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Albania Failure to Protect Anti-Minority Violence in Kosovo, March 2004 This 66-page report documents the widespread attacks against Serbs, Roma, Ashkali (Albanian-speaking Roma) and other minorities that took place in Kosovo on March 17-18. Human Rights Watch details the near-complete collapse during the crisis of Kosovo’s security institutions—the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), international civilian police from the U.N. Interim Administration Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK), and the locally-recruited Kosovo Police Service (KPS). Based on numerous interviews with minority victims and security officials, the report provides a detailed—and previously unavailable—account of what happened in dozens of communities during the riots. HRW Index No.: D1606 July 26, 2004 Download PDF, 325 KB, 68 pgs Purchase online The Cost of Speech: Violations of Media Freedom in Albania The media remains far from free in Albania, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Despite progress since the early 1990s, Human Rights Watch said journalists still risk harassment, physical assaults, and charges of criminal defamation, particularly when they report critically about the activities of public officials.The sixty-page report, "The Cost of Speech: Violations of Media Freedoms in Albania," documents incidents of violence and intimidation of the press, as well as due process and free speech violations in six defamation trials. Human Rights Watch also reports that Albanian government officials misuse state advertising to put financial pressure on media outlets and interfere with their editorial freedom. This report is based on Human Rights Watch interviews with dozens of journalists and media professionals, and analysis of scores of court documents, during a three-week investigation in Albania. HRW Index No.: D1405 June 13, 2002 Download PDF Purchase online Albania: Child Soldier Global Report 2001 From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers In March 1997 a violent anti-government uprising erupted, mainly in the southern part of the country. Opposition supporters were seemingly unorganised and much of the violence appeared to be of criminal rather than political nature. The public order situation improved during 1998. The armed forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) had a number of bases in northern Albania and were alleged to have received training there, although the Albanian government denied actively supporting them. During 2000 the 450,000 Kosovar refugees who had sought refuge in Albania at the height of the Albanian crisis returned to Kosovo. June 12, 2001 Albania: Landmine Monitor Report Key developments since March 1999: Albania ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 29 February 2000. Albania inventoried its stockpiled mines and in May 2000 reported having 1,607,420 mines stored in 120 depots in the country. It estimates it will take up to two years to complete destruction at a cost of approximately 0,000. It has destroyed 8,400 mines. On 8 October 1999 the Albanian Mines Action Committee (AMAC) was founded to coordinate mine action in the country. In June 2000, RONCO began demining operations in two priority areas defined by AMAC. In northern Albania the ICRC and CARE are carrying out mine awareness programs. As a result of the Kosovo crisis, in northern Albania AMAE had recorded eighty-five mine/UXO incidents, resulting in eighteen dead and 118 injured, by early July 2000. August 1, 2000 Democracy Derailed Violations in the May 26, 1996 Albanian Elections On May 26, 1996, Albanians voted in parliamentary elections—the third multi-party elections since the fall of the communist government in 1991. Unfortunately, numerous human rights violations before, during and after the vote undermined the democratic process and threatened the legitimacy of the elections. Physical attacks, ballot stuffing and voter list manipulation violated the right of the Albanian people to elect their government in a free and fair manner. Extreme cases of police violence after the elections created a tense atmosphere nationwide. HRW Index No.: D810 June 1, 1996 Human Rights in Post-Communist Albania For decades Albania was eastern Europe's most closed and repressive state. During his 40-year reign, former communist leader Enver Hoxha banned religion, forbade travel and outlawed private property. Any resistance to his rule was met with brutal retribution, including internal exile, long-term imprisonment or execution. In light of this past, Albania has made substantial progress toward respect for civil and political rights. Still, five years has not been enough to wipe away the legacy of the Hoxha era. The complete absence under communism of independent courts, a free media and human rights mechanisms poses a serious challenge to Albanian democracy today. More seriously, the one-party mentality is still deeply ingrained in many of the country's new leaders: critics of the ruling Democratic Party are often regarded as critics of “democracy.” As a result, Albanian citizens are still plagued by serious human rights violations, such as restrictions on freedom of expression and association, manipulation of the legal system and violence by the police. HRW Index No.: 1606 March 1, 1996 The Greek Minority There has been a marked deterioration in relations between Albania and Greece since 1993. At the center of the dispute is the treatment of the Greek minority living in Albania and this report documents their situation. Despite these external pressures, relations between the local Greek and Albanian communities in Albania have, on the whole, been peaceful, but as with the general level of democracy in Albania, many serious problems remain. Greek minority organizations experienced some restrictions on freedom of assembly, religion and expression, and the Albanian police and secret service improperly charged, detained, and interrogated some Greeks in southern Albania. HRW Index No.: D704 February 1, 1995 Albania In advance of Albania’s first contested elections under Communist rule on March 31, we took part in a fact-finding mission from March 7 to March 12 as part of the first team of independent human rights investigators to have officially visited the country. The delegation, sponsored by the Vienna-based International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, met with senior government officials, including President Ramiz Alia; toured several prison and labor camps; conducted confidential interviews with current and former prisoners convicted of both political and common crimes; spoke extensively with members of opposition political parties and other newly founded independent organizations; and investigated several recent killings by Albanian security forces. HRW Index No.: D306 April 1, 1991
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