PRESS CONFERENCE ON ALBANIA

30 April 1997

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON ALBANIA

19970430 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

The multinational protection force created as part of "Operation Alba" to help restore order in Albania was proceeding in the best possible light since its recent deployment, the Permanent Representative of Italy, Francesco Paolo Fulci, told correspondents Tuesday afternoon at a Headquarters press conference. The conference was held by Albania and countries of the "Coalition of the Willing", which have contributed to the force.

The force was authorized by Security Council resolution 1101 (1997) of 28 March, which welcomed the offer by some Member States to create a limited multinational protection force to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Albania. Also participating in today's conference were the Permanent Representative of Albania, Pellumb Kulla, and the Permanent Representative of Romania, Ion Gorita, as well as representatives of Austria, France, Greece and Spain.

Unlike the situation in Bosnia or Zaire, "Operation Alba" was not meant as a force of interposition in an ongoing conflict, Mr. Fulci said. Rather, it was meant to provide a security framework for rapid international action on the humanitarian, political and economic aspects of the Albanian crisis.

The force had now reached a strength of 5,460, or 90 per cent of its authorized 6,000 men, Mr. Fulci said. The soldiers were from Italy (2,755), France (923), Spain (345) Greece (630), Turkey (691) and Austria (116). Another 400 soldiers were expected in the next few days from Romania, as well as 60 from Denmark.

Mr. Fulci said the operation aimed at containing and reversing the deteriorating situation, which had brought the country to the verge of anarchy; stabilizing the country and promoting greater democracy; fostering regional stability; and preventing a spill-over into neighbouring countries. Since a deterioration of the situation would hurt Greece and Italy in terms of migration, refugees, crime and illegal traffic, Italy had to pay close attention to events in Albania.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had assigned global coordination of humanitarian assistance to the Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, Mr. Fulci said. Field coordination would be handled by Mr. Vranitzky's deputy, Herbert Grubmayr. Denmark would also play an important role.

He went on to say that overall coordination was provided by the Steering Committee of the multinational force, chaired by Italy, with France as Vice-Chairman. The Committee consists of the political directors of the

troop-contributing States, assisted by the military experts. Representatives of the United Nations, the European Union, the Western European Union and the OSCE also attend as observers. The Committee stays in touch with Albania's Government, reviewing the situation regularly and preparing the fortnightly reports requested by the Security Council.

The Steering Committee this morning submitted its second such report to the Council, summarizing the first week of operations in Albania, Mr. Fulci said. The Council had responded positively. The Council was also briefed by the Acting Director of the Complex Emergency Division of the Humanitarian Affairs, Felix Downes-Thomas, who reported a decrease in tension and incidents in Albania and the reopening of schools and public buildings since the deployment of the force.

Nevertheless, the humanitarian emergency situation was expected to last until the forthcoming July harvest, Mr. Downes-Thomas had told the Council. He said the Department for Humanitarian Affairs had begun fruitful coordination with the force for distributing humanitarian assistance to all segments of Albanian society. Council members had welcomed the report's quality and the transparency it guaranteed for the entire operation. The report had concluded that "the operation is proceeding in the best possible way".

The Permanent Representative of Albania, Pellumb Kulla, said the presence of the force had greatly improved the situation in his country. As a result, the Government had lifted some elements of the emergency regime it had imposed. For example, curfews had been limited to a few hours, the media had been granted freedom to operate, and all schools would be reopened by the end of the month. Dialogue among the political parties was continuing, with signs that they might agree on how to organize common efforts to draft a constitution and hold free elections.

"The presence of the multinational force has positively affected the everyday life of the population and also has inspired our police and army to be reorganized", Mr. Kulla said. The delivery of humanitarian assistance was proceeding very well, without attacks by armed gangs. There has been peace in Albania since the multinational force entered the country." "We cannot agree with those who express the opinion that the force is useless since they don't see fighting and blood." He added that those who had looted army barracks and violated the agreement of 9 March, which set the conditions for new elections, should be condemned.

The Permanent Representative of Romania, Ion Gorita, described the operation of the force as a good example of concepts that gave birth to the "Coalition of the Willing". It was also a positive example of cooperation between the United Nations and a regional organization, the OSCE.

Albania Briefing - 3 - 30 April 1997

Asked to comment on the possible consequences of some violence in Albania since the deployment of the force, Mr. Fulci said there had been two incidents involving the Italian contingent. In the first, an armed gang had attacked a textile factory owned by an Italian businessman from whom they had tried to extort 100,000 lira -- about $60,000. At his request, the businessman and his wife had been placed under the protection of the local police. However, the gang had attacked the factory and killed the Albanian brother-in-law of the businessman, who himself had been evacuated to Italy with his wife.

Since the multinational force was a military structure on foreign territory, it could not perform police functions under the terms of a Council mandate that unequivocally excluded such work, Mr. Fulci said. The Italian contingent had therefore saved the businessman's life, helped him escape to Italy, and asked the police to intervene, which they did. The criminals had carried out their acts after the departure of the police force from the location.

In a second incident, which happened yesterday, the intervention of an Italian convoy had saved an Albanian bus from an armed gang on the road between Durres and Tirana, Mr. Fulci said. The contingent had been able to do so because the protection of free passage of convoys on that route fell within its mandate.

Asked whether he would ask the Council to modify the force's mandate in order to cope with such incidents, Mr. Fulci said such a request had not been made and expressed doubt as to whether it would be accepted. "I think the Security Council is being extremely careful in setting the rules of engagement to avoid the type of situation as the one in Somalia." Disarmament was the responsibility of the local police, who could be assisted in that task.

Would the multinational force be deployed on Albania's borders with The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo? a correspondent asked. "Certainly not", Mr. Fulci said. The force would be based in some ports and in Tirana, and only to help in the delivery of humanitarian assistance up to next July's harvest. The operation was expected to end when Albania was restored to normalcy following next June's elections.

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