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Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 98-04-13Albanian Telegraphic Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at <http://www.telpress.it/ata>Albanian Telegraphic AgencyCONTENTS
[01] Vice-ambassador of Great Britain in Tirana injuredTIRANA, April 13 (ATA)- The vice-Ambassador of Great Britain in Tirana, Catherine Jones, was injured by gunfire on Sunday, sources of the Tirana police department told ATA.The event took place on Sunday at 15.45, five km down the "Panorama" bar on the Dajti Mountain, Northeast of Tirana. Jones, 41, born in London and currently residing in Tirana, along with British national Jim Varen, 43, worker in the British Embassy in Tirana, and David Bicker, 49, deputy-Consul in this embassy, were travelling in a "Peugeot" car, number plated CD 02 07 , when a masked gunman with Kalashnikov rifle, came out from the forest and ambushed their vehicle. The gunman, the sources say, after robbing the British nationals of 6000 leks they had with themselves, fired one shot and slightly injured the vice-ambassador in the arm and the deputy Consul in the belly. The two persons were taken to Hospital 2 in Tirana and have been released from hospital. The gunfire also smashed the car's mirror and the side window. The police are hunting down the gunman. /s.s/pas/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[02] Arms' arsenal uncovered in centre of SarandeSARANDE, April 12 (ATA)-By SH. Hajno, A whole arsenal of ammunition and arms were discovered in the city of Saranda, south of Albania, on Sunday.The ammunition and arms, of heavy and light calibre, were uncovered near an old building some five metres from the surrounding wall of the secondary school "Hasan Tahsini", in the centre of the city, police sources told ATA. The chief of the district police station, lieutenant-colonel Ardian Resuli, says that this was uncovered following an information received by the police several hours ago. The arsenal includes 500 artillery shells, two cannons of calibre 75m/m, two machine-guns and thousands of cartridges. The regional police sources are tracking down the persons possessing them and the motives of their collection. The police do not exclude the possibility that the arms were gathered one year ago, when riots began in this district, and arms depots were broken into. According to the police sources the arms may have been gathered also for sale beyond the border. /s.s/pas/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[03] Special anticontraband groups set up in DurresDURRES, April 13 (ATA)-By S. Gjordeni, The first special anticontraband groups have been set up in Durres.They have been created on the initiative of the Albanian ministry of Finance, in cooperation with DG 21 and backed by logistic equipment from the Council of Europe. These groups have also been provided with the boxes to check the fuels, considering numerous cases of abuses with their import. The especial groups will be organised in three sectors. The first section will operate in the shipyard and the Durres customs, the second, after checking the commodity will check the customs' documentation up to its destination, and the third will consist of the mobile patrol, to carry out provisional control where it deems necessary. The European customs structure will soon bring in Albania anti- contraband fight experts, who will also test the current staff of these groupings. The special groups' activity has immediately yielded its results. The recent controls carried out in Durres show that there have been irregularities in some 50 per cent of the imported cargo and it has been immediately blocked. Several cars, lacking any documents, have also been blocked in the port. /a.ke/pas/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[04] Ngjela Commission to arrive in Vlore on TuesdayVLORE, April 13 (ATA)-By H. Koci, The parliament's commission to investigate the January-June '97 events on Tuesday arrives in the Vlore city, which one year ago became the focal-point of people's protests which spilled over throughout the country and led to the overthrow of the Meksi government.Regarding these investigations, the private TV channel "TV 1 Amantia" has called on the citizens, who posses documents which throw light on last year's events, to present them to the commission which will start work in the offices of the Vlore prefecture on Tuesday. The Ngjela Commission visited Vlore also one month ago. /a.ke/pas/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[05] Monsignor Robert Ashta diesTIRANA, April 13 (ATA)-The Catholic Church in Albania announces with sorrow the death of His Excellency Monsignor Robert Ashta, Bishop of Pulati (Northern Albania).Monsignor Ashta died of a sudden heart attack yesterday, April 12, Sunday Easter, in the mountain village of Dushman (Prefecture of Shkoder), where he went for the Easter liturgical celebrations. Death overtook him on his way to visit a sick person in the mountains. Monsignor Ashta was born on 22 August 1918 in the city of Shkoder. He took his studies in Philosophy and Theology in Siena and Treviso (Italy). He was ordained priest on 2 July 1942 in Treviso. After ordination he went back to Shkoder, where he taught Italian, religion and mathematics at the Franciscan High School. During the communist regime he exercised his priesthood in various villages and from 1967 on, doing so secretly and when possible. From 1974-1985 he was constrained to work in the construction of the hydroelectric dams in Lac- Vau-Dejes (District of Shkoder) and Koman (Puka). After the fall of communism he resumed his priestly duties. In 1992 he was Parish Priest in Lac, which includes the Santuary of Saint Anthony. On 25 December 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Pulati. He was ordained by the Pope at the Cathedral of Shkoder on 25 April 1993, on the occasion of the Papal Visit in Albania. /lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[06] Ngjela asks DP participation in Investigating CommissionTIRANA, April 13 (ATA)-By K. Kostreci, The head of the Commission to investigate the last year's unrest, Spartak Ngjela, has officially asked the Democratic Party to participate in the Commission."I have sent the request to Sali Berisha (DP chairman) since Friday, but I have not received an answer," Ngjela told ATA on Monday. The Parliamentary Temporary Investigating Commission on Thursday elected its deputy-chairman, Fatbardh Hushi, only two weeks after the end of its performance. The DP has not recongnised this commission so far and has said it will not recognise its results. Since the first report of the commission in parliament in February, the Commission has almost not met to continue work to investigate last year's unrest. A part of it has gone to Permet, Berat and Vlore where it has obtained evidence, which has not yet been examined. Ngjela and the commission members, especially the socialists, have debated in the media for unveiling the investigation secret. The Commission is expected on Tuesday to go to Vlore and later to Permet to continue to gather testimony. /s.s/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[07] DAP: Changes in government to take place after defining rules for coalition's functioningTIRANA, April 13 (ATA)-The Democratic Alliance party (DAP), asks through a statement made public on Monday that the changes in government be carried out after defining and signing the rules of the government coalition's functioning.To this end, the DAP repeated today the proposal for holding a round table about the rules and find out the way of consultation of the five- parties on major political issues and the periodic assessment of the situation at home, the formula of assigning portfolios in the government and in other political functions as well as the formula of choosing the concrete people to engage in these functions. The Agreement signed on June 25, 1997, the statement says, expresses only the decision and the fundamental objectives of the coalition parties to co-govern, but it is not followed by a definition of the rules of the game It says that the eventual reconstruction of the government through the same technique, as the current government was constructed, does not provide guarantees for a sound political partnership. In order to protect the coalition from any kind of subjectivism and to institutionalize its functioning, the DAP proposes the organisation of a round table of rules to find a solution to the above problems. The statement has been sent to the coalition parties and waits for their reaction on the pending issues. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party called the general Steering Council in Tirana at the Palace of Congresses on Monday to discuss possible changes in the coalition government. /s.s/das/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[08] Albanian Foreign Minister says death of Seraphim - loss for all OrthodoxTIRANA, April 13 (ATA)-By I. Paco, Albania's Foreign Minister on Monday condoled with the Greek Embassy in Tirana on the death of Seraphim, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece."This is a great loss not only for the Greek people but also for all the orthodox, who found in His Holiness the perfect personification of the man who embodied goodness," the chief of the Albanian diplomacy wrote in the book of condolences opened by the Greek embassy on Monday. /s.sh/das/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[09] Prime Minister Nano criticises government coalition alliesTIRANA, April 13 (ATA)-By A. Simoni, Head of the Socialist Party (SP) and government Fatos Nano said on Monday that co-governing policies should be reconsidered."I do not at all deem fair the way some of our allies consider things sometimes: Success of all, failure of socialists, alone," said Nano at the beginning of the meeting of the SP General Steering Committee (GSC), the highest Forum of this party. "If you, too, share this opinion, that is, if we all think that we should not risk our relations with the electorate, then, we should reconsider the co-governing policies," he said. "We cannot expect others to keep up with us. Nine months were enough. Invitations, as well as challenges to co-governing remain open, but this only on the basis of a higher level of responsibility and professional capability to build a rule of law and the civil society of European standards," said Nano. "The scheme of governing is not changed and restructured once and for all. There are many elements of governing which we could not consider in the moment of building the governing formula we have at our disposal today. Excessive links have been noticed on the way which have no reason to exist, merely to satisfy political conjunctures or to create personal rewards". "The state's limited budget, as we know, requires a cut of some 15 per cent of the jobs in the Albanian public sector. It will be a hypocrisy in case the cuts (...) are not accepted and do not begin from ourselves," the prime minister said. "I do not think convincing the claim that yesterday's front of rallies and democratic resistance against the Berisha anti-democracy be mechanically transplanted today as the main front of governing and building the new democracy," said Nano. "No human practice strictly reconciles at every of its segment demolition with construction, demolisher with the constructor". "All the conditions seem ripe to testify that it is true we conceive the future as a change of the past, but we do not equalize these realities and do not mistake them, simply because of friendships and common suffering," said Nano. /s.sh/das/lm/ Albanian Telegraphic Agency[10] Hundreds upon thousands of Albanians march in Kosova citiesPRISHTINE, April 13/ATA correspondent Behlul Jashari reports: Hundreds upon thousands of Albanians on Monday marched in Prishtine and other cities of Kosova to protest against Serb terror, for peace, freedom and democracy.The half-hour marches, which have begun since four days ago, according to the organisers, "in the boulevards of the biggest prison in the world, called Kosova, will continue until life in Kosova is no more like a prison life". The organisers of these demonstrations against the occupying regime of Belgrade are political and non-political subjects of Kosova, headed by the Democratic League of Kosova. /r.xh/das/lm/ From the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at http://www.telpress.it/ataAlbanian Telegraphic Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |