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Albanian Times, Vol. 2, No. 13, March 30, 1996From: Albanian Times <AlbaTimes@aol.com>The Albanian Times (by AlbAmerica TRade & Consulting International) DirectoryCONTENTS[1] 29 Albanians Feared Drown in the Adriatic[2] Albanian Parliament Dissolved[3] Albania Bans Beef Imports from E-U[4] U-S Defence Chief Leaves for Balkan Trip[5] 47 New Churches in Five Years, Orthodox Primate Says[6] Government Limits Housing Funds for Population[7] German Defense Minister Arrives in Albania[8] U.S. Defense Chief to Visit Albania[9] NATO Secretary General Will Visit Albania in May[10] Berisha Attacks Opposition Socialists[11] German Defense Minister to Visit Albania[12] France Supports an EU Association Accord for Albania[1] 29 Albanians Feared Drown in the AdriaticTIRANA, March 28 - Twenty nine Albanian illegal emigrants trying to reach the Italian coast by boat are feared drown in the Adriatic, Radio Tirana said. The Italian Coast Guard has recovered two bodies and the other 27 are reportedly drown, according to the radio. The Albanians had reportedly left the port of Vlora by speedboat. (Albanian Times)
[2] Albanian Parliament DissolvedTIRANA, March 29 - Albanian Parliament was dissolved on Friday thus paving the way for the national elections due to take place in June. In the just dissolved legislature elected in 1992, the ruling Democrats of President Sali Berisha had a majority of 92 seats against 38 of the Socialist Party, the former communists. The unicameral body closed its four-year activity with the approval of a code of the civil procedure, which adds to hundreds of other laws often passed without the consent of the opposition. However, the Socialists said they generally praise the work done by the barely concluded legislature. The parliament's Democrat speaker, Pjeter Arbnori said the legislature approved dozens of treaties with other nations and created the legal basis to break the isolation of the country. (Albanian Times)
[3] Albania Bans Beef Imports from E-UTIRANA, March 27 - Albania, Europe's poorest country, on Wednesday upstaged European Union moves to ban British beef because of fears about ``mad cow'' disease by closing its borders to beef imports from the entire continent. A senior official said Albania felt quite safe from the disease because it had banned beef imports from Britain and Northern Ireland three years ago to avoid the transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). But it was imposing the ban on E.U. and other European meat imports to avoid British beef already in those markets reaching Albania. ``We are closing our market for a limited time as a precaution until there is no more British meat in the European markets,'' Anesti Rako, the veterinary and inspection service director said. Nearly all E.U. countries and a growing number from outside the community have suspended imports of British beef following London's disclosure of a possible link between BSE and its human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. ``We took three years ago the measures that have now been taken by European countries,'' Rako added. (Courtesy of Reuters)
[4] U-S Defence Chief Leaves for Balkan TripWASHINGTON, March 29 - Defence Secretary William Perry left on late Friday for the Balkans where he will meet with Croatian and Bosnian leaders and will attend a meeting of south Balkan defence ministers in Tirana aimed at increasing security cooperation in the region. Ministers from Albania, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria and Macedonia will attend, but Greece has rejected the invitation. It is the first time that Albania hosts a meeting of defense ministers. "The Albanians want from us more than anything the understanding that they want to be part of Europe, the West,'' a U.S. official quoted by Reuters said. Perry is due to fly to Tirana Sunday from Sarajevo. This is his second visit to Albania. According to reports, in just over two years on the job, he has been to more countriesthan any Pentagon chief in history.(Albanian Times)
[5] 47 New Churches in Five Years, Orthodox Primate SaysA Greek orthodox cleric, whose presence at the head of the Albanian church has sparked heated debates in Albania said that in just five years, the archbishopric had managed to build 47 new churches and restore a further 50 which had been destroyed. The Orthodox primate, Anastasios Yanoulatus said in Ioannina that eight buildings had been purchased throughout Albania and renovated to serve as cathedrals, Orthodox centres and hostels. The cleric announced that a theological school would open later this year in Durres. The first clinic was now serving impoverished Christians in the Albanian capital, while new clinics would soon be set up, he was quoted by ANA as saying. Mr. Yanoulatus was installed as head of the Albanian Orthodox Church in 1992 promising he would leave his post as soon as Albania has trained an archbishop of its own. (Albanian Times/ANA)
[6] Government Limits Housing Funds for PopulationAlbanian government has slated about 750 million Leks for the housing needs of the population this year, officials at the Ministry of Construction said. About 100 million leks have been allocated for urban development. State funding for housing this year will be 16 per cent of total spending by the Ministry, down from 30 percent last year. A law concerning state funding for housing approved last year, limits the state's financial contribution to the housing needs of the population. The number of homeless families in Albania is estimated at 40,000. World Bank and other international organisations have been helping to alleviate increasing needs for housing. High demand has turned construction into a flourishing business throughout the country. (Albanian Times)
[7] German Defense Minister Arrives in AlbaniaTIRANA, March 26 - German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe arrived late Tuesday in Albania invited by his counterpart Safet Zhulali. His talks with Albanian leaders will focus on the current situation in the Balkans, the European security structure and the further development of the military relations between the two nations, according to a Bundeswehr press release. Mr. Ruehe who is serving at his post since 1992, is visiting Albania for the first time. His Albanian counterpart, Zhulali visited Germany last November. Last year, Albania and Germany held expert talks in the logistics and other fields. For the year 1996, the two countries are doubling their joint military activities. A German company will participate in a Partnership for Peace military exercise to be held in Albania during the fourth quarter of this year. Mr. Ruehe will have talks with President Berisha and will attend the inauguration ceremony of the Center for Strategic Studies at the Defense Academy in Tirana. (Albanian Times)
[8] U.S. Defense Chief to Visit AlbaniaWASHINGTON, March 26 - U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry will visit Bosnia, Croatia, Albania and Egypt on a week-long trip beginning on Saturday, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Perry will go first to Croatia and then to Bosnia for meetings with U.S. military commanders and American troops serving with the international peace-keeping force, as well as with Bosnian government officials. Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters that Perry would go to Tirana early next week to attend a meeting of Balkan defence ministers in the Albanian capital and would wind up his trip in Egypt before returning to Washington on April 4. (Courtesy of Reuters)
[9] NATO Secretary General Will Visit Albania in MayNATO Secretary General Javier Solana will visit Albania on May 1 and 2, according to Radio Tirana. The visit is part of a tour in the countries participating in the Partnership for Peace program. (Albanian Times)
[10] Berisha Attacks Opposition SocialistsBerisha launched a harsh attack on the opposition Socialists, calling their recently ended convention a "congress of negation and defraud." In a campaign style speech in the city of Kavaja, a staunch democrat stronghold, Berisha insisted that the socialists were the unreformed heirs of the communists who ruled Albania for decades. He said the times of the communist party are gone forever. Berisha said his Democratic Party policies have benefitted millions of Albanians. He oulined the major objective of the Democratic Party - the quick economic growth adding that "in contrast to the opposition program, the Democrats' objective will be achieved through free intiative, lower taxes and a rational use of investments."
[11] German Defense Minister to Visit AlbaniaTIRANA, March 25 - German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe is due to arrive in Tirana Tuesday for talks with his counterpart Safet Zhulali, according to the Albanian radio. On his two-day visit, Mr. Ruehe will also meet with President Berisha, Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi and Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi. German defense chief will attend the inauguration of a Center for Strategic Studies at the Defense Academy in Tirana. Germany has promised Albania aid to modernise its obsolete military equipment. The two countries have been exchanging high profile visits recently. Germany's Minister of Economic Cooperation, Carl-Dieter Sprangel, who was in Tirana last week, announced a 48 million mark ($32.58 million) soft credit to reconstruct Albania's only international airport and said Bonn fully backed Albania's democratically elected government. (Albanian Times)
[12] France Supports an EU Association Accord for AlbaniaTIRANA, March 25 - France is expressing interest in starting talks for an association agreement between the European Union and Albania, French Foreign Minister Herve de Charrette said. In a message to his Albanian counterpart Alfred Serreqi, the French minister said Paris views such a move as "a political prority, considering the level of relations between the two countries." He was responding to a demand to this effect made by President Sali Berisha during his visit to Paris earlier this year. Italy is the main backing behind Tirana's request for such an agreement. (Albanian Times)
The material was reprinted with permission of AlbAmerica Trade & ConsultingInternational. For more information on ATCI and the Albanian Times, pleasewrite to AlbaTimes@aol.comCopyright (c) ATCI, 1996 |
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