[ALBSA-Info] Albania

[Asti Pilika]

From: IZherka at aol.com
Date: Tue, 2 May 2000 13:29:35 EDT

The Economist
April 29th - May 5th, 2000


Albania



              ANYONE strolling through the centre of
Albania's
              capital, Tirana, would find it hard to
recall last year's
              fearful mood, when the city was thronged
with refugees
              from Kosovo. Today it is thronged with
shoppers
              clutching bulging string bags and with
mud-spattered
              motor-scooters laden with cartons of
bananas or sacks
              of rice.

              By last June, some 450,000 Kosovars
fleeing Serb
              attacks had sought shelter across the
border. Some
              lived in tented camps run by aid
organisations or were
              billeted on kind Albanian families.
Sports stadiums,
              disused factories and city parks all
became makeshift
              homes for refugees. It looked as if
Europe's poorest
              country, struggling to recover from the
anarchy caused
              by the collapse of some pyramid-finance
schemes in
              1997, would be overwhelmed by another
disaster. It
              did not happen. Against the odds,
Albania
              survived-and has even, in a small way,
begun to forge
              ahead.

              This has much relieved Albania's
pro-western, though
              largely ex-communist, government, led by
Ilir Meta. The
              country's biggest neighbours, Italy and
Greece, are
              pleased too. Together, they are host to
some 650,000
              Albanians, most of them illegal guests,
out of the 3.4m
              who were living in Albania a decade ago.
It helped that,
              once NATO's peacekeepers had started to
move into
              Kosovo, the ethnic-Albanian refugees
were quick to go
              back too. Hardly any now remain in
Albania, and only a
              handful of NATO troops are still in
Tirana.

              Far from damaging the fragile economy,
the refugees
              provided an unexpected boost. Aid, from
food to
              plastic sheets, was diverted and sold.
Hotels and people
              renting out rooms did a roaring trade as
aid workers
              and journalists poured in from abroad.
Truck and taxi
              drivers, shopkeepers and
warehouse-owners all did
              well out of the Kosovo war too. Last
year the economy
              grew, officially, by 8%; inflation is
said to be running 
at
              only 1% a year. If the black market were
included, the
              figure for growth would be a lot bigger.

              Western governments lavished praise on
the Albanians
              for their generosity towards their
Kosovar cousins.
              Now the Albanians are hoping for
rewards. At last
              month's donors' conference in Brussels
to discuss
              reviving the Balkans, they sought aid
worth $1 billion
              over the next three years to modernise
their main port at
              Durres, to build new electricity and
rail links to Kosovo
              and Macedonia, and to improve existing
roads.

              Mr Meta can point to other achievements
to bolster his
              country's aid-deserving credentials.
Since the Kosovo
              war, security has improved. More police
are back
              patrolling roads, lorries can travel
fairly safely at 
night,
at
              least along the main routes to Greece
and Macedonia.
              Though smuggling still flourishes, Mr
Meta produces
              charts to show that the customs service,
backed by an
              Italian-led EU customs team, is dealing
properly with
              shipments of petrol, cigarettes and
coffee. He has also
              promised to tackle corruption among
judges, many of
              whom are poorly trained and easy prey to
bribery.

              But Albania is still not out of its
mess. It has a bad
              reputation as a transit point for
smuggled drugs, often
              imported from Kosovo, and for
trafficking in illegal
              migrants. And Mr Meta, who took over as
prime
              minister from Pandeli Majko after a
noisy shake-up at
              last year's Socialist Party congress,
must still move
              cautiously.

              For one thing, he has to watch out for
Fatos Nano, an
              ex-prime minister and former chairman of
the
              (ex-communist) Socialists, who still
wields much
              influence. Mr Nano learned how Albania's
underworld
              works while in jail: he was convicted on
corruption
              charges brought by Sali Berisha,
Albania's first
              post-communist president, who still
leads the right-wing
              opposition Democratic Party. Mr Nano is
wary of
              taking on Albania's powerful gangsters.

              Still, Albania's new-found if precarious
stability has
              brought back Greek and Italian investors
who shut up
              shop after the pyramid schemes collapsed
three years
              ago. This summer, more tourists may
visit Albania's
              unspoilt southern coast, a short hop by
boat from the
              Greek island of Corfu. Though the
government is being
              slow to sell off state assets, it has
made a start. A
              Turkish bank has taken over one of the
two
              state-controlled banks. A copper-mining
concession has
              been bought by an American group.

              Mr Meta's first big test will be in the
local elections 
that
              are due by October. Most Albanian towns
are run by
              mayors loyal to Mr Berisha's Democratic
Party. They
              were elected four years ago in a poll
marred by violence
              and intimidation. Party politics is
still a ferocious 
affair.
              Mr Berisha threatens, periodically, to
boycott the
              elections. But if they pass off
reasonably smoothly,
              Albania may be able to make a start on
catching up with
              some of its Balkan neighbours.


--
ALBANIA 
2001...................................................................ALBANIA
2001
Suite 
#417.....................................................................Rruga
Asim Vokshi
160 Commonwealth 
Avenue........................................................Pallati
#141
Boston, MA 
02116...............................................................Tirana,
Albania
Telephone:  
781-843-1056.......................................................Telephone:
 355-42-40842
Telephone:  
617-262-6665.......................................................Telephone:
 355-42-39748
Fax:  
617-262-2340.............................................................Fax:
 355-42-39748
E-Mail:  
alb2001 at beld.net......................................................E-Mail:
 
alb2001 at icc.al.eu.org
Internet:  
www.erols.com/alb2001...............................................Internet:
 www.erols.com/alb2001

--


--
ALBANIA 
2001...................................................................ALBANIA
2001
Suite 
#417.....................................................................Rruga
Asim Vokshi
160 Commonwealth 
Avenue........................................................Pallati
#141
Boston, MA 
02116...............................................................Tirana,
Albania
Telephone:  
781-843-1056.......................................................Telephone:
 355-42-40842
Telephone:  
617-262-6665.......................................................Telephone:
 355-42-39748
Fax:  
617-262-2340.............................................................Fax:
 355-42-39748
E-Mail:  


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