Not a cent collected “A one-million-dollar fine for kiosks built without permits, and not a single lek collected or deposited in the state treasury from these fines for 1994,” Ketrin Ka-tro, a lawyer at the Urban Planning Directorate in Tirana, told us, “because an effective law is still lacking. The Urban Planning Office is responsible for recording violations, suspending the work and enforcing the fines.” “A one-million-dollar fine for kiosks built without permits, and not a single lek collected or deposited in the state treasury from these fines for 1994,” Ketrin Ka-tro, a lawyer at the Urban Planning Directorate in Tirana, told us, “because an effective law is still lacking. The Urban Planning Office is responsible for recording violations, suspending the work and enforcing the fines. For the demolition of a kiosk, the relevant material must be prepared and submitted to the Territorial Regulation Council. Once this council has made its decision, it is enforced by referring it to the Construction Police. During 1994, 12 decisions were executed (12 kiosks were demolished). In Tirana, instead of the 550 kiosks that should have been built according to the statistics on permits issued, there are now 2,500. But the Urban Planning director does not consider herself as fortunate as the heads of administrative centers in Tirana’s neighborhoods, who issued permits without any criteria. For this reason, the administrative centers were prohibited from issuing permits, and it was decided that permits would be issued only by the Territorial Regulation Council. The lawyer confirmed that even those 550 permits that have been issued are valid for no more than one year, with the right to renew. The permit contract specifies that the kiosks are to be built from lightweight, dismantlable materials. Priority has been given to permits for converting returned homes into commercial units with entrances from the main roads. The epidemic of unauthorized kiosk construction is expected to continue at the same pace this year as well. At the Municipality they say that this rush to impose fines is subsiding, but that it is impossible to put a complete stop to it. There is also no system for collecting the fines. Fines are imposed, but there is nobody to collect them!

“Of the 3,000 requests submitted in Tirana for the return of property to its lawful owners, 1,500 have been approved, 400 of them for political persecuted people,” says Gëzim Mora, deputy head of the Property Restitution Office at the Tirana Municipality. This figure includes houses, shops, land, warehouses and various production facilities. Properties whose plots are vacant are returned immediately. Plots on which unauthorized buildings have been erected (kiosks, houses, etc.) are also returned as vacant land. With our support and that of the court, the owner makes the illegal builder demolish the structure. Kiosks are considered temporary structures and, under Article 15 of Law 7698, dated 15.04.1993, I return the property to its lawful owners, regardless of whether it is occupied. The Urban Planning Directorate issues the kiosk permit, but when the land is returned to its lawful owner, within 30 days it must issue a decision for the local authorities to demolish the kiosks—a practice that, we have found, is missing from the work of this directorate. In 70% of cases, lawful owners have to spend 1–2 years going through the courts before they can take possession of their land! 80% of properties in Tirana are occupied by kiosks, and 65% of the kiosks built on these plots are unauthorized. Yet the competent authorities are seen to cause delays and unlawfully circumvent the rules, even though legislation exists. Many kiosk owners file one lawsuit after another, extending the validity of their permits because of the money they have invested. In January 1995, the number of kiosk structures they have handed over through operations is more than 1,300. In central Tirana, kiosk rent exceeds 500 dollars a month, leaving room for both profit and expenses. If the 500 cases of land restitution to owners were implemented (continues on p. 4)

From Max Van der Stoel’s visit to Macedonia “The content of the discussions between the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Mr. Van der Stoel, and various representatives in Macedonia is being interpreted in different ways.” The main shared assessment, according to a statement issued two days ago by President Gligorov’s Cabinet, is that the legal organization of the University of Tetovo is contrary to the law. Meanwhile, statements by Albanian leaders say that Mr. Stoel declared he had followed with concern the events related to the University of Tetovo, which, in his view, could in fact strain interethnic relations. He therefore expressed the view that politicians, not the police, should discuss educational problems. In this context, he said that the need to find a solution for higher education was indisputable, but that ways and means had to be found. Macedonia should adopt a law on universities, while international organizations would offer the Government of Macedonia a concrete proposal on this issue. Mr. Stoel went on to say that he had advised the Macedonian authorities to urgently enact laws on local self-government and the use of language, and that he had met with several ministers for this purpose. Yesterday, the High Commissioner told journalists, among other things, that it was in the interest of all the groups living in Macedonia to preserve stability. As for the University of Tetovo, his view is that, according to the OSCE, minorities or different ethnic groups in a state have the right to establish their own educational institutions, including universities. However, the Copenhagen Document says that this right must be exercised within the framework of state legislation. Finally, Mr. Stoel said that he believed the law must be respected and that in Macedonia the education laws should be changed, not the desire to be educated. Voice of America

Members of the National Council are hereby informed that a meeting of the PR National Council will be held on January 20 at 10:00 at the National Museum.

Should cocktail parties, lunches and dinners be covered by the media? Coverage of banquets, receptions, dinners or lunches has become a regular feature of RTSH news broadcasts. In the reports aired on these occasions, the names of all the officials present are never omitted, regardless of their rank, and are accompanied by footage of this so-called “event.” A typical report of this kind lasts several minutes, as if it were a politically important event in the life of the country. This is all the more striking at a time when our political forces, with the exception of the party in power, are timed to the second, regardless of whether their activities are unquestionably more important than a cocktail party at a foreign embassy. More or less the same thing happens in the press on such occasions—by which, of course, I mean the official press. Should RTSH or the official mass media in general cover activities of this kind? It is not clear what criteria the heads of the relevant departments at RTSH use when deciding to broadcast various events: their importance, or the attendance of the country’s most prominent personalities. I would have thought the first criterion was the one to which they were most committed; otherwise, a special program would be needed to cover the movements of government officials and other prominent figures in the country. But then, what importance is there in Ambassador Palok or the Palestinian ambassador hosting a tea reception at their embassies, even if ministers or even the president attend? What interest can television viewers or radio listeners have in learning the long list of guests and their titles at an entirely ordinary celebration? For about 30 years, Albanians have been geographically connected and in constant contact with the Western world, and they know what happens there. During this roughly 30-year period, it has never happened that Italian television channels broadcast reports about receptions hosted by foreign representatives accredited in Italy, or by Italian embassies around the world. Such a practice was not followed even by the former Yugoslav Radio and Television. Likewise, no newspaper close to government circles in various Western countries covers events of this kind, except in particular cases connected with an important event, such as the signing of an agreement or a meeting concerning some issue, etc. So where did RTSH borrow its practice of covering such events? There is no need to think too hard. One need only go back a few years, to the history of total isolation from the world. At that time Albania had practically no diplomatic activity, apart from the presentation of credentials by foreign ambassadors and receptions held on such occasions. One early occasion was a celebration at one of the 16 embassies that had to be organized in Tirana. Under those circumstances, people eagerly awaited the publication of reports on such events, which were treated as major news, so the people could be told, “Look, we are not isolated,” or “our diplomacy is functioning,” and so on. The same can be said of the practice of publishing in the press all the congratulatory telegrams sent to the president, the prime minister and others on the occasion of the national public holiday. I do not think the time has been forgotten so quickly when Zëri i Popullit published a supplementary page with these telegrams, while the entire last page was devoted to coverage of receptions hosted by foreign representatives, journalists, etc.

On February 10, Greek Foreign Minister Karol Papulias announced that he would visit Tirana. Optimism about this meeting remains faint if one considers what is really happening in Greece, especially in political circles. On January 14, Greek government spokesman Venizellos said that the release of the four members of the Greek minority was not a condition for beginning dialogue with the Albanians; on that same day, the same spokesman said it would be good for the four members of the Greek minority to be released, as this would make the dialogue constructive. Hearing these two statements, made within the space of a single day, makes optimists hope for a “spring” in Albanian-Greek relations! Papulias, for his part, says that “President Berisha has taken some steps forward, certainly incomplete ones, but he has shown a willingness; during the first days of the government we will find joint solutions to the problems.” In diplomatic language, this means that we had “begun to talk” about accepting the condition unconditionally. Papulias has been to Tirana before, in ’93, and was due to visit in May ’94, but the visit did not take place because he was stopped in Greece at the time by the future government, and he, being a tough Albanian politician, was [unclear] as a result of the Albanian elections. At the same time, the Greek side constantly makes this conditional. It seems this will be a long process. So, on February 10, Papulias is going to Tirana. If the talks remain within the context of normalizing Albania-Greece relations, we should be optimistic, but we must wait and see. As for the other developments: the head of the Greek delegation that recently visited Albania and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussed various issues, which we hope will lead to positive steps. The issue of the Greek minority and its rights was also discussed at this meeting.

Education must be taken SERIOUSLY p. 2 The olive tree faces the danger of illegal trade p. 2 The first Albanian telex soon Kosovo and its future p. 3 The Congress House is no longer anonymous p. 3 “The power of money - intellect” p. 4 A Hollywood film in Tirana p. 4

He was sitting on one of the benches in the gardens, thinking about how he might earn the reward money the government had promised for capturing the escaped burly man. “What are you thinking about?” one of the birds asked him. “You’ll never get the money. Even if you tell the authorities how the prisoner planned his escape, they’ll pay you in securities. They don’t give out cash. Those who helped the prisoners escape weren’t paid in securities. So what did they pay them with, I wonder? The prisoners don’t have securities.” “You can’t earn your daily bread this way,” an insider told him. “I have a more interesting idea. Write a constitution. They’ll reward you very handsomely. You might even get it changed. It’s easier than catching an escaped prisoner. Write a constitution and register it with the relevant agency to secure authorship. Then just wait for the offers and see who pays the most. You’ll get millions... of dollars.” “I’ll never get those millions as a reward for writing it. With the constitution, I’ll form a party that will be a cultured party throughout the world. It will never make the mistake of calling early elections. On the contrary, it will demand that regular elections also be postponed because of changes. For example, the election law does not meet the most advanced European standards. Or there will be no elections until an electronic voting system is introduced in Sh. [Albania]. Just as exists in some advanced democratic countries. Or elections can be postponed because the [unclear] is continuously increasing, and elections must not be held until it reaches 99.99%. Our party will oppose early elections, and for this reason the opposition will hate and curse us. And we will feel just like we do in the world: cursed, despised, and saddled with responsibility.” THE CHRONICLER