President Berisha expressed his condolences to the families of the victims who drowned at sea “To all the parents, sisters, brothers, spouses and relatives of the Albanian citizens who lost their lives in yesterday’s tragedy in international waters in the Adriatic Sea, I extend my most sincere condolences, together with those of the entire Albanian people.” “To all the parents, sisters, brothers, spouses and relatives of the Albanian citizens who lost their lives in yesterday’s tragedy in international waters in the Adriatic Sea, I extend my most sincere condolences, together with those of the entire Albanian people. This horrific event has brought grief and mourning today throughout Albania and into every Albanian heart and home. We share your profound sorrow, and I pray and hope that your loved ones may rest forever in peace and tranquility. This terrible calamity, the struggle and efforts against death, the hardships endured by your loved ones, and your pain and tears for those who are no longer with you are a piercing call to the conscience of each of us: to end the conflict in which everyone is losing, because yesterday and every day we are all losing; to restore trust in one another and in Albania, so that we do not again experience tragedies we do not deserve. I also call on the Italian authorities to investigate, through an independent inquiry, the causes, circumstances and responsibility for this avoidable tragedy in international waters, and to take every measure to prevent such events from happening again. Tirana, 29 March 1997. Its [???] is indispensable, and this tragedy in international waters could have been avoided. But in no way does it constitute an obstacle to the multinational mission under Italian command, nor to [???] friendship and cooperation between our two peoples and our two friendly countries.”

Press statement by President Berisha - The Otranto tragedy does not shake our friendship and cooperation with Italy - The threats issued by committees of bandits made up of left-wing extremists, mafiosi and traffickers, who have organized the looting of 11 banks, murders and robberies in the southern districts, plunging them into chaos and anarchy, in no way represent the views of the populations of those districts, nor of Albanians as a whole The Otranto maritime tragedy and the arrival of military units from friendly countries under Italian command are unrelated. Albanians as a whole. They express only these gangs’ desire to reign over the chaos and terror they have sown, and their decision, these days, to openly declare their alliance with them in order to exploit this miserable situation for nefarious political purposes. I am not saying that a military mission is without risk, but I am certain that the risk of this mission is not high and that it will be entirely successful. Albanians are convinced that the forces of friendly nations are coming to Albania to prevent the situation from deteriorating further because of shortages of food and medicine. This force will guarantee their safe distribution and will thus contribute to restoring stability in the country. As for the avoidable tragedy…

Statements by the Chairman of the PDSH, Tritan Shehu On behalf of the Democratic Party, I continue to strongly condemn the agreement signed by the Socialist Party and the so-called Committees in Vlora on 28 March 1997, considering it an unconstitutional act and an action that undermines the National Reconciliation agreement, an agreement that unquestionably paves the way for a Government of National Reconciliation and offers hope for reducing tensions and stabilizing the situation. On the other hand, in accordance with the Democratic Party’s statement of 29 March 1997, we will make our decisions while respecting the relevant structures of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, I ask the Ministers and State Secretaries of the Democratic Party to continue their work as normal as members of the Government until the Democratic Party reaches a final decision. We do not consider it a political incident On this occasion, I wish once again to reaffirm our position: we continue to unreservedly support the decision to have a multinational force in Albania under Italian command. Once again expressing my deep sorrow over the tragic event that occurred in the Strait of Otranto on 28 March 1997, and again calling for the causes of this disaster to be fully clarified, I declare that the Democratic Party does not consider this a political incident, nor does it consider it connected with relations between our two countries, governments or parliaments. We express our confidence in and understanding of the steps being taken by the Italian Government and authorities to clarify the causes of this disaster. a multinational force in Albania under Italian command. I am convinced that the presence of this force will be an important factor not only in helping Albania through this difficult moment, but will unquestionably also serve as a bridge for strengthening our country’s relations with friendly countries, the European Community and the international community.

President Berisha received yesterday the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Mr Aleksandër Filo Secretary General Filo conveyed to President Berisha the greetings of Prime Minister Simitis and Foreign Minister Pangallos, and confirmed Greece’s determination to help its friendly country, Albania, emerge from the crisis. While meeting with the rebel gangs, President Berisha stressed that these represented irresponsible positions that had plunged the cities into chaos and anarchy, as well as those of the people behind them. These statements in no way represent the views of the population of [text incomplete]. President Berisha expressed his gratitude and thanks for the assistance provided by the Simitis Government and its commitment to help overcome the difficulties Albania is experiencing. He stressed that the mission of the multinational force to distribute humanitarian aid is a direct contribution to preventing the situation from worsening because of shortages of food and medicine. Regarding certain statements by the rebel gangs, President Berisha stressed that these represent the irresponsible positions of those who have plunged those cities into chaos and anarchy and of those [???] standing of the populations of these districts or of Albanians as a whole, who welcome the mission of these forces. Mr Filo, emphasizing the friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries, once again expressed Greece’s full commitment to assisting Albania with humanitarian, financial and all other kinds of aid in every field.

Page 3 The prosecutor of the Brindisi court, Gaetano Buonfrate, approved the detention of Namik Xhaferri, 45, from Vlora, commander of the Albanian patrol boat that sank in the Strait of Otranto last Friday.

Gjirokastër: Prime Minister Fino’s meeting with local officials Restoring order is an urgent issue Fino announced that he would visit Greece, where he would hold meetings with senior Greek state officials. The presence of Socialist MPs in Parliament will be discussed at a meeting of the Socialist Party leadership. Page 3

“The Italian Government wants to shed light on every aspect of [this tragedy], because nothing should be left unexplained and there must be no speculation of any kind” Page 4 From the remarks by Dini and Andreatas before the Senate committees Italy has decided to take the lead in establishing a multinational force Regarding Friday’s incident, Dini recalled that the Albanian Government had ruled out any connection with Italian politics and noted that it would not have happened had “incompetent” persons not seized the military vessel. In a reference to the rebels of Vlora, he expressed surprise that “so few voices had been raised in connection with” this “adventure”.

ANKARA, April 1 /AFP/ - Turkey will send 500 troops to Albania as part of the multinational force to be deployed in the country, Turkish Prime Minister Nexhmetin Erbakan announced Tuesday. “We will send 500 troops to Albania very soon,” Erbakan said on the NTV television channel. “We will thus contribute to restoring peace and calm in the country,” he added. He gave no details about the composition of the Turkish contingent. Turkey had announced that it was “ready” to contribute to an international effort aimed at restoring peace in Albania.

Page 3 - The OSCE’s special envoy for Albania, Franc Vranitçki, wants to present the complete package to help the Tirana Government immediately after the Easter holidays -