The Ministry will prepare a special bill Restrictive measures are envisaged HEALTH / The Ministry will prepare a special bill Control over abortion Restrictive measures are envisaged TIRANA — Albania is preparing to take restrictive measures against abortion. The controversies that have erupted in many countries around the world over this increasingly widespread phenomenon, now on the eve of the International Conference on Population in Cairo — which will also be attended by a six-member Albanian delegation headed by Health Minister Çikuli — seem not to be entirely foreign to Albania either. A working group is expected to begin preparing a special bill on abortion soon, setting out all the measures to be taken to prevent it. “The policy of the Albanian Government,” Fjdor Kallajxhi, director of the Family Planning Directorate at the Ministry of Health, explained to Gazeta Shqiptare, “is not to encourage abortions.” The new bill is also intended to support this policy and address the shortcomings of the Government decision made some years ago, which once again made abortion freely available. The current aim is to allow it only for women who are up to 12 weeks pregnant. Before the medical procedure, prior counselling by specialist sociologists and psychologists will be made compulsory. This counselling will serve to inform pregnant women about the negative effects of the medical procedure, while also explaining ways of avoiding such a situation. “So, we will create the medical conditions and provide social and psychological assistance,” Kallajxhi clarified, “and we will draft this bill because, given the current mindset, we think there is a basis for taking on this work.” In fact, the surge in abortions in Albania immediately after they were legalized by a Government decision has now begun to decline, although the figures for their prevalence remain worrying in many districts of the country. In Tirana alone, around 30 abortions are performed in a single day, a figure almost equal to the number of births. Across the country, around 30,000 abortions are recorded each year. Nevertheless, according to specialists, the decrease compared with previous years is also attributable to the family-planning policy that has been in place for two years. According to Kallajxhi, the number of women using contraceptives has increased. Last year alone, 5 percent of women aged 15 to 49, or 30,000 women, regularly used these preventive methods. “Family planning cannot accept abortion as one of its methods,” Kallajxhi added. “We support preventive methods through contraception and raising the level of sex education.” Religion has now also become involved in the abortion issue, and its views are expected to be sought in drafting the bill. Recently, Frano Ilia, representative of the Albanian Catholic Episcopate, called on all religious communities in the country, the Government and Parliament to fight the phenomenon of abortion. Armand Mero Armand Mero “Family planning cannot accept abortion as its method,” Kalajxhi adds. “We are in favor of preventive methods through contracep… It is destined to be condemned by them—as in many other countries—and even forcibly.”

For the 5 «Omonia» figures For the first time in the Albanian justice system, the Prosecution presents recordings of statements by witnesses who do not appear in the courtroom For the 5 «Omonia» figures Witnesses on screen: videos shown during the trial For the first time in the Albanian justice system, the Prosecution presents recordings of statements by witnesses who do not appear in the courtroom TIRANA — For the first time in a court case in Albania, television videos are being used. The Tirana Prosecutor’s Office has chosen the trial of the five “Omonia” figures to “establish” a completely new and original way in the Albanian justice system to support the charges it has brought. There are five videotapes containing statements made during the investigation by witnesses who are no longer in Albania. This happened at the end of Tuesday’s hearing, when witness Kosta Shanaj — in a fax sent from his current residence in Cyprus — claimed that his earlier testimony to investigators had not been true. Thus, the request by the defendants and their lawyers to confront witness Shanaj was resolved by the prosecution, which showed, in one of the Tirana Court’s rooms, recordings of the very statements by Shanaj that he is now denying. In addition to the official news media in Albania — this right was mistakenly denied to the non-government press — the recordings were also watched by the five defendants and their defence lawyers. Along with the television videos, at Tuesday’s hearing the prosecution began presenting physical evidence that the judges may need for their final decision. (p.re)

GJIROKASTER — The Greek “sweep” has spared neither Albanian prostitutes. On Monday, 46 of them were transported by Greek police to the Kakavija border crossing in a special bus, separate from the large group of other deportees. Frightened and despairing over their misfortune — some were still wearing their “work clothes” — they said they had not been mistreated by the Greek police. “Unlike the others, they kept us in the police corridors,” one of them told Gazeta Shqiptare, “they even gave us cigarettes.” The deportation of the Albanian women has prompted a reaction from the Greek owners of the establishments where they had been employed; one of them managed to snatch one of the women away from the police escorts. The others, those who were not so fortunate, were forced to make the journey back. ra.ko.

German specialists arrive TIRANA — Bureaucratic procedures for the removal of German pesticides from Albania are nearing completion. On Monday, another delegation from Germany’s Ministry of the Environment arrived in Tirana to discuss with the Albanian side the final details of the operation to remove the toxic waste. The operation will involve representatives from both sides and is due to begin at the start of September. According to plans made during talks in July with the previous delegation, it will be completed in the first week of November this year. To cover the costs of removing the pesticides — which arrived in Albania in March 1991 and are concentrated mainly in Bajzë and Mishtë, with smaller quantities distributed in other districts — the German side has offered 100,000 marks. From these areas, the toxic waste will be collected and packed — under the direct supervision of German specialists — in hermetically sealed containers at the Port of Durrës, where it will be loaded onto a special ship. The Albanian side will provide army vehicles — large trucks with trailers — to transport it to the port. At the same time, specialized units of the army’s chemical corps will work with the Germans to repackage damaged barrels and canisters. Thus, the three-year odyssey of pesticides in Albania, often accompanied by anxiety and alarm about the danger they pose, is nearing its conclusion. A.m.

TWO SENIOR OFFICIALS ARRIVE IN TIRANA AS PART OF THE REVIEW OF ALBANIA’S APPLICATION TO JOIN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE — As planned, the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Daskalov — who chairs the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe — and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Daniel Tarschys, arrived in Tirana. The two-day visit is Council of Europe, after which they will also continue to Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. Meetings have been planned for the senior European officials with President Berisha and other senior Albanian figures. THE ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE CONDEMNS THE DEGRADING CONDUCT OF THE GREEK AUTHORITIES — “The country’s public is following with deep concern and indignation the scenes of mistreatment of Albanian refugees at the border crossings.” The Albanian Helsinki Committee has also intervened to condemn the Greek authorities’ retaliation against Albanian refugees. In its statement, the Committee’s protest against the Greek authorities’ conduct refers to some of the worst practices known from the darkest times of the Cold War. TODAY IN TIRANA, THE THIRD GROUP OF THE PEACE CORPS WILL TAKE THE OATH — There are 27 new volunteers who have just completed an intensive course to prepare them in the Albanian language and environment. Today they will take the oath and begin their two-year activities helping Albanian entrepreneurs who want to start a new business.

Tragedy in Vlora VLORE — A tragic fate befell a 25-year-old young man, K.N., from the city of Vlora. He was dragged for several metres, mercilessly, by a calf, with his legs caught in a rope. The dragging later led to his death in hospital. The young man, from the “11 Janari” neighbourhood, went home around midday on Monday to untie his calf. By mistake, as he freed the animal, the rope became entangled around his legs. The calf, delighted to have regained its freedom, began to run, dragging the young man along for several metres. The animal’s fatal run caused fractures to the lower parts of the young man’s legs. People who happened to be nearby helped him and he was taken to hospital immediately. But the doctors’ efforts could not prevent the worst. The 25-year-old died after a blood clot blocked his lungs.

Elbasan, tourists attacked ELBASAN — A new “customs tax” for tourists coming from Macedonia has been reported in recent days along the national road leading to the beach at Durrës. But this time the initiative was taken by some fake customs officers who, right at the entrance to Elbasan, forced a car to stop, demanding “a few marks” in exchange for letting it pass. An intervention by a law-enforcement officer saved the tourists from the new “customs tax.” Further along, the foreign travellers asked to be escorted to Durrës because, they said, the robbers had warned them about another “roadblock” at the exit from the city. This incident — although not very widespread — had also occurred a few days earlier, when robbers at the entrance to the capital had stolen the car of a Macedonian Albanian couple. (Me.Ki)

SARANDË — The problem of drinking water for the city of Sarandë is becoming increasingly worrying. — The problem of drinking water for the city of Sarandë is becoming increasingly worrying. For two weeks now, the residents of the “Kodër” neighborhood, the city’s most populous area, have not seen even a single drop of water flow from their taps. Previously, residents were used to filling up with water at 22:00. Now, still hoping, they wait for that hour, and when they see that the water still will not come, they set off, carrying their reusable buckets, for neighboring neighborhoods where the situation is somewhat better.

REALITY, ITALIC TIRANA — An SOS sent over the airwaves has proved far more powerful than bureaucracy. It—and the rare human solidarity it has set in motion—has made it seem quite easy for people to help someone in need. The appeal sent out by an Albanian radio amateur has mobilized Italian volunteers of Albanian origin, who have shown that their assistance knows no bounds. The family, in a serious state of health, will be transported to Italy and treated there at no cost to them, and perhaps because… The especially [unclear] Hermal Radaku was in a serious, weakened condition, against which the doctors… (the visible part of the text is unclear) …seemed powerless. His father, a modest civil servant, did not have the means to cover the considerable expenses required in this case. Fortunately, the appeal from the Albanian radio amateur was picked up by an Italian colleague, who immediately mobilized activists from the International Centre of Federations of Volunteer Services in Florence. Finally, after several attempts, a hospital in Pes-kara agreed to receive little Hermal. Everything was also arranged very quickly and without fuss. A case that bureaucracy, with its familiar “reluctance”, would have found very difficult to handle. fa.bax

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