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Albanian Times, 96-05-21
Albanian Times
May 21, 1996
CONTENTS
[01] Albania, Greece Pledge Stronger Military Ties
[02] Balkan Foreign Ministers to Meet in Sofia
[03] Parties Struggle for Votes Ahead of Sunday Poll
[04] Cabinet Approves Road Project
[01] Albania, Greece Pledge Stronger Military Ties
ATHENS, May 20 - Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhulali confirmed what he
called "very good level" in the Albanian-Greek relations. Zhulali spoke
Monday after meeting his Greek counterpart Gerasimos Arsenis in Athens. "There
is no political obstacle in Albania to hamper the development of relations in
the military field. I had almost same views as my counterpart," Zhulali said.
The talks focused on issues of security cooperation, NATO's "Partnership for
Peace" program and the developments in the Balkans region. Both sides plan a
joint naval exercise but the date has yet to be set. Albania and Greece will
sign soon a protocol to finalize a general agreement reached last July, which
includes training of Albanian military personel and cooperation between
Albanian and Greek defense industries. The signing has been delayed for
technical reasons, Arsenis said. The Albanian minister asked Greece to
encourage a dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade for what he called "a just
solution" of Kosova issue and reit
erated Albania's official view of reaching a solution without changing
borders. The ministers are scheduled to resume their discussion of Kosova
issue on Tuesday. Arsenis left open the possibility to visit Tirana in mid
July when a Partnership for Peace exercise is scheduled to be held in Albania.
(Albanian Times)
[02] Balkan Foreign Ministers to Meet in Sofia
SOFIA, May 20 - The foreign ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey,
Albania, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Romania will meet in Sofia on June
8 and 9 to discuss boosting ties, a Bulgarian official said on Monday. ``The
ministers will discuss measures for improving the region's security, transport
and telecommunications links and cooperation in fighting
drug trafficking,''a foreign ministry spokesman told a news conference.
According to the official, Croatia will send an observer while Slovenia has
declined to participate. (Albanian Times)
[03] Parties Struggle for Votes Ahead of Sunday Poll
TIRANA, May 20 - President Sali Berisha is campaigning hard on behalf of his
Democratic Party to court undecided voters a few days ahead of May 26
parliamentary elections. Addressing rural voters in Western plains of Myzeqe,
Berisha asked supporters to launch a dialogue to win the undecided voters.
Berisha expressed confidence in a landslide victory of the Democrats. The
opposition Socialists have urged voters to oust President Sali Berisha's
ruling Democrats in the upcoming elections. In a letter sent to Albanian
newspapers, the jailed Socialist leader, Fatos Nano said that a Socialist
victory would guarantee the population liberty and security. ``I urge you to
vote against the 'banana republic' of Sali Berisha,'' wrote Nano, who still
has three years to serve of a twelve year prison sentence for embezzlement and
abuse of office. ``I appeal to you to embrace without hesitation the
alternative of the .. moderate opposition, to end once and for all the
shameless abuse of power and the scandalous corruptio
n of the Berisha regime,'' Nano continued. The run-up to next Sunday's poll
has already been marred by opposition allegations that the police have used
scare tactics to obstruct opposition election rallies. Police has denied the
allegations. On Sunday, election commission secretary Kreshnik Spahiu said
his life had been threatened by a man who was later detained. (Albanian
Times)
[04] Cabinet Approves Road Project
TIRANA, May 20 - Albanian government has approved a major rehabilitation
project, involving about 90 kilometers of roads part of the east-west and
north-south corridors. The project, costing up to $66 million, is being
financed by the World Bank, the Italian government, the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, the Kuweit Fund, the PHARE Program and the
Albanian government. The roads to be rehabilitated are Elbasan-Librazhd,
Librazhd-Qafe Thane, Tapize-Fushe Kruje, Milot-Lezhe and two bridges on the
rivers Mat and Drin. (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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