-We must not take part in the “soup” cooked up by lawbreakers; we must not become accomplices in crime page 2

By Martin Leka page 3

40 ministers from across the Arab world, Albania and Bosnia are taking part From the Islamic Conference in Morocco Muslims must fight against European attempts to ban women’s headscarves and veils, the Iranian minister said at the close of the proceedings of the conference of ministers of Islamic affairs being held in Rabat, Morocco. “We must not regard the banning of veils in schools as something trivial,” he added. Because this demonstrates the West’s tendency to undermine Islamic virtues. Mustafa Mirsalim, Iran’s minister for Islamic Affairs, said that discussions in France and elsewhere in other countries about banning [text unclear in source] brought together around one table 40 ministers from across the Arab world, Africa, Asia and Europe, including delegates from Albania and Bosnia. As I was informed, the Albanian delegate at the Conference was Bardhyl Fico, Secretary for the Muslim faith in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Klaus Kinkel must intervene in the Council of Europe Volker Beck, spokesperson for the association of homosexuals in Germany, states: Members of the first Albanian organization of homosexuals and lesbians have been arrested and tortured by the police. This was reported by the secretariat of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in San Francisco. The German association of homosexuals is calling on German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel to protest forcefully against these human rights violations and to insist, during the talks on Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe, on respect for the human rights of lesbians and gay people. Homosexual relations between adults, entered into with the consent of both parties, are punishable in Albania by 3–10 years’ imprisonment. In this way, Albanian legislation conflicts with the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights. According to information from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, on 14 October three members were arrested and severely beaten. The police want to know the name of the association’s chairperson. One of those arrested is in hospital with a broken leg and has lost consciousness, while the other, seriously injured, was allowed to go home. The young man continues to be held by the police. Deutsche Welle

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