Local elections at risk Today the president, as part of his recent initiatives concerning preparations for the local elections to be held on October 20 this year—the latest date envisaged by the constitutional provisions currently in force—has called the parties to a roundtable, which he will also attend in person. At this roundtable, a number of very important problems will be discussed, relating not only to the October 20 elections, but also to all the elections that will follow. This concerns the creation of a Permanent Electoral Commission, which will monitor all elections held in Albania from now on. Moreover, the establishment of this commission is one of the recommendations made by the Council of Europe following the visit to Albania by its delegation several weeks ago. But late yesterday afternoon it became known that the Socialists had decided to boycott today’s meeting, thereby completing the decision taken at the roundtable of nine small parties. They succeeded in their manoeuvre to steer the SP away from the path of dialogue begun with the DP, which seemed to be making good progress. The Socialists claim as a pretext that the roundtable convened by the President of the Republic is not the one recommended by the Council of Europe, and consider it a manoeuvre by the president. They have also once again expressed their opposition to the commission being appointed by presidential decree, although they had agreed to this with the other parties at the eight-party roundtable. But such a position by the Socialists certainly does not serve the country’s interests. Given how little time remains before the local elections, especially considering the many unresolved problems that must be addressed, their decision to boycott this roundtable puts the holding of the elections themselves at risk. Not only will the groundwork for their proper conduct not have been laid, but no one can guarantee that the Socialists will not decide to boycott the October 20 elections themselves, regardless of their declarations of willingness to take part in multiparty roundtables. This would also mean the failure of the effort to restore faith in democracy. Whether or not the roundtable called by the president meets the criteria recommended by the CoE, whenever various problems are discussed together, the outcome is always beneficial to the country’s interests. The experience of these years has proved this very clearly. Besides, at this roundtable the Socialists would have had the opportunity to express their views, including their objections and ideas concerning the president. Meanwhile, the SP’s leaders have decided, by taking a “hard line,” to strengthen their position on the eve of their congress, which will be held in a few days. But one cannot overlook the fact that the Socialists have submitted to the dictates of several parties with no electorate and even no members. A.D.

Elizabet Ren speaks after observation visit in Montenegro Elisabet Ren met with journalists yesterday in Podgorica, following her observation visit to Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. The UN Special Envoy for the Protection of Human Rights said that interethnic relations in Croatia’s Krajina region are extremely tense, while in Bosnia the war has ended and the implementation of peace has begun, although there are many difficulties, ranging from the system of governance to constitutional issues, refugee problems, and so on. Ren distinguished Montenegro from the former Yugoslav republics because this republic was not engulfed by war. Nevertheless, she had many observations concerning the new electoral law in Montenegro; the abduction during the war of 30 citizens of Montenegro, most of them Muslim, whose fate remains unknown to this day; the Sandžak issue and the infringement of the rights of Muslims in northern Montenegro; and the media, among other matters. Regarding the situation of Albanians’ rights in Montenegro, Ms Ren told the Voice of America radio station that she was certainly aware of this issue as well as the other problems concerning ethnic minorities, but that all minorities present in a region must be considered equally in terms of their legitimate human rights. During her stay in Montenegro, Ms Ren held a packed schedule of meetings with representatives of non-governmental associations for the protection of human rights and freedoms, with the Montenegrin Helsinki Committee, the Democratic Forum, and Montenegrin officials, including the President of Montenegro, Bullatovic, the Minister of Police, and the Minister of Justice.

Emigrant prisoners Today is the final day of court proceedings to convert the sentences of Albanian emigrants in Greece. Agim Hoxha, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, explains that by yesterday the conversion proceedings had been completed for 20 Albanian prisoners whose files were pending, and the five remaining proceedings will take place today. The conversion of sentences began at the Athens Court in January this year and will conclude today at the court of K..., where the last five proceedings will be held. The court proceedings began after the hunger strike organized by around 500 Albanian prisoners in the Greek prisons of Larisa and Athens. The hunger strike led to the 25 files that had arrived in Albania two months ago being reviewed through an expedited procedure. Likewise, the Albanian Ministry of Justice’s protest to the Greek Ministry of Justice over the delay in reviewing the files and converting the sentences compelled around seven courts in the country to hold proceedings. Following the conversion of the sentences by our courts, all legal obstacles preventing the repatriation of Albanian prisoners in Greece to Albanian prisons have finally been removed. The 25 converted files concerned 25 people convicted of theft of another person’s property, and those tried had been sentenced to up to seven years in prison. Albanian legislation for this type of crime provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, so all 25 defendants have gained up to two years. The Ministry of Justice confirms that within the coming week it will send all the files reviewed to Greece and is ready to extradite the prisoners. The two countries’ respective ministries are holding intensive talks on the transfer of the other files and their review. S.R.

Who is preventing the new identity cards from being put into circulation? For the fourth time, the Ministry of Justice confirms that it is ready to issue new identity cards to Albanian citizens. In the files of this ministry, the identity-card design and all the necessary documentation have been gathering dust for the third year. All the preparatory work was completed as early as mid-1994; it was approved and placed in a file in the relevant directorate. Specialists in this directorate say that the new identity card will follow the Croatian model. It will be highly functional and very practical to use, unlike the current identity card; it will have two pages and be brown. But for three years the Ministry of Justice has also submitted the estimate for the funds needed to carry out this project, and for three years the funding has not been allocated. At the Ministry of Justice, the now rather worn-out response seems to be: “We are ready. If funding is provided, the identity cards will be produced immediately.” One cannot help wondering about this. What matters is that around 700,000 Albanians use, instead of an identity card, a certificate based on the 1945 model. With poorly certified documents, it is difficult to identify citizens, extremely difficult to verify them, and extremely difficult to travel abroad; yet the relevant ministries find it more burdensome to deal with thousands of complications than to allocate a symbolic sum, less than one-tenth of what the Ministry of the Interior spent on new international passports. This delay has led to forged identity cards being put into circulation, which, according to specialists at this ministry, are sought after in Greece and Macedonia.

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