Albanian ambassador to the OSCE, Roland Bimo, votes unconditionally in favor of Yugoslavia Nano: We are in the year 2000 and cannot proceed with Enver Hoxha’s exclusionary logic pages 2, 3

. It was passing unnoticed, but it could not escape notice. Everyone learned that Albania—the country insistently demanding that Serbia release Kosovo prisoners, explain the fate of the missing, and pay compensation to Albania—voted without any of these conditions for this State to become a member of the OSCE. After voting, the Albanian representative made the aforementioned demands, but as of yesterday there was still no response from the Serbian side. After this, two opposing positions emerged in Albanian politics. The first, that of the government and its defenders, who declare that the affirmative vote was a vote to avoid making Albania look like a black sheep and to compel Serbia, as an OSCE member, to uphold the organization’s principles by meeting Albania’s conditions. The opposition group maintains that Albania’s vote in favor should have been cast only after the conditions had been met, because once Serbia is admitted to the OSCE, there can no longer be any binding leverage. Albania had the right to veto Serbia’s entry into the OSCE, which means that if it had voted against, the country that brought about the wars would have remained outside. It seems that the government group has found no support from Serbia for its reasoning. Today, one week after Koštunica brought his country into the OSCE, he has taken no positive step toward meeting any of Albania’s “conditions.” They can no longer be called conditions, but only obstacles, because a “condition” implies a counter-response that Albania no longer has the power to make. The Albanian Parliament is considering using the imposition of conditions for restoring diplomatic relations with Serbia, but it is clear that for Koštunica, establishing relations with Albania is the last thing on his mind. Under these circumstances, there is very little to discuss with the new Serbian leaders, who achieve everything they want without any effort. Kosovo remained the only unrepresented entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina; had it been able to vote in the OSCE, it would of course have opposed Serbia’s admission without the release of the hostages and without the fulfillment of other human-rights criteria.

of the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters On Sunday, from 20⁰⁰ to 21³⁰, all radio and television broadcasters will interrupt transmissions in protest The National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (SH- amendments to it and the decisions of the KKRT. Therefore

On Sunday, from 20³⁰ (SH-KRT), which to date comprises 42 private radio and television operators, noting recent developments in the licensing of local and national operators, declares that Law No. 8410, dated 30.09.1998, as well as the criteria applied in implementing this law, lead to the monopolization of private electronic media and close off avenues for developing a wholly independent and professional media that should broadcast information for everyone, free from the influence of political power. In addition, this law, together with the excessively high fees set by the KKRT, is suffocating the activities of private radio and television operators throughout Albania. SHKRT will protest by all public and legal means against Law No. 8410, dated 30.09.1998, its amendments, and the decisions of the KKRT. We therefore call on the Parliamentary Commission for Public Information Media to begin a debate on changing the law in force, and on the KKRT to change the fees it has approved, since radio and television media are still in their infancy and need investment in order to deliver timely information to viewers and listeners. The first step in the protest by the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters is for the association’s members throughout the country to suspend all radio and television broadcasts for one hour on Sunday, 19.11.2000, from 20³⁰ to 21³⁰. National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters Tirana, 15.11.2000

Logo to be used by radio and television broadcasters for the protest, 19.11.2000, 20³⁰–21³⁰