Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 97-07-14

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

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] U.S. TO INCREASE THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN KOSOVA - Balkan analyst

[02] DYNAMITE IS DAMAGING MARITIME FAUNA AND FLORA

[03] DECLARATION OF ALBANIAN PRESIDENT ON SP DECISION TO CHANGE CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS AND THOSE OF DEPOLITICIZED INSTITUTIONS

[04] ONE KILLED AND EIGHT HURT FROM COLLISION OF TRAIN WITH MOTOR VAN

[05] CONTROLS OF POLICE IN NATIONAL ROAD LEZHE-SHKODER

[06] 20 000 USD FOR LIBRARIES OF THREE SCHOOLS IN TIRANA

[07] PRESS RELEASE OF ALBANIAN PRESIDENT'S PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE

[08] NATIONAL HOLIDAY OF FRANCE CELEBRATED IN DURRES

[09] ELISABETH REHN INVITES MACEDONIAN OFFICIALS TO GIVE UP VIOLENCE AGAINST ALBANIANS

[10] FIVE POLITICAL PARTIES TO TAKE PART IN NEW ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT

[11] PRESIDENT BERISHA MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER FINO

[12] REPORT OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ALBANIA

[01] U.S. TO INCREASE THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN KOSOVA - Balkan analyst

Bugajski believed that in Kosova there exist a great disillusion regarding the perspective of democratisation of Serbia. No-one of the Serbian opposition party has any policy on Kosova which will be acceptable to the Albanian leaders. The opposition is afraid of putting forward this problem and does not even dare to come out with new ideas or proposals through which it will be called a traitor by their political rivals or the state controlled press.

Bugajski said that during his last visit to Kosova he has noticed increasing views that the U.S. and Europe can abandon the Albanians of Kosova for the sake of democratisation of Serbia and removal of (Serbian president Slobodan) Milosevic.

Bugajski proposed some concrete solutions, among which, he mentioned that Washington should appoint a special representative on the crisis in Kosova with a new mandate like the one of Richard Holbrook on Bosnia or maybe wider. He also proposed that a high-ranking international conference be held in Prishtina to discuss all alternatives for the solution of the future status of Kosova.

Bugajski believed the meetings held so far have not been enough and a serious conference with senior officials should be held in Prishtina. He proposed a dialogue between Albanian and Serbian intellectuals and maybe the opening of a branch or a U.S. university in Prishtina. sk/pm/pas/E

[02] DYNAMITE IS DAMAGING MARITIME FAUNA AND FLORA

Dozens of tons of dynamite and other explosive substances looted from the military depot during the March turmoil are being used by different people to catch fish in the sea. A coastal area starting from Bishti i Palles to Currila is especially being damaged.

Specialists of maritime hydrology said that at least 10 years are needed to repair the consequences caused by these explosives. kled/ak/e

[03] DECLARATION OF ALBANIAN PRESIDENT ON SP DECISION TO CHANGE CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS AND THOSE OF DEPOLITICIZED INSTITUTIONS

They are a direct expression of the will to give oneself as much authority as possible and to transform Albania into a which is country in the hand of a single man, be him a prime minister or a president.

Also the declaration for the amendment of the laws of some important depoliticized state institutions only with the aim of changing their leaders, is a real revenge against the rule of law.

The present constitutional laws of Albania, according to documentation and the expertise of the Council of Europe, guarantee the freedoms and rights of human, share the powers and guarantee the country a parliamentary republic. (Assembly debate on 29 June 1995 (22nd sitting) see Doc 7304 report of the Political Affairs Committee. Text adapted by the Assembly of C.E. on 29 June 1995 (22nd sitting).

They guarantee the government independence and full parliamentary control.

Comparative studies of presidential competence in parliamentary republics made by constitutional experts known in Europe and the world, prove that our constitutional laws make a balanced division of the powers and that the competence of the President of the Republic are fewer than the competence of not only one but of some of the heads of those states.

Besides, I would like to stress that the declarations for not a leading role of the President of a neighboring country show of the fact that the constitution of that country is not studied because the constitutional competence of the President of the Italian Republic and of the President of the Republic of Albania, although they are not identical, they have so much common points.

I, as a President that is resolute that, right after accomplishing some important constitutional tasks, will not coexist with the new government which emerged from the polls, think that the division of the powers cannot be made according to the desire or decisions among friends, but conformed to the principles of control and balance between them. I also think that the changing of the constitutional laws with this parliament which came from elections which were not free and fair, but which are accepted only for the existing conditions by Albanian political forces and international constitutions, as well as the big concentration of the power in the hands of one man, are serious violations to the constitutionality and are acts with great consequences in the country's stability.

The new laws of Albania and the institutions based on them are of European standards. These laws are compiled in cooperation with international institutions and have been object of numerous expertises. The institutions which are based on these laws have directed the reforms and established a fruitful international cooperation. Their amendment or changing cannot be made because the leading officials of the institutions should be replaced. The substitution of the leaders of depoliticized institutions contrary to their legal mandate in those posts, giving the legal changes a retroactive power, and without valuating their job, is illegitimate, it is political revenge and harms greatly the work and the future of the the institutions and the legal state in general.

Resolute to play an opposition constructive role and by not claiming that the present constitutional laws make a perfect division of the powers, I would not like to rule out the discussions for these laws, and I consider indispensable the preparation of the constitution. But I think the process of the changing of the constitutional laws, as well as the preparation of a new constitution cannot be realised by a parliament which has been accepted as a political solution. They should be undertaken only in the spirit of consensus, which I think is possible only after another climate and situation is created, with the broad participation of the best Albanian experts and those of the Council of Europe and on the basis of the procedures accepted by Albanian political forces. Any imposition or amendment to the constitutional laws or to procedures of the approval of the constitution in this parliament in which 1/3 of the 2/3 of the deputies come from zones presently controlled by the committees and their terrorist gangs, prove that the concept of the free vote is lost and there is a return to the revenge of 1946. These acts would aggravate the political crisis and change it into a constitutional institutional crisis of grave consequences for the country. The responsibility will rest with those who by applying the denial and the doctrine of denial, want to violate, after the vote, the Albanian values, institutions and democracy in general. xh/k

[04] ONE KILLED AND EIGHT HURT FROM COLLISION OF TRAIN WITH MOTOR VAN

The motor van with the number plate of Durres, with 9 people inside, did not see the roadblock, which is out of work, in the crossroad of the railway with the automobilistic way before the tunnel of Rrashbull, so he passed the rails and was crashed down with the train which dragged it some 100 meters. /eva/mt/k

[05] CONTROLS OF POLICE IN NATIONAL ROAD LEZHE-SHKODER

On July 12, by 23:00, these forces blocked in the entrance of the Lezhe town three lorries with smuggling cigarette, and arrested five citizens involved in this illegal activity, two of whom were policemen, Interior Ministry spokesman reports.

Also, the police forces blocked several vehicles with scrap-iron, which were sequestrated, ends the report of the Interior Ministry. /eva/mt/k

[06] 20 000 USD FOR LIBRARIES OF THREE SCHOOLS IN TIRANA

The libraries will be founded in the high schools "Qemal Stafa", "Petro Nini Luarasi" and "Ismail Qemali", in the capital.

Some 65 per cent of this fund will be used to buy books, and the other to furniture the libraries.

The project started on January this year, but it was interrupted due to the riots that swept Albania. /eva/mt/k

[07] PRESS RELEASE OF ALBANIAN PRESIDENT'S PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE

Regarding this declaration, the Albanian President's press and information office stresses that the position towards the freedoms and rights of national minorities is one of the most fundamental and sensitive issues of a free society and state.

In the past five years, Albania, upon the direct initiative of the President has, not only established a legislation which is completely conformed to the European Convention and the Copenhagen Charter on the rights and freedoms of the national minorities, but it has also implemented it correctly.

These achevements have been ackowledged and evaluated better than anyone else by the Greek and non-Greek minority people, who over these years have become for the first time owners of their lands, they have their press, have a better education than previously, have moved freely to the mother country, have prayed openly in their language and religion, they have their parties and their representation, they have declared and defended with dignity their ethnic identity.

These achievements have been recognized and appreciated repeatedly by the Pasok Government of Mr Simitis, the President of the Hellenic Republic and by all those who are interested in a sincere friendship between our two peoples and countries.

These achievements have been accepted and highlighted by international institutions such as the European Parliament, whose chairman would declare in July 1993 in Tirane, that "we may say without doubt that Albanian policy towards national minorities is excellent.

"OSCE, its High Commissioner for Minorities declared in his reports of 1993 and 1994 respectively that "since the toppling of the communist regime in Albania, the Greek national minority has reached a level of freedom it did not have for whole decades" and that "Albania has accomplished the standards of the Copenhagen Document on the education of the minorities."

In the document of membership for Albania in the institution of the Council of Europe and in the monitoring of the pledges of Albania towards the CE, the Council of Europe has confirmed "the guarantee of the freedoms and rights of the minority through laws, the observation of those laws and the realisation by Albania of its pledges for the minorities." Albania is among not so many countries which has signed the European Convention on the rights of the minorities.

But these achievements have disappointed many elements, organizations and centres of the Greek extremists, who, in order to sow hatred and hostility between Albania and Greece, in order to realise their dream of North-Epirus, are trying to manipulate with the minority and have many a time over these years denounced the alleged ghetto in which the Greek national minority is living in Albania, they have compiled programs to fight in order to free their brothers of the North-Epirus and have sponsored acts of terrorism in Albania.

To speak of ghettos of the Greek minority for the account of these centres of Albanian-Greek hatred and enmities, one does not defend but he seriously offends first of all the Greek minority, their brilliant tradition of coexistence with the Albanians and he tries to turn them into an apple of discort for the sake of his vile political ambitions. To speak of ghettos of the Greek minority is a great offence for the Albanian nation, in which there have never existed ghettos for others, but cohabitation, understanding, tolerance and harmony.

Making yours the theses of fierce enemies of the cooperation and the friendship between Albania and Greece, between the Albanians and the Greek, does not serve them but it compromises and endangers them.

For us, Albanians, when thinking that the declaration that the Greek minority is living in ghetto comes not from those who have sponsored the massacre of Peshkepi, the burning alive of Albanian officers in Sarande or from organizations which have in their program the liberation of North-Epirus, but this time from the possible candidate for the chairman of the excecutive of their state, is for me something which needs no comment at all. We know well our history, ends the reportt of the press and information office of Albania President. ssh/xh/k

[08] NATIONAL HOLIDAY OF FRANCE CELEBRATED IN DURRES

"We will soon leave Albania, but only physically, because we laid a stone in its future, helping this country to come out of an obscure zone," said the commander of the French battalion, Godinot, while greeting the troops.

The French Ambassador, Christmant, appreciated the contribution of the French military men, while the mayor of Durres, Gorreja, thanked the troops of the French battalion for the unsparing help that they have given in constructing a new square near the mausoleum of the heroes in the town. /s.sh/kei/mt/k

[09] ELISABETH REHN INVITES MACEDONIAN OFFICIALS TO GIVE UP VIOLENCE AGAINST ALBANIANS

In a letter, addressed to the Macedonian government, Rehn expresses among others, her condolences for the victims in Gostivar.

She invites the Albanian and Macedonian party to keep calm and have understanding for solve the problems through dialogue. /ag/kei/mt/k From hola@ata.tirana.al Mon Jul 14 17:32:40 1997

[10] FIVE POLITICAL PARTIES TO TAKE PART IN NEW ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT

"The formula of the co-governing is serious and not fictive, it is something more than the representation of the forces of the pact of co-governing in the parliament," said the SP chairman, Fatos Nano to Albanian Television.

The main three posts of the state, the President, the Prime Minister and the Parliament Speaker will be shared between the socialists and socialdemocrats.

Also in the main ministries, the Foreign, Interior and that of Defence will be a division of posts and cooperation.

Nano said that there would also be some ad hoc portfolios and he confirmed that in the post of the deputy prime minister will be the present Prime Minister of the National Reconciliation Government, Bashkim Fino.

"The number of the members of the cabinet is not more than 21," said Nano.

The Association of the formerly politically persecuted will also take part in the new excecutive and in other institutions, said Nano.

The names of the government ministers will be declared in the new parliament.

"SP and SDP have agreed to share one of the three main posts, that of the Parliament Speaker by SDP, while the posts of the President and the Prime Minister will be held by SP," said SDP leader Skender Gjinushi, who may be the newly-appointed Parliament Speaker.

According to Gjinushi, SDP will have the posts of the Foreign and Transports ministers.

"The way how the posts are divided shows of a real and long-term cooperation," said Gjinushi.

The chairman of HRUP, Vasil Melo, said that his party feels somewhat left aside and far from the government posts which form the real image of a government that leads a country.

"Neverthteless, we will make our contribution to the end and would like that this government take more and more the form of a Government of National Reconciliation, by expanding its political spectrum," said Melo.

According to him, HRUP has so far been offered the post of the Minister of Health and three or four posts at the level of deputy minister. xh

[11] PRESIDENT BERISHA MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER FINO

As the President's press and information office reports, President Berisha expressed in the meeting his appreciation for the Government of National Reconciliation under the direction of Mr Fino.

President Berisha and Prime Minister Fino discussed the time when the parliament would be convened and both shared the opinion that after the annoucement of the final outcome of elections, the two urgent tasks for the country would be the convening of the parliament and the commitment in the process of the formation of the Government.xh

[12] REPORT OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ALBANIA

"Through this letter I would like to express my sympathy for the Democratic Party although it lost in the latest parliament elections in Albania. I would also like to add that I do highly respect your latest decision to withdraw from the post of the chairman of the Democratic Party.

I wish you the best in the future, hoping at the same time that the situation in your country will go towards normality and the Albanian people will be able to live in peace and prosperity." xh

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