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Tirana, November 16, 2005
Press Statement
The Albanian Helsinki Committee finds
that, in spite of measures that have been taken, the electricity
crisis that has engulfed the country, remains serious, very
disturbing and posing grave tangible consequences to the detriment
of the legitimate interests of citizens and the economy as a whole.
People are not clear as to how long
this situation will continue and what its solution will be in the
future.
In this public reaction, the AHC relies
not only on press reports, but also on on-site observations. We also
find that statements of recent days about a reduction of electricity
outages by up to 40 percent are not concretized in practice, neither
in Tirana, or, worse, in other cities and urban areas.
This is the reason why the AHC deems it
appropriate to call upon the government and in particular on senior
officials of the Energy Corporation (KESH) to be more transparent
toward citizens in their statements or publications of electricity
outages, in spite of objective difficulties.
In meetings with citizens of different
society groups, students, lecturers, health sector employees,
businessmen, etc., the AHC has reached the conclusion that these
groups are very little interested in who is responsible for this
situation. They want electricity, they seek the improvement of the
situation, and those responsible, whoever they are, be held
accountable legally.
The AHC, while appreciating efforts
being made to lessen the crisis, suggests more effective measures to
overcome it as soon as possible.
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