ATA News from Albania, 96-10-12

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

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] DEMAND OF THE CENTRE POLE - NOT BASED ON LAW - Court

[02] REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE DECLARES HIS ELECTION PLATFORM

[03] SPOKESMAN OF TIRANA MUNICIPALITY DISPROVES ZERI I POPULLIT PAPER

[04] TWO PEOPLE ACCUSED OF SOME KILLINGS AND ARMS-TRAFFICKING DETAINED

[05] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ISSUES DECISION ON REQUEST OF CENTRE POLE

[06] ALBANIAN - ROMANIAN CULTURAL FOUNDATION CREATED

[07] TRIAL AGAINST THIEF OF EPITAPH AND ICONS STARTS

[08] EUROPEAN INFORMATION CENTRE OFFERS SERVICES ALBANIAN BUSINESS

[09] PCEC APPRECIATES PERFORMANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATE SECRETARIAT

[01] DEMAND OF THE CENTRE POLE - NOT BASED ON LAW - Court

In a complaint to the highest instance of courts in Albania, the political grouping of the Centre Pole demanded an annulment of a decision of the Permanent Central Election Commission according to which this grouping has at its disposal 15 minutes coverage on TV, whereas this subject wants to have 25 minutes not as a grouping but as separate political forces.

This grouping has also made an appeal to the Supreme Court asking the invalidation of a set article in the election law. This law considers a penal act the withdrawal of the election commission members during elections and the counting of ballots as happened in the May 26, 1996 vote. According to this article, for this act one receives punishment from one to three years in prison. jz/xh/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[02] REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE DECLARES HIS ELECTION PLATFORM

TIRANA, OCT 11 (ATA) By MKora,

A permanent inquiring commission near Tirana municipality will be set up in order to supervise streets and squares of the capital against crime, prostitution and drugs, as well as against the abuses in Tirana municipality offices.

This is the key to the success of the election platform programmed by the Republican candidate, Neritan Alibali, to the post of Tirana Mayor, released in the election campaign of October 20 for local government.

"There are included solutions to all the problems that Tirana faces today", he said.

Starting his battle to win Tirana municipality with the slogan "Everyone for Tirana", the Republican candidate claims for a citizen ruling of a Swiss type. /jz/mt/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[03] SPOKESMAN OF TIRANA MUNICIPALITY DISPROVES ZERI I POPULLIT PAPER

This statement informs the public opinion that the SP pretensions and charges are groundless.

"According to the lists declared by Tirana municipality on October 3, 1996, the total number of voters is 255 551. This figure, as well as the names of the persons declared in these lists, are not a secret anymore. Now, every citizen of Tirana can see and verify whether he is registered or not", explains the statement.

In the local elections of July 26, 1992, some 184 309 voters were included in the voters' lists.

According to Zeri i Popullit paper, Tirana has also had 41 1558 voters more even in 1992.

Tirana municipality has publicly declared the number of voters and it still declares that this is the real number of voters in Tirana, says the disproof of Tirana municipality spokesman.

In a disproof published Saturday at Zeri i Popullit, Tirana Socialist branch leader Musa Ulqini confutes himself by saying that "It was not declared such a thing (that the voters' register in the capital includes 22 000 people who had died), but it was said that some 22 000 registered citizens do not exist in any of the civil states of the Albanian Republic".

"The news" that some 22 000 dead people were included in the lists of Tirana municipality was Friday written in the first page of Zeri i Popullit paper in capital letters. /s.sh/kei/mt/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[04] TWO PEOPLE ACCUSED OF SOME KILLINGS AND ARMS-TRAFFICKING DETAINED

Sources of the Interior Ministry report that Florian Kushi is accused of having killed one person in each of the following districts: Peshkopi, Puke, Vlore and Gjirokaster, whereas in Berat he has committed two crimes which have brought about the death of the victims. Besides, he is also accused of having wounded other people, along with some testimony for his participation in arms-trafficking.

Bariqi has committed some crimes, a part of which in cooperation with Kushi. The latter has also been involved in arms-trafficking.

Numerous special rapid police forces and scores of policemen, blocked for a period of time all the ways leading to the house where the wanted group was sheltered.

At about 18.00, Kushi and Bariqi were arrested. Whereas in their base, in the Luigj Gurakuqi Street, police found a great munition arsenal, two Kallashnikovs, a Scorpions machine gun, two pistols of the type Zastava, five hand grenades, a mask and a considerable amount of cartridges. kei/xh/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[05] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ISSUES DECISION ON REQUEST OF CENTRE POLE

"The civil college of the Constitutional Court decided that in its article 2 of the electoral statute on October 3, 1996, in its last paragraph to make invalid the sentence 'monitoring experience', and in the article 10, in the last paragraph to make invalid the sentence "to have experience in at least one election campaign," says the decision of judges of the Constitutional Court, headed by the Deputy chairman, Zef Nika.

The complaint of the Centre Pole, represented by Neritan Ceka, leader of the Democratic Alliance Party and Skender Gjinushi, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, demands the invalidation of parts in the article 2 and 10 of the Electoral Statute for local government of native and foreign observers.

After the amendments made in the inner statute, the Constitutional Court orders the Permanent Central Electoral Commission to accept the amendments for observers of the Centre Pole till October 12, 1996, 24.00.

"We do not agree with the decision of the court to abolish the experience, because this damages the accomplishment of the mission at a high level and with objectivity, although we are obliged to apply the decision of the court", said the representative of the PCEC in process, Pellumb Cela.

"The commission, with these requests, aimed at having experienced native and foreign observers, for a lot of Albanians have never voted because of being abroad, or any other reasons. While regarding the foreign observers, this definition does not obstruct bodies which would like to bring observers, because they usually specialize experienced people for such missions", stressed Cela.

The sitting began 35 minutes late because the judges waited for the representative of Centre Pole in process, Neritan Ceka, who did not come.

"The absence of the Centre Pole representative in the judicial sitting, shows lack of seriousness from the side of the subject and the representative himself, and their groundless complaint", said Cela.

Meanwhile, the Centre Pole has filed another complaint near the Constitutional Court against the article which has to do with imprisonment sentence for the electoral commission members in case of boycotting the process. /kei/mt/k

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[06] ALBANIAN - ROMANIAN CULTURAL FOUNDATION CREATED

The Albanian-Romanian cultural foundation "Nikola Jorgo" was created on Saturday in the spaces of the Writers' and Artists' League of Albania in Tirana.

"The creation of this foundation serves the strengthening of the Albanian-Romanian friendship and is created on the eve of the the two countries' national days, November 28 and December 1", writer Niko Nikolla said at the opening ceremony.

Born in 1871 in Romania, Nikola Jorgo , universal historian, publicists, politician , academician, teacher and of Albanian origin is at the same time the only scholar who has found the first document in Albanian in the Vatican library, "Baptising Formula".

Also attending the ceremony was the President of honour of this foundation, George Miku, ambassador of Romania to Albania. jz/lm/Z/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[07] TRIAL AGAINST THIEF OF EPITAPH AND ICONS STARTS

Magistrate Agron Zhukri ruled the detainment of defendant Sota, accused several days ago by Tirana's Commissariat 2 of being one of the authors of plunder.

Meanwhile the Tirana Court confirms that three of his accomplices have been identified and that it is considering to take them into custody.

The Gllavenica epitaph, stolen nearly two years ago in Tirana, is a unique work, one of the most ancient evidence of the Albanian cultural heritage. The Albanian police, in cooperation with Interpol, have long since been hunting down the authors of plunder. jz/lm/Z/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[08] EUROPEAN INFORMATION CENTRE OFFERS SERVICES ALBANIAN BUSINESS

The European Information Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tirana, in cooperation with the Information Centers in Venice and Vicence of Italy, presented on Friday the services it offers to the Albanians business.

Attending the meeting, which was held in the Tirana International Hotel, were representatives of the capital's powerful companies and firms, state enterprises and others.

The president of the Assembly of the Union of the Commerce and Industry Chambers of Albania, Mehmet Shijaku, as well as Gian Angelo Bellati, head of the European Information Center of Venice and Lorenzo Maggio, head of the Information Center of Vicence, were present as well.

They described this service as one of the most modern one badly needed by certain firms, companies and businessmen to become known and establish relations with partners from all over Europe. a.ke/jz/lm/Z/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

[09] PCEC APPRECIATES PERFORMANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATE SECRETARIAT

The Permanent Central Electoral Commission last night decided that a group of this commission carried out control operation in the Local Government State Secretariat and considered the institution's performance on the local government elections.

The control was carried out on Saturday at 10.00.

The special group asked the Local Government State Secretariat various documents including the general number of the electors, the number of the polling stations and ballot boxes, the defined regulation of checking and distributing the ballot papers for all levels and other documents.

The group also familiarised itself with the ongoing performance of the Local Government Secretariat and controlled all documents.

"In conclusion, all the PCEC group members highly estimated the ongoing activity of the Local Government State Secretariat", said the secretary of the Central Electoral Commission, Fiqiri Kupe. jz/lm

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