Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 96-11-22

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

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION "ON INTEGRATION IN EUROPEAN COMMUNITY" ESTABLISHES

[02] DRAFT-LAW ON TRANSPARENCY OF USURIES APPROVED

[03] CONGRESS OF LEGALITY MOVEMENT PARTY HOLDS PROCEEDINGS

[04] ALCATEL WILL FINISH CONSTRUCTION ON STREETS NEXT WINTER

[05] SENIOR OFFICIALS OF DEMOCRATIC LEAGUE OF KOSOVA ASK TO BE SENT TO PRISTINA HOSPITAL

[06] COURT SOLVES CONTROVERSY ACCORDING TO UITUA STATUTE

[07] FOR A NEW UNITY IN THE SOCIALIST PARTY - Zeri i Popullit

[08] TIRANA COURT TO SOLVE CONFLICT IN CONFORMITY WITH UITUA STATUTE

[09] CONSULATE OF HONOUR FOR HESSEN AND RHEINLAND-PFALZ LANDS OPENS

[10] ALBANIANS REFUSING SERB ELECTIONS RECONFIRMS REFERENDUM FOR KOSOVA INDEPENDENCE

[11] NO INTENTION TO COMMIT TERRORIST ACT - witnesses

[12] STRONG ELECTION CONTEST IN MACEDONIA FOR THE SECOND RUNOFF

[01] PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION "ON INTEGRATION IN EUROPEAN COMMUNITY" ESTABLISHES

"This commission will cooperate with AD-HOC commission established by the Government on this purpose", said the Albanian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister, Tritan Shehu, on the behalf of his parliamentary group.

The deputies also elected the 5 deputies, member of this commission. Genc Pollo, DP deputy was elected chairman, and members were elected Ariana Nati of DP, Emin Riza of DP, Vasil Melo of the Human Rights Union Party. The fifth member will be elected by the SP deputies, when they will take up seats in the Parliament. /kled/mt/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[02] DRAFT-LAW ON TRANSPARENCY OF USURIES APPROVED

The People's Assembly during the plenary session held on Thursday discussed and approved the draft-law "On the transparency in the activity of usuries by massive participation of the individuals in the Republic of Albania".

Chairman of the parliamentary commission of economy Bashkim Kopliku said that this draft-law is waste of time, because the Parliament has approved a series of laws which guarantee such activities. While as for the initiator group of this draft-law, the approval is a contribution to increase the trust on companies which conduct these activities.

"Albania is not the first country accompanied by this phenomenon. The draft-law aims at clarifying and ensuring those companies which are involved in such a job", said in his discussion Minister of Finances Ridvan Bode. /kled/mt/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[03] CONGRESS OF LEGALITY MOVEMENT PARTY HOLDS PROCEEDINGS

LMP chairman Guro Durollari, in his report on the activity of the party between two congresses, said that "Albania cannot reach so fast the level of European democracies, because in such a short time we cannot give up the ways of communist leading and thought injected by communism for about half a century".

He talked about the relations between LMP, Leka Zogu and the Royal Court, the monarchy issue in the movement of the Albanian politics and the relations of LMP with other political parties in Albania.

Durollari appreciated the Right Wing League "as a very imperative political formation for a post communist society, although not very successful". He focused on the problem of referendum in choosing the way of ruling.

According to Durollari, the LMP members are some 44 000 of whom 37 per cent are young people and 15 per cent are women.

Durollari said that "LMP is already a modern party, the duty of which is to return home the Royal Family".

In the congress it was also read the message of greeting from Leka Zogu, son of the ex-king Ahmet Zogu.

The World War II found Albania with a constitutional monarchist regime under King Ahmet Zog, self-declared King of Albania in 1928 (from 1925 until 1928 he was Chairman of the Republic of Albania). /mt/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[04] ALCATEL WILL FINISH CONSTRUCTION ON STREETS NEXT WINTER

It is macadamized so far 90 per cent of the first network, which includes the completed constructions in several streets, and the instructions for the second network are already made ready.

There are also established 400 telephone booths and 270 km tubes, 600 linear km of cables, 80 000 meter cube earth is removed and 120 km roads and sidewalks are macadamized by 735 Albanian workers and 35 Italians employed by Alcatel company to increase the capacity of the telephone exchanges, which are 2 already in Tirana: Tirana 1 and Tirana 2, with a capacity of 27 000 numbers the first and 13 000 numbers the second. /kled/mt/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[05] SENIOR OFFICIALS OF DEMOCRATIC LEAGUE OF KOSOVA ASK TO BE SENT TO PRISTINA HOSPITAL

It is expected them to be transferred to Pristina today.

Prof. Dr. Xhavit Ahmeti died Thursday in the Hospital of neurosurgery in Belgrade, where he was sent after the accident which happened in the speedway Nish-Belgrade, near Smederves.

Prof.Dr. Ahmeti, graduated in chemistry in the Pristine University, had completed the post graduate studies in the Faculty of Natural Mathematics Sciences in the University of Zagreb, branch of chemistry. In 1981 he defended the dissertation and doctorate in Zagreb.

The senior officials of the DLK were traveling to Belgrade to pay some officials visit in some western embassies with regard to the normalization of the situation in the education system of Kosova. /b.j/lind/eva/mt/k/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[06] COURT SOLVES CONTROVERSY ACCORDING TO UITUA STATUTE

During that conference a separate group of UITUA elected Hajdari president of this Union.

The process regarding the indictment will be held in November 25.

"UITUA was registered as a Trade Union since 1991 and no other Trade Union can use this nomination. The Court is obliged to act in conformity with the statute, approved by this Trade Union", said to ATA 5the Chairman of Tirana Court, Qazim Gjonaj.

According to the Trade Union's statute, the Congress elects the president. Any new group or other persons, are favoured by the law to register and found a new Trade Union, in conformity with the rules of Labour Code and Civil one. /kled/kei/sh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[07] FOR A NEW UNITY IN THE SOCIALIST PARTY - Zeri i Popullit

- About the situation in the party After the October 20 elections, the situation in the Socialist Party may be described as grave. Its representation in the elections was inconsiderable for the local government.

From the political point of view, after the polls, SP received a very great attack. Election turnout and their legitimacy accepted by international monitors, did legitimize to some extend the electoral farce of May 26. The DP legitimate power revived the political capital it lost on May 26 elections, especially in the international arena. This discourages hopes for new parliamentary elections.

Morally, after the May 26 and October 20, 1996 elections, SP was powerfully attacked. A psychosis is being spread among the people that SP is unable to keep its votes, consequently unable to take the power. This inflames a spirit of fatalism and disbelief in the SP governing abilities in the future.

In the October 20 ballot, practically a single party state was installed in Albania for the first time after March 31, 1991. SP, as the main opposition party, could not carry out its task to bar the way to such a thing, the country may have unprecedented repercussions.

In face of this situation, the party is couched and disorientated. Its people are hopeless and becoming more and more indifferent towards party affairs. They are seeking ways to ensure their living in the conditions of the market economy under a continuous repression by DP. The party headquarters and activities have lost their previous animation and round them one can find mainly party forum functionaries and members. Feeling themselves without a party protection and support, a number of people are conformed to the state power and the ruling party. The division of the party in groups and various groupings is evident in all its structures. In my opinion, the efforts to come out of this state have not so far been efficient.

This situation cannot be hidden out by any justification and argument. Its covering up only harms the further activity of the party, prevents it from considering the reality as it is and from adopting the necessary measures to come out of this state.

I think that after October 20 local vote, the party leadership in the centre and to some extend in the grass root organizations, has tried to gloss over the situation, presenting it as if nothing so important has occurred. The responsibility for October 20 has been totally or mainly placed on the state which again rigged October 20 ballot.

In my opinion, the meeting of the Leading General Council after Oct. 20 was organized by the Party Presidency in such a way that responsibility for what happened on October 20 be shirked and on the situation of the party in general. That meeting created the impression of a silent compromise between the Presidency of the party and the party chairmen in the districts about that on which both sides were interested, i.e. the Oct. 20 elections be presented as completely violated and the responsibility be rested totally on the state power. There was a lack of the will to take upon itself even a small part of the responsibility, forgetting that that losing of power for any reason, does certainly charge with responsibility the party leadership.

The causes for present situation in SP should be found earlier than October 20. The latest elections were the consequence and not the cause of this situation. Their uncovery and notification would really help mend the present situation and prepare it for the future. Among the few efforts made by the press to analyse the present situation in the party has been the tendency to start the analysis from the period after the Referendum. The idea that let the state power consume its mandate completely has been the main cause for the situation created later, from May 26 up to October 20, 1996.

I do not rule out that this thesis has been launched. But I do not agree to consider it the main cause for the loss of the power and for the current crisis in the party. This is an effort to shift the responsibility onto others, to make others responsible and shield yourself from responsibility. This does not lead one to accurate conclusions.

The May 26 polls were massively rigged by the power, they created a new unexpected situation in the party which is difficult to be overcome. Being completely prepared to take the power alone or with other opposition parties, SP did not find forces to come out of the crisis created since May 26. This crisis engulfed at first set segments of the party from the centre to the grass root organizations and then changed into a general crisis in the party.

The May 26 drama

In fact May 26, 1996 has not yet been analysed as profoundly as it should by our party. The party and the general opinion at home and abroad have agreed that the May 26 elections were rigged. But the causes why such a thing happened are not yet uncovered. One of these reasons, was, in my opinion, the great support for Berisha on the eve of and during the electoral campaign by western political and state circles. It is necessary to mention here declarations by senior state and party personalities in Europe and the U.S. in favour of Berisha. The West wanted Berisha to continue to be in power. For set political interests of the west in general, or of set countries in the Balkans, they were interested mainly in the fact that the Balkans should be a stable. Berisha had presented this guarantee to them and had managed to be reliable. Regarding the development within the country, the West was and is interested mainly in the fact that the free market economy develops in Albania. Berisha had also afforded this guarantee. These were highlighted in essence also by Mr Hans Van den Broek during he visit to Albania. As for the U.S., it is sticking to and is more consistent to the principles of democracy. Despite the fact that the human rights and press rights have been violated and political opponents have been imprisoned, the West has so far made only declarations, and has not exerted concrete pressure for the solution to these questions. In the context of the grave situation in Bosnia and the threat for a new war in the Balkans, the West is pleased even with a half-way democracy in Albania. We can see this today too.

This panorama shows that the violation of the May 26 elections came as a result of the great courage for Berisha by the West. It did not tell him to steal votes. But, after this broad support, Berisha thought that he could do anything and nobody would say him no. Unfortunately, this is also happening today.

The conclusion from all these is that we were unable to be reliable for the West. We could not present ourselves before it as a dignified alternative in comparison with Berisha. Despite the support by a part of the European left, we were abandoned in the last moments even by those which we considered as our closest allies, the PASOK of Greece.

The May 26 drama was, therefore, the drama of disbelief of the West in SP and in the opposition in general and the lesson to draw from this is that we cannot claim to take the power without having first the support of the democratic world, especially that of the Socialist International. Albania is a small country and being in a hotbed as the Balkans is, it has never managed, cannot and would not manage to do anything without an international support.

We could not gain this support because the world prejudiced us for a long time, it qualified us as former communist and who had on our shoulders all the sins of the past. If our responsibility for the past is sought, in this case, it perhaps should be started with the 10th Congress of the PLA, which could not declare publicly what in fact happened, its dissolution and the creation of a new party without a past, but it chose the road of evolutionary transformation of the party, bearing on its shoulders all the past of the communist system. Other actions, harmful for us, in this direction, were the delays in making public our dissociations from the past, hesitations in defining a clear foreign policy about the stand towards NATO and EU, some not well-thought declarations on special questions of the foreign policy, the keeping in the leadership of some easily attacked figures for their past by the internal and external opinions, etc.

These things should be said not to seek Turk's heads in the party, but to find the collective responsibility and to define the ways of how to eliminate them in the future. Disregard for for international factor, in this case, according to the communist style that "the internal factor is decisive," as is being acted in certain cases, would be a political myopia of great consequences also for the future. xh/

- to be continued -

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[08] TIRANA COURT TO SOLVE CONFLICT IN CONFORMITY WITH UITUA STATUTE

During that conference a separate group of UITUA elected Hajdari President of this Union.

The process regarding the indictment will be held on November 25.

"UITUA was registered as a Trade Union since 1991 and no other Trade Union can use this nomination. The Court is obliged to act in conformity with the statute, approved by this Trade Union", told ATA, Chairman of Tirana Court, Qazim Gjonaj.

According to the Trade Union's statute, the President is elected by the Congress. Any new group or other persons, are favoured by the law to register and establish a new Trade Union, in conformity with the rules of Labour Code and Civil one. /kled/kei/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[09] CONSULATE OF HONOUR FOR HESSEN AND RHEINLAND-PFALZ LANDS OPENS

Attending were the secretary of state at the Finance Ministry of the Hessen land, Dr. Noack, the spokesman of the government of Rheinland-Pfalz, Schumacher, the consul of honour of Albania to the land of Nordthein- Westfalen, Reuschenbach, deputies of parliaments of the two lands, representatives of the diplomatic and consular corps, firms' directors and Albanians from the diaspora in the FR of Germany.

In the opening address, ambassador Zaganjori stressed Phuhl's engagement in Albania, which has long since made him well-known as its supporter.

Noack greeted the participants on behalf of the Hessen land and stressed that he had the special pleasure to assist in the opening of the consulate for Mr. Pfuhl.

"The work with Albania has spiritually linked me with this country and I think that the directions of my activity will be three: first, the promotion of the relations between the two states, second, the representation of the Albanian citizens, and third, the promotion of the economic relations (mainly the support of German investments in Albania) and cultural relations", Pfuhl said in his address. s.sh/jz/lm/z/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[10] ALBANIANS REFUSING SERB ELECTIONS RECONFIRMS REFERENDUM FOR KOSOVA INDEPENDENCE

The Serb propaganda, which clamorously warned of "Albania's participation, as an indication of the recognition of the Serb state", failed together with the efforts to attain this through police pressure.

The Serb installed institutions and their media have not published figures in order to conceal the small participation. They have confined themselves to the estimations according to the national structure of those who went to the polls which speak of a participation less than 10 per cent of the citizens eligible to vote.

This small percentage also includes the names of those few Albanians who were shown on the Serb TV screen while voting and making statements.

Because of Albanians' refusal, in the Serb elections in Kosova all met with failure. Both the elections and the "electors" lacked more than 90 per cent of the votes and voters in Kosova, therefore these kind of elections cannot be legitimate.

Only the Kosova elections can be legitimate which according to the Kosova constitution can be declared by the Assembly or the President and can be organised only by the legal subjects of Kosova.

The support and respect of this approach of the Albanians and, concretely, of their refusal to take part in the Serb elections, was a kind of referendum that showed their determination for Kosova's independence.

In the referendum for Kosova an independent and sovereign state, held between September 26-30, 1991, of one million citizens eligible to vote, over 87 per cent took part in the voting, some 914.800 people, 99.87 per cent of whom gave their votes for Kosova's independence.

Some 89.32 per cent of the citizens eligible to vote took part in the multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections of May 24, 1992 in Kosova and the DLK chairman, Ibrahim Rugova, was elected President of the Republic of Kosova with 99.5 per cent of the votes. The democratic pluralist parliament of Kosova was also elected.

The referendum and the elections in Kosova, although held under the atmosphere of the occupation state of emergency and military - police curfew, were the greatest manifestation of the resolution for independence, the establishment of the democratic power of the Kosova people in Kosova.

Kosova is expected to hold fresh elections until the next May. p.ta/l/lm/Z/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[11] NO INTENTION TO COMMIT TERRORIST ACT - witnesses

Zyhdi Dajti, one of the officers who had organized the "trap" for the defendant to give up without consequences, said that "the defendant aimed at meeting the president to ask him a 20 million leks worth of credit".

In April 1996, Ilir Shpuza from Fushe-Kruja", threatened that he would blow himself up with a hand grenade, if he did not meet the Albanian President at the moment when the Italian president, Oscar Luiggi Scalfaro, was coming out of the presidency seat.

After a situaiton which continued for 55 minutes, he was disarmed by the rapid intervention police. jz/lm

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[12] STRONG ELECTION CONTEST IN MACEDONIA FOR THE SECOND RUNOFF

Although according to nonofficial results, the social democratic alliance for Macedonia (SDSM in power) is in the lead, the runoff will be decisive, because the opposition parties, which have more or less similar programs, have together a greater number of votes than the party in power. The coalitions that may be struck among Macedonian opposition parties may come out victorious from the battle for local government in that Republic.

SDSM has won 23 per cent of the votes in the first round of polls, VMRO-DPMNE (Macedonian opposition) 14.5 per cent; Liberal Party (LP) 7.3 per cent; Democratic Party (DP) 7 per cent; Socialist Party (SP) 6.5 per cent of the votes. According to the poll results for Shkup city, in which 1/3 of the population of Macedonia lives, the opposition has the majority of votes and the main centre may be in the hands of VMRO-DPMNE.

Even in the Albanian political side the situation is the same.

In the first round of local elections, the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP) had small advantage against the Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (APDP).

Taking into consideration the fact that in Tetova and Gostivar, the centers where the Albanian politics is articulated, APDP has won the majority of the votes for prefect as well as for counselors, it comes out that if the Albanian opposition would be united in the second round it will be superior to the opponent.

Based on the present results, in the first round elections, 9 communes will have Albanian prefects, while in the second round it is expected Albanians to win in 14 other communes.

From the first round elections, only in 1/3 of the communes (32), the coming prefects are already known, and in the second round are to be decided the chairmen of 2/3 of them. A fierce rivalry is expected in these communes, between the Albanian political parties as well as between the Macedonian ones.

In these elections a large number of Albanians could not vote because their names were not registered in the voters' lists.

/p.ta/pas/mt/xh/

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