Albania sacks chief of general staff

17/06/2008

TIRANA, Albania -- The chief of the general staff, Lieutenant General Luan Hoxha, was fired on Monday (June 16th) over the series of deadly ammunition blasts in Gerdec in mid-March. He refused to talk to the media about the Gerdec case Monday, but thanked the armed forces for their work, highlighted by Albania's invitation to join NATO in April.

Also Monday, parliament voted overwhelmingly to lift former Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu's immunity. He left his cabinet post soon after the Gerdec explosions, which killed 26 and injured more than 300. Mediu is accused of abuse of power. "As defence minister, I respected the law [and] considered disposing of excess ammunition a national priority," he said during the parliamentary session.

In other news Monday, parliament rejected four of five nominees to the High Court of Justice. President Bamir Topi had nominated all five. It marked the first time the ruling Democratic Party (DP) opposed the wishes of DP member Topi. The coalition had warned him it would be scrutinising presidential decrees on High Court nominees. (Shekulli - 17/06/08; VOA, BBC Albanian, Top Channel, Reuters, BalkanWeb - 16/06/08)