More than 150 Albanian minors in the hands of criminals. Page 7

BY GAVROSH LEVONJA It seems that the draft law on the National Security Intelligence Agency, the last one approved by Parliament before it left for its summer recess, will also suffer the fate of most other draft laws, which have been unable to become law without experiencing the bitter taste of being returned for reconsideration by the President. Such a conclusion is suggested by the numerous negative reactions to various defects in “the law in question,” coming from many different quarters. Dissatisfaction with the shortcomings in this law came not only from the opposition, including the “constructive” or “appointed” opposition, as Berisha calls it, but also from various human-rights institutions, the OSCE representative in Albania, and specialists in this field. The prospect of this draft law being returned to Parliament for discussion seems even more credible given that this has been foreshadowed by the Speaker of Parliament himself, Gjinushi, although only after he had signed the draft law approved in Durrës, where it had been sent to him. Nevertheless, whether or not the Law on the AISK is returned to Parliament, the storm of criticism directed at it from various quarters leads to the conclusion that its drafters may have designed it with a greater inclination to give people working secretly the greatest possible convenience in their work. As for the MPs who gave the green light to its approval, perhaps they did not want to tire themselves out looking for its shortcomings, leaving that to others, even though this reflects ignorance or irresponsibility. The parliamentarians’ haste to approve it may have been driven by impatience to head for the beaches, or even by fear of retaliation by Islamic fundamentalists in connection with the explosions in Kenya and Tanzania. Leaving these matters aside, there is something else that is troubling. Despite the many criticisms directed at this law, representatives of the government, which submitted the draft law to Parliament, continue to praise it in superlative terms instead of taking these criticisms into consideration so that the necessary corrections can be made. They keep saying that “it is an excellent law,” that “the model of this or that country has been copied,” and things of that kind. Such positions show that a good number of Albanian politicians are unable to understand that laws are not made only for today and tomorrow, but for much longer periods. Nor can the influence of the fact that the country is still without a constitution, on which all laws are based, be ruled out.

. Page 5 Serbian soldiers and helicopters near the border with Albania. Photo REUTERS

After Parliament’s approval, the President’s signature is awaited Fino: The law is very good. Gjinushi: Meidani should send it back to Parliament once again After Parliament’s approval, the President’s signature is awaited The row over SHIK begins Fino: The law is very good. Gjinushi: Meidani should send it back to Parliament once again Gjinushi and Fino found themselves at odds yesterday over the SHIK law. The Speaker of Parliament says that, following the law’s lightning-fast approval, the President should send it back for reformulation. This concerns Article 13, which states that legal entities and individuals are obliged to provide information to SHIK employees on matters related to national security. P. 3

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