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Albanian Times, 96-05-18
Albanian Times
May 18, 1996
CONTENTS
[01] US, EU Call for Free Elections in Albania
[02] Albania and Greece Sign Labor and Consulate Accords
[03] Albania, US Firm Sign $20 milllion Oil Deal
[04] 32% of Albanians Think Negative of Nation's TV
[05] Socialist Drop Albanian Beauty from Election Ad
[06] List of New Italian Government
[07] Rights Groups Urge Germany Not to Rush Albanians Home
[01] US, EU Call for Free Elections in Albania
TIRANA, May 17 - The United States and the European Union have called on
Albania to ensure that general elections on May 26 were free
and fair and offered to send independent observers. In a joint statement they
said Albania should consolidate democracy with
free elections. ``The U.S. and the EU specifically call upon all parties
concerned to create general conditions that allow for a free and fair election
process,'' the statement said. ``The U.S. and the EU call upon all parties
concerned to approach the elections mindful of their common interest in
consolidating democracy in a pluralistic society and free market economy,''
the document said. ``The U.S. and the EU stand ready to assist in this effort
and to observe the campaign and election process in order that the will of the
people be
effectively expressed by the vote,'' it continued. Albanian media earlier
this week reported hundreds of international observers would monitor the poll,
including representatives from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE). The United States and the EU said the vote was a sign of
Albania's increasing democratic maturity. ``The U.S. and the EU take note of
the upcoming parliamentary elections in Albania as a further step in the
democratic progress of the country,'' the statement said. All shades of
political opinion in Albania want closer relations with Europe and the United
States and all parties have pledged to further Albania's market economy.
Albania will start talks with the European Union in June on an association
agreement. (Albanian Times/Reuters)
[02] Albania and Greece Sign Labor and Consulate Accords
ATHENS, May 17 - Athens and Tirana have signed an accord to
legalise the status of Albanian immigrant workers, a long-standing stumbling
block in relations between the Balkan neighbours. The agreement, which
provides for legal seasonal employment for Albanians
in Greece, was signed by visiting Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi and
his Greek counterpart Theodoros Pangalos. The agreement does not state how
many of the estimated 350,000 illegal Albanians in Greece will be covered by
the accord. ``We hope that this agreement will cover a large number of
Albanian citizens who work in our country during the summer,'' Pangalos told
reporters after the signing ceremony. ``The present situation is unacceptable
and must stop.'' Greek foreign ministry sources said the pact, which must
be ratified by
parliament, is only a general framework and details such as health care and
pension benefits will be settled later. ``There are no set numbers because
needs in agriculture are volatile. The idea is for Greek employers to apply
for foreign workers at the labour ministry, which in turn will legalise them
according to demand,'' one diplomat said.
Most of Albanians in Greece work illegally on farms for under the minimum
wage, with no health care, to support families back home. Remittances from
Albanians working abroad were estimated at up to half of Albania's $3 billion
GDP in 1994. ``This agreement legalises an activity which is beneficial for
both the Greek and the Albanian ecomomy,'' Pangalos said. Pangalos and
Serreqi also signed an agreement on the creation of consulates in the northern
Greek city of Salonika.(Albanian Times/Reuters)
[03] Albania, US Firm Sign $20 milllion Oil Deal
TIRANA, May 17 - Albania's state-owned Albpetrol and U.S. Fountain Oil
Incorporated <GUSH.O> signed a $20 million deal on Friday to operate the
Gorishti-Kocul oilfield in southwestern Albania for 25 years.
Arild Boe, executive vice president for production of Houston-based
Fountain Oil, told Reuters it was a 50/50 agreement. He revealed plans to
drill about 50 new horizontal wells in the next five years.
``We signed a joint venture agreement between my company Fountaion
Oil
and Albpetrol whereby we are going to re-develop the Gorishti-Kocul field,''
Boe said. ``It's going to be a challenge because it is a difficult field but
we are confident we can increase production from the field,'' he added.
Exploitation of the Gorishti-Kocul oilfield started 32 years ago. Production
is running at 1,500 barrels per day and remaining reserves are estimated to be
about 30 million barrels.
The venture plans to boost output to 3,500 barrels a day. ``The main problem
in that field is the water that is underneath the oil
layer. So we are planning for water-free horizontal wells with a 15 year
production time for each well,'' Boe said. Fountain Oil Incoporated is based
in Houston and has a subsidiary in Oslo, Norway which takes care of operations
in Eastern Europe, including
Albania. It is listed on the NASDAQ market in New York and the Oslo Stock
Exchange. (Albanian Times/Reuters)
[04] 32% of Albanians Think Negative of Nation's TV
TIRANA, May 17 - A third of Albanians think state television
is not giving a balanced picture in the run-up to general elections on May 26,
according to an opinion poll released on Friday. The survey, conducted by the
independent, non profit-making Society for Democratic Culture (SDC), found
more than 32 percent of those polled had a
negative opinion of information transmitted by state-owned television.
Only 18.5 percent backed television's editorial line. ``Radio and television
journalists should be more balanced,'' SDC head
Miranda Gace said. ``The principle place in the main news is taken up by
chronicles on the party in power.'' She said the poll, taken in the first
month of the election campaign, from April 10 to May 5, showed the public
wanted more comprehensive coverage ahead of the elections.
Opposition parties have continually criticised state-controlled
television for supporting President Sali Berisha's Democrats and for failing
to give as much coverage to opposition manifestos and campaign rallies. The
ruling Democratic Party, however, has three times criticised television for
giving more coverage to the opposition.
Albania has only one state-owned television channel and one national
state-owned radio station. (Albanian Times/Reuters)
[05] Socialist Drop Albanian Beauty from Election Ad
TIRANA, May 16 - Albania's opposition Socialists said on
Friday they had dropped Miss Albania 1995 from a party political broadcast
after she objected to them using her image. Television spots are being used
for the first time in Albania, which is heading for its third democratic
general elections on May 26, expected to be
a tough race between the ruling Democrats and the opposition Socialists. ``I
was surprised to see myself on the Socialist party spot. No one asked my
permission,'' 18-year-old Hygerta Sako told state television. ``The Socialist
party should either take out the part showing me or withdraw the broadcast.
Otherwise I will ask television to stop showing the spot,'' Sako said. The
broadcast by the Socialists, underdogs in the election race according to
opinion polls, shows Sako jogging in a wood at sunset and later against
the backdrop of a flying dove. Socialist party official Gaqo Simaku told
Reuters the party had removed the sequence featuring Sako but had not replaced
her with another young woman because of lack of time. ``We did not
consider political beliefs. We adopted her image without any prejudice,
respecting her as a symbol of beauty that belongs to the whole Albanian
people, not as a person,'' Simaku said. (Albanian Times/Reuters)
[06] List of New Italian Government
ROME, May 17 - The complete list of the newly formed Italian government headed
by Romano Prodi.
Prime Minister:on. Professore Romano Prodi
Deputy Prime Minister and Historical and Environmental Heritage Minister with
responsibility for
Entertainment and Sport: on. Walter Veltroni
Minister without portfoglio for Social Solidarity: on. Livia Turco
Minister without portfoglio for Equal Opportunities: on. Anna Finocchiaro
Minister without portfoglio for the Regions and the Civil Service: on. Franco
Bassanini
Minister for Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for Italians abroad:
on. Lamberto Dini
Minister for Home Affairs and responsibility for the coordination of Civil
Defence: on. Giorgio Napolitano
Minister of Justice: avv. prof. Giovanni Maria Flick
Minister of the Treasury and Budget: dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Minister of Finance: on. Vincenzo Visco
Minister of Defence: on. Beniamino Andreatta
Minister of Education, Universities and Science and Technology : on. Luigi
Berlinguer
Minister for Public Works with responsibility for Urban Areas: dr. Antonio Di
Pietro
Minister for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Resources: sen. Michele
Pinto
Minister for Transport and Shipping: on. Claudio Burlando
Minister for the Post Office and Telecommunications: on. Antonio Maccanico
Minister for Industry, Trade and Crafts with responsibility for Tourism: on.
Pierluigi Bersani
Minister of Employment and Social Security: prof. Tiziano Treu
Minister of Foreign Trade: avv. prof. Augusto Fantozzi
Minister of Health: on. Rosaria Bindi
Minister of the Environment: sen. Edo Ronchi
[07] Rights Groups Urge Germany Not to Rush Albanians Home
BONN, May 17 - Human rights groups urged Germany on Friday not
to rush thousands of ethnic Albanians back home to rump Yugoslavia's tense
Kosovo province even after Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic agreed to take
them back. But Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, who secured the agreement
during a trip to Belgrade on Thursday, said Germany would press ahead with its
plans to start sending home 120,000 Yugoslav citizens whose applications for
political asylum were rejected. ``Milosevic is legally obliged to take these
people back and we in Germany cannot shoulder the whole world's hardship and
misery,'' Kinkel told German radio, noting only around two percent of these
people's asylum requests had been granted. "Conditions in Kosovo -- most of
the 120,000 come primarily from there -- are not nice and not good. But that
was also the central theme of my talks,'' he said.
The Pro Asyl and the Society for Threatened Peoples rights groups
said
sending thousands of Kosovo Albanians home by the end of next year could
expose them to real danger and touch off a tinderbox of ethnic tension.
``Human rights violations continue in Kosovo and we cannot rule out that these
people could be put in danger by deporting them,'' Pro Asyl said in a
statement. ``Kosovo is a powderkeg.'' The Society for Threatened People
accused Kinkel of breaking his promise to help Kosovo Albanians and criticised
him for not discussing the latest
move with Kosovo Albanian leaders. Kinkel distinguished between the 120,000
Yugoslav citizens living illegally in Germany who must now go back and the
320,000 Bosnian refugees here who enjoy protected status. Even the Bosnian
refugees are supposed to go home starting in July. ``Of course it is true
that the situation in Kosovo is anything other
than satisfactory,'' he said, adding he expected many to refuse to go back
because they feel repressed there. He said Milosevic had contradicted
assertions that ethnic Albanians were treated unfairly in Kosovo and that the
situation there was the subject of lengthy discussions. ``It is also the case
that there are separatist efforts there...but these are not supported by
anyone in the world, and not by us. But I made clear that we expect far-
reaching autonomy for the population there,'' he said. (Courtesy of
Reuters)
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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