traveling in. Some 28 fire arms were brought in this commissariat yesterday from the suburbs, while in the Ardenice army unit 183 other weapons are reported to be there guarded.

Sources from Vlore say that yesterday afternoon police found six heavy machine guns, one light machine gun and two cases of munition in a bar near the police commissariat of this city, the spokesman of the Interior Ministry reports. xh./E

[04] "NOT A SINGLE ORDER WAS GIVEN TO FIRE ON CIVILIANS" - spokesman

"The Defence Ministry has given not a single order to fire against the civil population," the spokesman says.

The pilots, in an interview broadcast by the Italian TV channels, stated that they asked political asylum in Italy because they "could not implement the order they had received to fire on the civil population".

"The aim of the flight was to quickly know the situation created," the spokesman says.

He stresses that over the last days, in the operation against the armed rebellion, there has been no case of armed confrontation between the army forces and armed rebels.

"The killings and woundings among the civil population are caused by the uncontrolled fire of the weapons of the armed groups of rebels," the spokesman says. a.ke/kei/lm/E

[05] "NO ORDER HAS BEEN ISSUED TO FIRE ON CIVILIANS" - spokesman

"The Defence Ministry has issued no order to fire on the civilian population," the spokesman says.

The pilots, in an interview broadcast by the Italian TV channels, stated that they asked political asylum in Italy because they "could not implement the order they had received to fire on the civilian population".

"The aim of the flights was to get to know the situation created as soon as possible," the spokesman says.

He stresses that over the last days, in the operation against the armed rebellion, there has been no case of armed confrontation between the army forces and armed rebels.

"Civil people have been killed and wounded only by the uncontrolled fire of the armed rebel groups," the spokesman says. a.ke/kei/lm/e

[06] TENSION IN SARANDA CALMING DOWN

Last night, differently from the two previous nights, arms fire was rarely heard, whereas today one could hardly hear any bullet being shot, sources from the city say.

Yesterday, district political forces, known intellectuals of the city, together with the district Council chairman and the mayor held a joint meeting to restore order and tranquillity in the city and called on locals to observe laws, not to use weapons and to hand them in.

Saranda is a small city in Southern Albania, which has not been considerably affected by the pyramid scheme phenomenon.

But last Saturday, at about 19.30 armed gangs from outside Saranda went into the city, provoked police, and rioted all the state institutions in that city. There were rumors at the beginning that the gang was from Vlora but they were not confirmed.

The gang stormed SHIK building, the port, it broke into the prison and freed the prisoners who were serving various punishments for ordinary crimes, it broke into the Savings Bank, rioted the police station where it looted about 400 arms, and some private speedboats who were in the port and set them to fire. The gang broke into the foreign currency agency in the port of Saranda and set fire to the city library as well.

The terror in Saranda also continued on March 2, with INSIG and social insurances buildings set to fire, the naval unit and another military unit near the city occupied, the democratic party branch headquarters set ablaze creating suddenly a psychosis of terror in that city.

In the town of Delvine, near Saranda, the situation has been relatively calm. pas/xh/k

[07] REFUTATION OF SPOKESMAN OF ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT

Albanian Government refutes this slander stressing that organizers and leaders of the rebellion are the leaders of the former Communist Party, people of the Albanian former secret police who are also financed by foreign espionage agencies. ssh/eva/xh

[08] "CRUSHING ARMED REBELS IS COMPLETELY INTERNAL AFFAIR OF ALBANIA" - spokesman

"Albania is a sovereign and independent country, capable of establishing the constitutional order and territorial integrity if violated, itself," the Government spokesman says.

"The units to crush the rebellion will in no way use force against the masses of the people, but only against armed rebels actively resisting," the spokesman concludes. a.sh/kei/lm

[09] PRESS RELEASE

President Berisha also asked that the local staffs of the state of emergency to apply the restrictive measures against the freedom of press and information in a limited way, aming at providing continuous and regular information. This restriction should be applied only in these materials which incite or call openly for violent acts against the national security, constitutional order, public security and the life of the individual.

The Albanian President also calls on all the journalists and media representatives to show complete and continuous engagement in their mission for the free information of citizens. /s.sh/mt/sh/

[10] POWERFUL EXPLOSION IN PRISTINA

According to the reports of Radio Pristina in Serbian language, at least two people, a student and a pensioner, were injured from the explosive matter placed in a container. There also reports on material damages, the windows of the nearby buildings were smashed, and a bus was damaged, which was some 100 metres far from the place of explosion. The place where the blast happened is blocked by the Serbian police forces./bj/kled/mt/sh/

[11] REPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Three people were hospitalized, injured by fire weapons and explosive, and 16 other people left the hospital after being treated.

The medical staff in the Vlore hospital is helped during all the day by the citizens of Vlore to continue the work in the hospital, reports the Health Ministry spokesman.

On Tuesday, armed persons, terrorized the staff and the patients in the hospital under the volley of bullets. They entered the surgery rooms and looted the food depots of the hospital./eva/kled/mt/sh/

[12] GREAT FLUX OF BUYING HAS INCREASED PRICES OF FOOD STUFF ARTICLES

Meantime, individuals have speed up the buying food articles, different speculators have blocked temporarily their goods, taking advantage of the situation, in order to increase the prices in the forthcoming days, which even now are higher than some days ago. Another reason for price growth is the devaluation of lek, Albanian currency, towards foreign currencies.

The most demanded item is flour, which is sold around 70 lek per kilogram, while in February 24 the price was 45 lek per kilogram. Sugar is sold more than 70 lek per kg, while the previous price was 62 lek. Macaroni sold to 100 lek compared to 82 lek in February 24.

A price growth has been on vegetal and olive oil, 30 and 20 lek respectively.

An influx of people on bread stores has caused problems on this item, though the price has not changed. kled/gen/sh/

[13] CALM DAY IN BERATI TOWN

The psychology of lack of bread and the queue of the previous days are replaced by a regular supply with this article.

According to sources from the Berati police commissariat, citizens and bar owners have obeyed the time table of working day.

Meantime, tax inspectors have worked intensively to find out cases of bread price speculations or other food stuff articles.

Under the supervision of Berati prefect was convened in working session the emergency rule commission. The members of the commission reported that the situation on two other districts of the prefecture, Kucove and Skrapar is normal./A.KE/kled/gen/

[14] SP MAKES KNOWN ITS OPTIONS FOR THE SOLUTION OF CRISIS

SP makes known its options presented a day ago to the Head of the State for the solution of the crisis:

-The urgent organization of a round table discussion among parties and the contacts of the President with the main political forces, the institutionalization of the political parties' round table.

-The freeze of the state of emergency to avoid any confrontation and further on its removal.

-The establishment of an Albanian technocrat government, whose Premier be nominated by the President with the consensus of the political parties and the engagement of this government for drafting and applying a program to solve the crisis and conduct of new elections.

In the meeting with the SP leaders on March 1st, President Berisha offered them his readiness for a maximal political solution. "The only thing offered for the moment by President Berisha was his readiness for a maximal political solution, but he could not act without taking the decision of the parliamentary group", SP secretary for foreign relations, Pandeli Majko, told the Voice of America on Wednesday.

The refusal of the other fixed meeting to be held on the same day between President Berisha and SP leaders, (after President Berisha had talked with the DP parliamentary group), was justified by Majko with a misunderstanding of the fact that this meeting would be held with the SP Secretary General, Rexhep Mejdani./pas/mt/sh/

[15] - according to Italian authorities -

The Albanian Defence Ministry refuted Wednesday the two Albanian pilots who asked political asylum in Italy, because "they have been ordered to fire on the civilian population".

"No order has been issued to fire on the civilian population. The aim of the flights was to know the situation created as soon as possible", says the refutation of the Albanian Defence Ministry./kled/mt/sh/

[16] CHAOTIC SITUATION IN VLORE CONTINUES

A citizen contacted by telephone told ATA that "today have also continued the uncontrolled gunshots of the terrorist groups, a part of whom drive different vehicles on the streets of the city".

It is difficult to present the situation of the supply with main food articles. Another citizen contacted by phone said that "it is difficult to find bread in the city, without mentioning the other main food articles, which are not found for days in the trade units closed because they were looted by the terrorist groups and have nothing to sell".

Different sources report that it is also very difficult the movement of citizens from Vlore to Fier and other cities, not to say it is not safe. There are several roadblocks improvised by the terrorist gangs, which make impossible the travel in this segment, stress these sources./a.ke/kled/mt/sh/

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