Key role for socialist agreed in proposed unity government

THE socialist politician, Bashkim Fino (32), is emerging as Albania's new leader in the Government of National Unity after tense negotiations, in the course of which rebels in the south have consolidated their territorial gains.

The southern rebel leadership met in Gjirokaster yesterday and called for the resignation of the President, Mr Sali Berisha, an end to the new coalition government and a presence at negotiations in Tirana. A statement to this effect was read by Gen Agim Gozhita and supported by two opposition politicians who had travelled from Tirana, Mr Lrbem lmami and Mr Ratvan Peshkopia.

Witnesses reported that a mob had raided a weapons depot in the north-eastern town of Bagram Curri, some 20 km from the border with Kosovo, a volatile Serbian province with an overwhelming ethnically Albanian population. But it is thought this incident may be unconnected with unrest in the south.

Also the capture of the Kucove airbase by armed insurgents late on Monday has left about one-fifth of the country's outdated warplanes in rebel hands. The authoritative London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies says the Albanian air force has 98 combat aircraft.

The air force has not played a major role so far in the crisis but the capture of a large number of warplanes, alongside the tanks and guns already seized by the rebels, is an embarrassment for the government.

In the southern port of Vlore, birthplace of the revolt, a journalist said rival gangs had killed a bystander and wounded three others in a gunfight, taking the death toll in the uprising to more than 40.

Mr Fino will now have 24 hours to form a cabinet and the key question of the appointment of a minister of the interior still remains open. It is understood that two politicians, one from the government side and one from the opposition, may now hold the ministry jointly.

A former mayor of the southern, town of Gjirokaster, Mr Fino is an economist and although an opponent of Mr Berisha, has been described as a "flexible politician" capable of doing business with those whose views he does not share. It has been proposed, however, that a "secretary general of the premiership" be appointed from the Democratic Party, who would have to approve all Mr Fino's actions.

The political negotiations became complicated and difficult, it is understood, not because of a tough stance on Mr Berisha's part but because his ruling Democratic Party has fallen into almost total disarray.

A number of sources close to the negotiators have told The Irish Times that while Mr Berisha's resignation is by no means imminent, it should not be completely ruled out.

Mr Vangjel Dule, a member of the minority Greek community, attended the talks as a deputy from the small Human Rights Union Party. He said Mr Berisha was no longer the authoritarian figure he had been in the past.

Mr Dule said he faced considerable opposition from within his own party, especially from deputies who seemed certain to lose their seats at the election in June. The long delay in implementing Mr Berisha's peace proposals has allowed rebels in the southern cities and towns to consolidate their positions.

An uprising took place in the small town of Bagram Curri in the north-east of the country, completely disconnected geographically from all other centres of unrest. The motivation for this, the first uprising in the north, was unclear and may have nothing to do with the political situation.

Vlore is reported to have come under the control of "armed criminal elements" and the agreement signed on the Italian warship, San Giorgio, on Monday for the laying down of arms is apparently not being observed.

Yesterday the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr Iannos Kranidiotis, announced that a proposed loan from Greece to Albania would depend on Mr Berisha's introduction of reforms safeguarding human rights.