The Himara Community

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The Riviera Association

Chairman’s office

Prot. Nr. 26

Tirana, 26-November 2010

Subject: The final and sustainable solution for the land ownership in the Ionian Riviera

To: Honorable Mr…

On October 31st, 2010 it was organized the national meeting of the Riviera Association, supported and in collaboration with the associations “The Himara Community”, ” Borshi”, “Dukati”, “Indipendent Intellectuals” and “Tourism”.

The focus of the meeting was the analysis and the discussions of the land ownership issue for the Ionian Riviera based on the principle “The land belong to the rightful owners” and “restitution and not compensation is the only solution for the Ionian Riviera”.

We look forward for your support for our requests done on behalf of our community, a request based on Albanian Constitution and that guarantee the final sustainable solution for the land ownership issue that is a major constraint for the development of the Ionian Riviera in Albania.

Within this communication, we are including the Resolution of meeting.

For the Riviera Association

The Chairman, Niko NESTURI

RESOLUTION

The National Meeting of the Ionian Riviera Associations (“Bregdeti”, The Himara Community” , “Borshi”, “Dukati”, “Intelektualet e Pavarur”, “Turizmi” hold in Tirana on October 31, 2010, analyzed the current situation of land ownership in the Ionian Rivieraand approved the following resolution:

1. The members of the all the associations present in the meeting agreed that the respect of the property rights is one of the most important rights of a true democratic society to be respected by both state and its citizens,

2. The present chaotic situation of the ownership on the Riviera is the consequence of wrongly decisions made by and the non-implementation by the Government of Albania of the universal property rights as determined by the Albanian Constitution of 1998 and at the same time, keeping still functional the law 7501 and its respective by-laws, in violation of the Constitution,

3. This situation has put a serious constraint on the socio-economic development of the whole area that is based on agribusiness and tourism.

4. Our governments had had and still have the opportunity to restitute the land to their rightful owners and compensate in the other cases where the restitution is not an option

5. With this attitude, the different governments have discriminated the rightful owners and their heirsand have favored the land frauds on the Ionian Riviera.

6. We support and request from the local government in the Ionian Riviera to collaborate with us for the final and sustainable solution of this issue based on the principles “Restitution to the rightful owners” and “Restitution first and then compensation”.

7. The implementation of these two principle can be done successfully if following the procedures as below:

a. The rightful owners give to the Municipality or village the ownership titles available, confirmed by an elder commission established in every village

b. The Municipality check the information based on the immovable property documentation available and confirm those

c. These confirmed documents are presented to the Immovable Property registration system for the recording.

d. The Municipality calculates the areas available and plan for the compensation of the families that don’t have the sufficient area,

8. The community of Ionian Riviera kindly request to the OECD and the international community in Albania that the first registration of the properties in Albania to be based only on the ownership derived by the principles established in the article 6 of this resolution, which is based on the Albanian Constitution and that guarantees the final and sustainable solution for the ownership issue that is impeding the development of the Ionian Riviera for 18 consecutive years.

9. Our associations are determined to continue the right battle for the ownership cause by using all the democratic available means, and are determined to escalate our protests in case our requests are not being taken in consideration, requests that we consider to be legal and fully implementable for the benefit of the Riviera population.

The National Meeting of the Ionian Riviera Associations

The Chairman of “Riviera Association”

Niko NESTURI

Stema e Komunitetit Himariot

Shoqata jo-fitimprurese, jo-qeveritare "KOMUNITETI HIMARIOT" Themelimi i Shoqates "KOMUNITETI HIMARIOT" Date: 15.02.2002 Rruga “Myslym Shyri”, Pallati Bar "PINDOS", Tirane Tel.: +355 69 2192963 E-mail:stavrimarko@gmail.com Qellime dhe Objektiva * Qellim i Shoqates eshte te luftoje per ringjalljen e ndjenjave patriotike te kultures se lashte himariote ose quajtur ndryshe "rikthim ne identitetin patriotik". Ajo do te luftoje me mjete demokratike per te kerkuar te drejtat e trashegimise krahinore, fetare, gjuhesore, artistike. Shoqata mbeshtetur ne traditat e hershme te kultures himariote do te perpiqet te zhvilloje nje openence demokratike me institucionet shteterore per te mos lejuar shkaterrimin ekologjik te flores dhe faunes bregdetare e ujore. * Ne fushen ekonomike, Shoqata do te luftoje me te gjitha mjetet demokratike brenda kuadrit kushtetues qe e gjithe prona tu kthehet pronareve te ligjshem, dhe do te kerkoje ndryshimin e ketij ligji ne perputhje me kushtet specifike qe ka krahina e Himares. * Ne fushen kulturore Shoqata "Komuniteti Himariot" do te luftoje per gjallerimin e traditave kulturore te etnografise se krahines, mbeshtetur ne ligjin nr.7962, date 21.06.1995 "Per sistemin arsimor parauniversitar ne RSH-se", ne Kushtetuten e RSH-se, si dhe nga traditat gjuhesore te fshatrave te Himares, do te perpiqemi per hapjen e klasave prane shkollave publike ne gjuhen greke si pjese e edukimit arsimor ne keto shkolla, ne hapjen edhe te shkollave private ne kete gjuhe. * Ne fushen ekologjike, Shoqata do te luftoje per te kerkuar nga organet shteterore, ndalimin e ndertimeve pa leje, prej popullsise se ardhur jo himariote te cilat po shkaterrojne bukurite e krahines si dhe po behen pengese ne zhvillimin e turizmit ne kete zone. Ajo do te sensibilizoje opinionin per ndalimin e ketyre fenomeneve negative.

August 2011, Big Protest of Himara NGO in Drymades for property registration process

"The properties belong to our generations of Himara Region" Under the initiative of non-governmental organizations and especially the Coastal Association and the "Himara Community", today in Potam, in Drymades, the protest rally was organized for the owners of Himara Region "The Properties belonge to Himara legal generations." The meeting, which is held annually in Drymades (Dhermi), force was asked to respect the Constitution of Albania for the legal inheritance of property and non-law 7501, lecture held by the President of the Coastal Association Niko Nesturi and many other representatives. In protest were also invited representatives of the OSCE, Mayor George Goro, the company representatives, "Lorenzo & Compani" who perform registration, U.S. citizen originally from Himara and many immigrants who live and work in Europe especially in Greece. With unanimous voices by protesters, decided by a resolution to urge the Albanian Government and International Institutions, to observe the Constitution of Albania as a legitimate claim on the property total return to Himara legal inhabitantes and non-registration of property placed in service by the albanian Mafia.

Attention! Himara Region: The process of land registration, is to failure

"The Himara Community", states that the registration of lands in Region Himara based on Law 7501, should be boycotted. OSCE and "Lorenzo Company" is preparing to enter to the second phase in Himara Region, that of land registration, no end yet, the registration of houses and property, while the process is scheduled to begin in September 2011.Albanian Mafia, Italian and Russian, earnestly seeking the registration of land, based on 7501 law, with the help of the Albanian authorities. In the end of the year 2010, a series of non-governmental organizations of the Coastal regions, from Himara, Saranda and Lukova, also from USA and Greece, have sent a petition to OSCE, to respect the constitutional obligation of the process of registration of property in Ionian coast, on the basis of the documents to legitimate ownership, not including the Comunist Law 7501.