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Albanian Times, April 24, 1996
CONTENTS
[1] Albania Grants First Investment Fund Licence
[2] Five Killed in Kosova Shootings
[3] Trial of Ex-Communist Officials Resumes
[4] Albanian Media Institute Inaugurated
[1] Albania Grants First Investment Fund Licence
LONDON, April 23 - Albania has granted its first investment fund licence to
the Anglo-Adriatic Investment Fund, which is now offering to manage
investments both for holders of Albanian privatisation vouchers and
strategic international partners and merchant banks in Albania's
privatisation process. Mr Declan Ganley, Anglo-Adriatic chairman, says the
fund, in which Ganley International owns the majority shareholding and
Rothschild Emerging Markets 10 per cent, will serve as a catalyst for
foreign investment in Albania. The fund, Mr Ganley says, will offer holders
of privatisation vouchers, which are now traded on the street for some 13.5
per cent of their value, a way to manage their holdings and have more
leverage over their investments. With a reported 16 per cent increase in GDP
for 1995, Albania is one of the fastest growing economies in eastern Europe.
Mr Ganley says there is much interest in investment in its privatisation
process from major foreign investment houses and merchant banks, especially
in the areas of electricity, telecommunications, mining and tourism - some
of which have yet to be included in the country's privatisation process.
(Courtesy of Financial Times, April 23, 1996)
[2] Five Killed in Kosova Shootings
BELGRADE, April 23 - The Serbian interior ministry said on Tuesday ``armed
terrorist'' attacks killed five people and wounded five in a spate of
shootings in the predominantly Albanian province of Kosovo. Serbian and
Albanian political leaders charged each other with using the shooting
incidents to inflame already tense ethnic relations in the southern
province. The ruling Socialist Party of Serbia said the attacks ``confirm
that the Albanian separatist movement has opted for terrorism... thus
precluding a peaceful solution to the existing problems in Kosovo.'' The
pro-independence Albanian Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) accused Serb
authorities of exploiting the incidents to impose ``fresh state sponsored
violence and terror'' on the province. The state Tanjug news agency said
unknown attackers sprayed the only Serb restaurant in the town of Decan with
machinegun fire on Monday night, killing two Serbs and wounding one. In
another incident, Tanjug reported that two policemen were wounded when their
patrol car was shot at in Pec. The independent Beta news agency said a
police officer was fatally wounded outside his police station in Stimlje,
and another patrol car was attacked in Kosovska Mitrovica, killing a woman
prisoner and wounding one officer. On Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 ethnic
Albanian women staged the first demonstration in almost four years in
Kosovo, protesting the shooting of a 20-year-old man who died on Sunday.
They gathered at the site of the shooting in Prishtina. According to the
Beta report, the women lit candles and laid flowers at the spot where Armend
Daci was shot by a Serb civilian. It was the first demonstration in Kosovo
since some 300,000 people protested over the closure of Albanian schools in
1992. In the past, Albanian leaders had decided against organising
demonstrations, citing a heavy Serbian police presence. Political analysts
and diplomats have warned that Kosovo is potentially the most explosive
unresolved issue in the Balkans, that could lead to another major war.
Independent human rights groups say Kosovo Albanians are heavily repressed
in what they describe as a Serbian police state. Diplomats say a political
solution to ethnic divisions in Kosovo is essential for lasting peace in the
Balkans. (Courtesy of Reuters)
[3] Trial of Ex-Communist Officials Resumes
TIRANA, April 23 - A Tirana court resumed the trial of former communist
officials Qirjako Mihali, Sulejman Bushati and Pirro Kondi, accused of
ordering internments of Albanian citizens while in office. The former
officials, who have served as first communist party secretaries in Tirana
and other districts, were confronted with dozens of witnesses who brought
detailed evidence of their sufferings as a result of internal exile. The
prosecutor asked for more witnesses to testify in court, in an attempt to
present a more solid case against the defendants. If convicted, the three
former officials may face up to 15 years in jail or death penalty. The
session adjourned for May 2, to allow for more witnesses to appear in court.
A trial opens in Tirana Wednesday against another group of former high
officials accused of crimes against humanity. Among the defendants are
former president Haxhi Lleshi, former chief prosecutor Rrapi Mino and former
chief judge Aranit Cela. The ongoing trial against a third group of former
communist officials - Prokop Murra, Muho Asllani, Gaqo Nesho, Foto Cami, Zef
Lokaj and Dilaver Bengasi resumes in Tirana Monday. (Albanian Times)
[4] Albanian Media Institute Inaugurated
TIRANA, April 23 - Albanian Media Institute was inaugurated Monday in
Tirana, a project operated on a grant by the Danish government. The main
partner of the Institute will be the Danish School of Journalism, which will
be offering equipment, lecturers and training courses for the Albanian
journalists. Albanian partners of the Institute are the Albanian Journalists
League and the Professional Journalists Association. (Albanian Times)
The material was reprinted with permission of AlbAmerica Trade & Consulting
International. For more information on ATCI and the Albanian Times, please
Copyright (c) ATCI, 1996
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