STATEMENT BY THE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE OF THE PR BRANCH IN KORÇË The Korçë branch of the Republican Party, as an opposition party in alliance with the Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, fighting to overthrow the communist system in Albania once and for all, fought and worked as an opposition ally for the establishment of democracy in our country. After the elections of 22 March, in which the opposition parties became a key force for the establishment of democracy and the development of economic reform, the Republican Party branch in Korçë has worked for a constructive economic alliance and for the establishment of a pluralist state. Until the law on local government reform was passed, representatives of the PR branch in Korçë were active members of the district’s Pluralist Executive Committee, with two committee members and two section heads. During their work, the pluralist executive committee provided no information regarding the duties assigned by the Committee to our representatives. Immediately after the law was passed, in the Committee for the reform of government, PR members, as well as two section heads, were removed from this institution, not because of their work but simply on the basis of electoral percentages. If the persons representing PR in the Committee were not diligent, the branch should have been informed in order to replace them. That did not happen. We believe the reasons are simply to avoid having representatives of our Party in the reformed Committee, thereby violating one of the fundamental norms of democracy. In this way, this governing institution was turned into nothing more than a one-party PD institution. To justify this, PD took only two representatives from the Korçë branch of the PSD. Such an action, by eliminating in this way the allied parties of PD in this broad democratic development, seems to us unfounded and outside democratic norms. For this reason: We withdraw from the District’s Pluralist Executive Committee the PR representative as committee member PAPAND0, thereby enabling PD to govern by force in our district as well. We issue this statement to clarify the people of the Korçë district, who must understand correctly that we will continue to fight in the future as well to solve their vital problems.

8 JUNE, THE 1st CONGRESS OF THE PR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS FOR A CRIMINAL LEGISLATION BUILT ON DEEPLY DEMOCRATIC AND HUMANE PRINCIPLES, ON SOCIAL JUSTICE, LEGALITY, AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CRIMINAL ACT.

Our country still does not have a constitution A few days ago we saw on television that the president of the constitutional court and members of that court took the oath before the President. In the oath taken by the president of that court, among other things, it says: “we shall defend the constitution of the Republic of Albania.” Likewise, the President of the Republic, among other things, wished them “to defend the Constitution of the Republic of Albania...”. I do not understand which Constitution the gentlemen of the constitutional court and the President are referring to? Up to now, on this issue, neither the People’s Assembly elected on 31 March 1991 nor the one elected on 22 March 1992 has yet approved a constitution. It is a known fact that the People’s Assembly elected on 31 March 1991, with Law No. 7491 of 29 April 1991, “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” approved the 1976 civil constitution. Later, the People’s Assembly elected on 22 March 1992, which continues to exercise its functions as the highest legislative body and the highest organ of state power, has made several additions to this law during this period. In point 2 of Article 16 of the law “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” a point dealing with the duties of the People’s Assembly, it says: “It approves and amends the constitution, and makes the final decision on the incompatibility of laws with the constitution.” If that is the case, then where is this constitution? The one with which the laws issued by the People’s Assembly must be in conformity. The law “On the Main Constitutional Provisions” and the additions made to it have neither played nor can play the role of a constitution, which is the fundamental law of a state, where the basic principles of all branches of law are enshrined. More simply, a constitution sets out the fundamental principles on which civil law, labor law, criminal law, administrative law, and all branches of law must rely, independently of ordinary legislation. It is an undisputed legal principle that every law approved by the People’s Assembly must be enacted on the basis of, and for the implementation of, the constitution. If any law conflicts with a constitutional provision, that law is called a no-law (zero) in legal language, meaning it is not applied. Thus the civil code, criminal code, labor code, family code and other laws must absolutely be based on the provisions of the constitution. Does the law “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” approved in 1991, meet this basic criterion of legislation in Albania? We think not; this law in no way meets this basic legal criterion of our state’s legislation. The absence of a constitution, that is, of a fundamental law, has, I think, forced the People’s Assembly to make mistakes in the constitutional basis of the laws it has approved. Let us take some of the laws approved by the People’s Assembly in 1991 (see Official Gazette No. 8 and No. 9). The law “On Trade Unions in the Republic of Albania,” the law “On Political Parties,” and “On Amendments to Decree No. 7393-

What do foreign businessmen want, and what should we do?! It is a fact that the Government has devoted a great deal of attention and effort to securing foreign aid and loans. But is that enough? With these funds, with the technology we have and with the lack of specialized culture, we cannot reach where we want to go. It is precisely in this situation that the Government is showing determination in the direction of the privatization process and in creating facilitating conditions for foreign capital. To achieve results in this area, one must know well the interests of foreign businessmen, their demands, so that the most favorable conditions can be created for them. Recently in Italy, I had the opportunity to meet powerful industrialists, major investors, owners of tourist areas on land and along the coast, wholesale traders and various producers, managers of service and transport companies, and even representatives of the European Community. But what, they said, did they ask for? Guarantees for their investments For this they want the establishment of republic, order and peace. They want clear and serious laws that do not change every time the government changes. The laws must equally protect both our investments and foreign ones. The sale of land For this they cite Hungary as an example, which by allowing sales has made important progress, or Tunisia, which gave land free of charge to Italian capital, which invested in that country and brought it great economic development. Finally, they speak of Italy itself, where after the Second World War, Americans bought a great deal of land, built, produced, made profits, and later left after selling what they had bought to the local people. What did Italy gain from this? Only development, progress, and welfare. Land must be sold, but on the basis of certain criteria. Businessmen who want to build a factory would not buy 20 hectares regardless of the project, while someone who seeks land for production may buy a larger area, but no more than 500 to 1000 hectares. The sale price of land should truly reflect supply and demand, as well as the intended use of the land. Creating facilitating conditions Foreigners do not have time to waste. Those who receive them must be prepared with all the data and help determine the profitability of the investment. But especially the bodies that will approve the investment must be efficient and quick, so that this process is completed as soon as possible. Tax matters should be considered for ar-

U.S. Under Secretary of State Eagleburger in Albania Yesterday, U.S. Under Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger arrived on an official visit at the head of a delegation that includes the Deputy Secretary of State for the matter, Kan Rouson, the special adviser to the Under Secretary of State for aid to Eastern Europe, Robert Berry, adviser to the U.S. Information Agency M. Russell, Assistant Administrator for Europe Dr. Karol Edelman, and assistant adviser to the aid-coordination agencies for Eastern and Central Europe. At Rinas Airport, the American delegation was received by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfreq Serqi, Minister of Finance and Economy Genc Ruli, and other personalities. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USA to the Republic of Albania, William Ryerson, was also present.

From the conferences of PR branches in the districts On 25.5.1992, the PR branch conference was held in Shijak. The proceedings were taken up. A report was presented on the branch’s activity during one year, and in particular the election campaign period was analyzed. People discussed, expressed their thoughts frankly about the election results and about the future of the PR, the role it should play in the situation that has been created. There was a long discussion and theses were put forward regarding the Shijak branch; what role it should have played in the outcome of the campaign; the organization should have been better. The discussion emphasized the role the PR has played in these days we are going through and the work that must be done to prepare for the local government elections. It was also discussed how the city committee alliance should function properly and how the right people should be placed in leadership, which were among the reasons for the decline of the PR. The issue of cleansing the ranks and the role of the Republican Party as one of the three parties that the country is moving toward republican remaking was also raised. The conference also heard concerns about PR members not taking part in the local council. At the end, the elections for the Steering Committee were held, with Mr. Kazmi Bala as chairman. The council, by secret ballot, elected the Steering Committee with Mr. Haki Bal-le as chairman and Mr. Qemal Preka as secretary. Tamara Laurasli took part in this conference on behalf of the PR Steering Committee. On 26 May, the first conference of the Republican Party branch in the Fier district was held. The conference was received with great interest regarding the role and place of Republican Party members in hierarchy, but also by its many sympathizers. The conference was chaired by the guest of the Italian Republican Party, Mr. Cino Paulico, and the delegate of the Republican Party steering committee, Mr. Aleksandër Guzi. The conference was opened by one of the organizers of the creation of the PR branch in the Fier district, the martyr Azim Çuci. The chairman of the PR branch, Fatmir Media, delivered the report on the work done by the Republican Party in the Fier district. The conference analyzed the weak work carried out by the sections of the Republican Party in towns and villages, where these shortcomings lay. In the ranks of the Republican Party, it was said at the conference, there are intellectual and working people, honest and respected, but they did not come out during the election campaign to campaign for their victory as a separate part from the Democratic Party; they did not know how to govern due to certain parallelisms, because the Republican Party was merged with the Democratic Party, since they were led by the idea that we are one bloc, and therefore we would campaign until finally being disregarded by not giving a coalition. This will be a lesson, it was said at the conference, for the local elections that will be held in the towns and villages. Hakiu, according to the list, failed to detach all propaganda from the electorate in order to recruit better propagandists who would also reach the city, and even those who came did not meet the requirements for the outreach of the Fier district. At the conference, the steering committee of the Republican Party was also criticized, it being said that the members of the steering committee have not been activated in the districts for election propaganda and throughout this time, so in order to have a strong and broader Republican Party in the future, the Steering Committee of the Republican Party should engage with new members. After the report, questions and discussions followed. Mr. Gino Paulicco also spoke, who first greeted the conference and then said: The future belongs to the Republican Party, do not be discouraged because you will not enter these ranks nor will you win anything. There must be work and concrete work, and you will win. The hall resounded with applause, greeting the member of the Italian Republican Party. Transl. Zun and his discussion: The result of the 7 khaljellive came so that experience thrives in the Republican Party, but there is a lack of-

Why are the Socialists’ bells ringing The pasha of the dictatorship in Delvinë - A few words about the head of the PS in Delvinë, etc. In the analysis carried out by the PS leadership of the city of Delvinë after 22 March, it was noted, among other things, that one of the causes of the poor result was also the cleansing of the PS ranks from the corrupt people of the PPSH. The truth of this conclusion was that it was also made and accepted as a real cause by the chairman of the PS in Delvinë, comrade Gafur Brabimi. I do not know whether I would ever have wanted to repeat or recall the consequences of this man who served the dictatorship with such devotion, but I am forced to do so because of the new mask of the democrat this man is trying to put on, which as a phenomenon constitutes a new real danger to democracy, which is still fragile. With a half-finished secondary and higher education (five years in total) and extremely minimal results, he was appointed school principal as early as the seventies; he understood very well the law of making a career in the dictatorship system. After becoming a communist and a school member, and later being accepted into the party in the same careerist way, he was summoned from Laureati to give his guidance to the cultured city of Delvinë. He became principal of the Delvinë agricultural secondary school, one of the country’s best-known agricultural schools, which comrade Gafur turned into one of the most politicized schools in the republic because of his inability to manage it as principal in the area. Declared as a state security officer, he exercised open diktat over anyone who opposed him even slightly or challenged his ways. Under these circumstances, many former cadres of the school he headed were forced to teach his programmatic subjects, such as the occasional song lesson by the teacher, the fisherman Panajot J. Marto. Meanwhile, the school he headed became a center of recruitment and politicization, inventing and fabricating unheard-of and unapproved new political subjects, such as the subject “The Wednesday of Enver,” which was held every Wednesday and was the first with a regular logbook by all teachers. At the moment when the dictatorship seemed to be weakening, he struggled to raise his voice and proclaim his own merits to the government. JORGAQ SIROULI (Continues on page 9)