[ALBSA-Info] Death toll lowered to 2

[Kreshnik Bejko]

Death toll in Albania shootings lowered to two

TIRANA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Albanian police on Wednesday revised down the 
death toll in a shooting incident in the north of the country to two from 
five, while Western diplomats appealed for calm after a spate of political 
violence. Tension has risen in the volatile Balkan nation since local 
elections in October which the opposition Democrats of former President Sali 
Berisha claim were rigged by the Socialist-led government. International 
monitors said the elections were generally fair despite some irregularities. 
Daily opposition rallies in Tirana since then have grown increasingly 
violent, with protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs at government 
buildings. In the most serious incident so far, two people were killed in 
the northern district of Tropoje on Tuesday in a shootout when Democratic 
supporters attacked a police station and other government institutions, 
police said, revising down the first reports of five dead. The lawless 
mountain region of Tropoje borders the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. Berisha 
was briefly detained by police in Tirana during the night but later 
released. He said the police had provoked Tuesday"s shootings. Western 
diplomats appealed for calm. "All political forces in Albania must convince 
their supporters that armed struggle does not solve any problems, only 
aggravates them," Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer said 
in a statement. "DANGEROUS DEVELOPMENT" Describing Tuesday"s violence in the 
north as "a sad and dangerous development" that gave cause for concern, he 
added: "At the same time, the authorities should ensure full respect for the 
rule of law. Renewed violence does not bring Albania forward but risks 
delaying the further development of democracy and the rule of law in the 
country." Albania has experienced periodic upsurges of political violence 
since the collapse of communism in 1991. The country descended into outright 
anarchy in 1997 after the collapse of fraudulent investment schemes 
triggered nationwide violence. Order was restored after the intervention of 
an Italian-led international force. The situation has been mainly calm for 
the last two years and diplomats said Socialist Prime Minister Ilir Meta, 
who enjoys Western support, appeared firmly in control. The brief detention 
of Berisha suggested the prime minister, who has not so far used police 
against Democratic supporters in Tirana, wanted to show he was prepared to 
get tough, diplomats said. The 31-year-old prime minister on Wednesday 
defended the police, saying: "Berisha should understand the time has come 
for police to suffer no longer the consequences of the irresponsibility of 
the policy of crime." Albanian President Rexhep Meidani, who rarely 
intervenes in party politics, said the "opposition could not keep society 
hostage to its wishes" and appealed for national unity.


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