Albania
Country in SE Europe, bounded N by Yugoslavia, E by the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, S by Greece, and W and SW by the Adriatic Sea.
Government
Under the 1991 interim constitution, Albania has a single-chamber legislature,
140-member people's assembly. It is elected every four years, 100 of
its members by universal suffrage by means of a two- ballot, majority
vote system and 40 on a proportional representation basis. An executive
president, who is also commander in chief of the armed forces and who
is debarred from concurrently holding party office, is elected by the
people's assembly and may serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year
terms. A prime minister, appointed by the president, and a council of
ministers (cabinet), drawn from the majority grouping within the assembly,
have day-to-day charge of government. Private property, freedom of worship
and expression, and political pluralism are endorsed by the interim
constitution.
History
In the ancient world the area was occupied by the Illyrians, later
becoming a Roman province until the end of the 4th century AD. Albania
then came under Byzantine rule, which lasted until 1347. There followed
years of invasions by Bulgarians, Serbs, Venetians, and finally Turks,
who arrived in 1385 and, after the death of the nationalist leader Skanderbeg
(George Castriota) (1403-1468), eventually made Albania part of the
Ottoman Empire following the siege of Scutari in 1478. Independence
Albania became independent in 1912, after the First Balkan War, and
was proclaimed a republic in 1925. In 1928 President Ahmed Beg Zogu
was proclaimed King Zog. Overrun by Italy and Germany in 1939-44, Albania
became a republic with a communist government in 1946 after a guerrilla
struggle led by Enver Hoxha.
At first closely allied with Yugoslavia, Albania backed the Soviet
dictator Stalin in his 1948 dispute with the Yugoslav ruler Tito and
developed close links with the USSR in 1949-55, entering the trade organization
Comecon in 1949. Hoxha imposed a Stalinist system with rural collectivization,
industrial nationalization, central planning, and one-party control.
Mosques and churches were closed in an effort to create the `first atheist
state“. Hoxha remained a committed Stalinist and in 1961 broke off diplomatic
relations with the USSR and withdrew from Comecon. Choosing isolation
and neutrality, Albania also severed diplomatic relations with China
in 1978. The `Hoxha experiment“ left Albania with the lowest income
per head of population in Europe. After Hoxha's death in 1985, there
was a widening of external economic contacts and the number of countries
with which Albania had formal diplomatic relations increased from 74
in 1978 to 111 in 1988.
Opposition to the regime mounted during 1990. In early July unprecedented
antigovernment street demonstrations erupted in Tiranė. Faced with a
government crackdown, 5,000 demonstrators sought refuge in foreign embassies
and were subsequently allowed to leave the country. Later the same month
diplomatic relations with the USSR were restored and embassies re-established.
In Dec 1990, amid continuing protests in Tiranė and economic collapse,
the Communist Party (CP) leadership authorized opposition parties and
lifted the ban on religion. An opposition party was immediately formed
by the Tiranė intelligentsia: the Democratic Party (DP), led by Sali
Berisha. Elections to the People's Assembly due to be held Feb 1991
were postponed to give the new party time to organize, and in return
the opposition agreed to a temporary wage freeze and ban on strikes.
A huge bronze statue of Hoxha in Tiranė was toppled by demonstrators
Feb 1991, and there were riots in several other towns. Ramiz Alia, president
since 1985, replaced the unpopular premier Adil Ēarēani (1922-97) with
Fatos Nano, a reform economist. Alia also declared the imposition of
presidential rule and tanks were moved into the streets of Tiranė. Fears
of a right-wing coup prompted a flight of thousands of Albanians to
Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy. ` Nonpolitical“ refugees were sent back
to Albania.
Diplomatic relations with the USA and the UK, suspended since 1946,
were restored in March and May 1991 respectively. In Albania's first
free multiparty elections, held in March-April 1991, the ruling Party
of Labour of Albania (PLA) captured 169 of the 250 seats in the new
people's assembly, securing the necessary two-thirds majority to make
constitutional changes. PLA support came predominantly from rural areas.
In the major towns the DP polled strongly, convincingly defeating President
Alia in the first round in a Tiranė constituency. The frustration of
the opposition's supporters was vented in anticommunist rioting in Shkodėr,
with four persons being shot dead by police, including the local DP
leader. The report of a commission blamed the security forces for these
deaths and the Siqurimi (secret police) were replaced May 1991 by a
new national Security Council.
An interim constitution was adopted April 1991, with the country renamed
the Republic of Albania and the PLA's leading role abandoned. The People's
Assembly elected Ramiz Alia as both the new executive president of the
republic, replacing the presidium, and commander in chief of the armed
forces. In May 1991 Fatos Nano was reappointed prime minister, but resigned
in June. The economy deteriorated rapidly: agricultural, industrial
products, and exports were declining and unemployment stood at almost
40%. Nano was replaced by Ylli Bufi, heading a new, interim `government
of national stability“ with members from the opposition parties, including
Gramoz Pashko (DP leader) as deputy premier. In June 1991 the PLA renamed
itself the Socialist Party of Albania (PSS), with Fatos Nano elected
as its chair. A land-privatization bill was passed to restore land to
peasants dispossessed under communist rule in July, and from late summer
Albania began to receive emergency aid from the European Community.
Between Sept and Dec 1991 there were recurrent anticommunist demonstrations,
bread riots, and protest strikes, prompted by deteriorating living conditions,
and continued attempts by Albanians to leave the country.
The DP withdrew from the coalition government, claiming manipulation
by former communists, and on 6 Dec 1991 Prime Minister Bufi resigned.
President Alia appointed Vilson Ahmeti as Albania's first noncommunist
premier. The DP won 62% of the national vote in March 1992 elections
and the newly formed parliament elected Sali Berisha, founder and leader
of the DP, as the country's president and granted him increased executive
powers. Aleksandr Meksi succeeded Ahmeti as prime minister. In July
1992 a ban was imposed on all `fascist, antinational, chauvinistic,
racist, totalitarian, communist, Marxist-Leninist, Stalinist, or Enverist
“ (following Enver Hoxha) political organizations, and in Sept former
president Ramiz Alia was charged with abuse of power and misuse of state
funds. He was found guilty and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment
in 1994, but released in 1995 following an appeal court ruling. The
DP was renamed the Democratic Party of Albania (PDS) in 1993.
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