FEATURE-Land rights tricky issue as Albania poll nearsWed Jun 24, 2009 8:04pm EDT
* Land titling core problem as Albania heads for elections
* Politics paralysed by sense illegal building exceeds legal
* International officials point also to corruption
By Adam Tanner
KSAMIL, Albania, June 25 (Reuters) -- Fatmir Murati liked the patch of public land across the street from his apartment so much, he built a house there. Speckled with lemon and orange trees, the terrain is a political battleground.
The fact thousands like him have no clarity about who owns what land is a legacy of the longest-lasting Stalinist regime in Europe. It's also a major campaign topic as Albania, an emerging democracy that aspires to join the European Union, heads to the polls at the end of this month.
Both Sali Berisha, the country's dominant political figure since Communism's fall in 1991, and Socialist challenger Edi Rama say land titling is a priority as Albania seeks foreign investment.
Both Sali Berisha, the country's dominant political figure since Communism's fall in 1991, and Socialist challenger Edi Rama say land titling is a priority as Albania seeks foreign investment.
The country in April became NATO's 28th member, after a tumultuous 1990s including a crime wave, marred elections and a dip into anarchy. Many Albanians lost their savings in pyramid schemes and up to 3,000 were killed in the ensuing violence............
............Suela Pogace, general manager of the Hotel Adriatik in Durres, an Adriatic town near Tirana, describes her thoughts when looking across the wild melange of construction along the coast.
"I want every building to be down, there to be an earthquake," she said in the cafe of her hotel, the first in Durres from 1962. "It's the only way for this to be solved."
"I want every building to be down, there to be an earthquake," she said in the cafe of her hotel, the first in Durres from 1962. "It's the only way for this to be solved."
No comments:
Post a Comment