Ownership Row Continues on Club Med Project
Business, Top News, Tourism Saturday, December 20th, 2008
Tirana, Dec. 20, 2008 (AENews) – “Documents issued by Ottoman Empire have not legal value in Albania”. This was the argument of a court in Tirana, who rejected ownership claims from villagers in Nivica, Albanian south coast.
Villagers are engaged in a long legal battle against Albanian government and the French corporation of vacation resorts Club Med over the ownership of Kakome bay. Club Med reached a land lease contract with Albanian Government back in 2005 to build a 38 million euro resort in the pictoreque bay.
The project faced strong protest from local villagers and was unable to begin the constraction work. A government institution, The Agency for the Restitution and Compensation of Properties seized by the communist regime, ruled early this year that Kakome bay was public property.
Villagers appealed the verdict in court. They claim to be owners based in several documents. One of the documents date back in 1876, and is issued by the Ottoman Empire officials.
“Ottoman Empire was illegaly in Albanian territory and therefore, its documents have not legal value”, the court decision states. This is the first time that a court rule on validity of the pre-independence documents.
The land under discussion was used as community pastoral farm from villagers of Nivica. They were expropriated by communist regime on 1967.
Short URL: http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/?p=1305
Posted by 