Albania on shaky ground

By Maye Ostowani

An Albanian woman waves flowers in a gesture of peace after the murder on 20 September of Azem Hajdari, a leading figure in Albania's Democratic Party, plunged the country into a state of crisis Photo: AFP

Nano, who had been leading Albania's Socialist Party for 14 months, quit after failing to form a new cabinet. "I am handing in my resignation because I am not receiving any credible signal of solidarity either from parts of the Socialist Party or from the coalition partners," he said. The Party's secretary-general, Pandeli Majko, was nominated on Tuesday to take Nano's place.

Nano's shaky government was voted to power in June 1997 following the failure of pyramid investment schemes. Largely blamed on the regime of former President Berisha, the schemes' failure left many Albanians penniless and threw the country into a state of political and economic chaos.

Albania's latest spate of political instability began after Berisha accused Nano of being behind the murder of DPA deputy leader Azem Hajdari on 12 September. According to Haki Shtalbi, Albanian ambassador to Egypt, Berisha and his DPA supporters turned Hajdari's funeral on 14 September into a violent attack on "legitimate" Albanian institutions. "It was a clear coup d'état against the government organised by ... Berisha," Shtalbi told Al-Ahram Weekly. "They [DPA supporters] succeeded in taking over parliament, the Council of Ministers, the Constitutional Court and the Albanian TV and radio building. They were armed and they used force."

Observers fear that the recent eruption of violence could aggravate the perilous situation in the Balkans. "An unstable Albania is detrimental to overall regional stability," Ambassador Daan Everts, head of the Tirana chapter of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), told the Weekly. Most importantly, he added, "it will complicate and delay the resolution of the Kosovo crisis."

The crisis in the Kosovo province of the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where 90 per cent of the population are ethnic Albanians, has intensified in recent months. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 200,000 Albanian refugees have fled their homes since February, when Serb forces began a crackdown on what the government calls the "terrorist activities" of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) which is fighting for Kosovo's independence. But despite the international community's efforts, including sanctions against Serbia and renewed NATO military threats, a cease-fire has not yet appeared on the horizon.

"We understand Europe's great concern," said Shtalbi. "They must try to help Albania resolve its internal problems so that it doesn't impact on the region." He added that internal problems in Albania would give Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic an opportunity to stall the resolution of the Kosovo crisis.

A European "troika" mission, headed by the chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe, Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, had visited Tirana last week. "The mission was very successful," said OSCE's Everts. "First it sent a strong message to the opposition, which was admonished for behaving in undemocratic ways, and urged it to refrain from violence," he said. "Next it sent the Albanian government a strongly worded message saying that it had been slow and unsatisfactory in the fight against crime and corruption, and the reorganisation of the judiciary and the police."

Political divisions within the government, widespread arms possession and smuggling, theft and looting, and the growth of political crimes aimed at destabilising the country had made Nano's job even harder. "The government has a mixed record," said Everts. "According to the IMF and World Bank, it has done quite well in macro-economic and monetary policies." However, he said, "the government has to address more vigorously areas of main concern to the Albanian people and establish better public order and respect for the rule of law."

According to Everts, "international support, both in terms of policy advice and material assistance in the public and private sectors" is essential to keep Albania's -- and whatever government will replace Nano's -- head above water. He also said he doubts that further violence will erupt. "In general, people seem to be sick and tired of politicians who continue to squabble among themselves and seem to be mainly out to regain power," he said.

But the threat of further trouble from Kosovo remains. With winter around the corner, there are growing fears that about 50,000 Albanians living in the open after their villages were burnt down during the onslaught by Serb forces will suffer severely, while some will die. "The violence in Kosovo has to be resolutely ended, and the aspirations of the Kosovo people recognised," said Everts.