Republican draft law “On the return of property in agricultural lands” is rejected On Monday, the proceedings of the 6th session of Parliament began. Pjetër Arbnori, in his capacity as Speaker of the Assembly, announced the schedule of matters to be considered during Parliament’s two-month session. At item 19 on this schedule, “fortunately” (after a delay of almost 10 months), was also the Republican Party’s draft law “On the return of property in agricultural lands,” submitted to Parliament by PR deputy Mr. Mehmet Celiku back in November 1993. The good fortune lasted until the end of the Speaker’s announcement, when he added that (submitted by deputy Celiku) (and decided) that the draft law submitted by Republican Party deputy Celiku would not be included in the schedule of matters to be considered in Parliament (!!!) On this occasion, Mr. Arbnori also offered several “arguments” for the refusal, among which, according to him, it was worth mentioning that “a had been discussed by this Parliament “some time ago.” This refers to the draft law submitted to Parliament by the “Property with Justice” Association, which Parliament did not approve (with 8 votes against). “There is no need for us to consider this draft law again,” Mr. Pjetër Arbnori said calmly, adding that the Constitutional Court had also recently given the “Property with Justice” Association an answer on this issue. After several other deputies, Mr. Mehmet Celiku, a PR deputy, also took the floor. After wishing the session success and expressing his satisfaction that the submitted by him on behalf of the PR had been mentioned, he asked the Speaker to clarify the matter. Deputy Celiku challenged the “arguments” put forward by Pjetër Arbnori, emphasizing that, first of all, he did not consider it reasonable for the Presidium of Parliament to confuse or identify the “Property with Justice” Association with the Republican Party, or the draft laws they had submitted to Parliament. “I have respect for the Association, and it deserves respect,” Mr. Celiku said; “indeed, we supported the draft law it submitted. But it is quite another matter, and wholly unjustifiable, for the Speaker and the Presidium of Parliament to equate the Association with the Republican Party. The submitted draft laws are different things,” he said, suggesting that the Presidium “read and study” the PR draft law first, distinguish it from the Association’s draft law, and then submit it to Parliament. Otherwise, the Republican deputy said, this was at the very least a violation of Parliament’s rules of procedure. Continuing the exchange, Pjetër Arbnori acknowledged that the PR and the “Property with Justice” Association were two different things, but “a draft law has been submitted to Parliament (.)”. At the end of his response, Republican deputy Celiku said that he “did not expect the communists to approve such a draft law.” “I do not expect the PS or even the PSD to approve such a draft law,” Mr. Celiku told “Republika,” “but what is surprising is that the PD is not showing tolerance on this fundamental, cardinal issue. It is not being reasonable about this problem. It is to its own detriment that it arbitrarily, not even on formalistic grounds, refuses to submit this draft law for consideration. Its approval, even in principle, would create the basis for unity within the PD, as well as for what we have so far called the coalition between the PD and the PR.” “REPUBLIKA”

The epidemiological situation is relatively good, according to the Ministry of Health spokesperson, but the cholera vibrio, due to the excessive use of “tetracycline,” has developed immunity to this antibiotic. Across the country, measures to combat cholera are continuing. Sanitary measures are being taken, such as increasing the amount of chlorine in water supplies, inspections and fines, and even the closure of establishments, kiosks and bars. Unfortunately, however, despite all the measures, another death from cholera was recorded the day before yesterday in Berat. The victim was a 6-year-old child who had been brought to hospital in a coma. There have also been cases in which infected people, because they were uninformed, refused treatment in hospital, making police intervention necessary to compel them. In Berat, there have also been cases in which police were forced to block food products originating in areas known to be epidemic hotspots. The cholera epidemic is being localized and the rate of new infections is steadily declining, although sporadic cases in infected areas make continued vigilance necessary.

The European Commission granted Albania aid of 200,000 ECU to help it combat the epidemic. The aid will be used to supply, through the Regional Centre for Intervention for Cooperation (CRIC), an ECHO partner, 1 million doses of antibiotics and 20,000 liters of injectable solutions. This aid will be delivered to hospitals in the regions concerned through cooperation between CRIC and the Albanian health authorities. With this latest contribution, ECHO has so far provided Albania with 675,000 ECU in humanitarian aid.

The verdict of the Court of Appeal will be pronounced on Saturday, September 24, for Ramiz Alia and 9 other defendants accused of abuse of office. On Monday and Tuesday, hearings were held at the Court of Appeal for the defendants Ramiz Alia, S. Stefani, A. Cela, R. Marko, H. Isai, R. Mino, Z. Ramiz, A. Carcani, M. Myftiu and V. Haderi. R. Alia was sentenced to 9 years’ imprisonment by the court of first instance. All the accused asked the court panel to find them not guilty. The prosecutor, N. Gjoka, after presenting his arguments contesting the claims made by the appellants’ defense lawyers, requested two years less imprisonment for the defendants Marko and Cela, and one year less for the defendant Mino.

The Greek newspaper “Epoxi,” under the headline “No! to the deportations of Albanians,” writes: The entry of Albanians, their stay and their work in Greece continue to be illegal, and in an unprecedented exploitation, people who are utterly exhausted are terrorized so that they are forced and made to submit, people turned into merchandise, loaded into vehicles like merchandise and deported. Deportations targeting the poor and foreigners, whatever the laws may be, are racism. On what moral grounds do we demand respect for the rights of the Greek minority in Albania, when, for us, who want to be a democratic state, Albanians living in our country are people without rights? Selective respect for human rights does not exist.”

Nearly a thousand people demonstrated in Athens on Tuesday against the mass deportations of undocumented Albanians, undertaken by Greece from the very beginning of its crisis with Tirana. To chants of “No to deportations,” “No to racism,” and “Greeks have been emigrants too,” the demonstrators marched through central Athens before dispersing peacefully. The demonstration was organized by several Greeks, SOS Racism, the Coalition of the Left (SYN), and other left-wing organizations. The Minister of Public Order, Stilios Papathemelis, announced on Tuesday that 70,000 undocumented Albanians had been turned back at the border since the beginning of August. Athens undertook these deportations in response to the trial in Tirana of five leaders of the Greek minority, which has provoked a crisis between the two countries. In a petition published last week, 16 intellectuals condemned these deportations as “an exercise in genuine racism.”

From the second conference of the PR branch in the Tropojë district

From the second conference of the PR branch in the Tropojë district Delegates elected from the eight sub-branches of the PR branch in this district, having come from all parts of Tropojë, held their second conference in the town of Bajram Curri. In addition to the delegates and guests from political parties and associations active in this district, the conference was attended by representatives of the central PR Steering Committee, Arben Braçe and the organizing officer, Kosta Simondi. The conference was declared open by Brahim Alia, political secretary of the branch’s steering committee. Then the committee’s chairman, Arif Oruçi, presented a report on the PR branch’s work over the past year in the Tropojë district and its tasks for the future. An analysis of the work of this branch from the first conference to the second highlighted the qualitative growth evident in every aspect of its efforts and political activity. Recognizing the political and economic conditions prevailing today, the Republicans of the Tropojë district expanded their activities to spread PRSH’s democratic ideas widely throughout their area of operation. The assessments conducted in all 68 sections and eight sub-branches of this branch show a marked increase not only in membership but, more importantly, in their political activity and that of each Republican. Familiarity with PRSH’s program and its draft law on land among an ever-greater number of people has led to the Republican alternative becoming increasingly popular and to people rallying around it.

Yesterday, the immunity of People’s Assembly deputy Mr. Arben Lika was revoked, reportedly at the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office, in a letter sent to Parliament. According to the prosecutors, the request was based on deputy Lika’s unlawful financial dealings. The PD parliamentary group had first held a meeting at which it deemed the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office reasonable.

Latvian courts will begin proceedings this week against several members of parliament accused of having collaborated with the KGB during the Soviet era, prosecution sources said. Last April the Latvian parliament dismissed five senior political figures, including two cabinet ministers from Tirana; on Tuesday afternoon, demonstrators were on the deserted streets because of the relentless rain. “Bosniaks against Bosniaks. Tomorrow I’ll show you the family tree of a Bosniak infected with cholera. This one has never written about American imperialism. Cholera does not originate in Greece,” she shouted. “It is not true that the joint statements of the Socialist Party and PASOK were signed by the Serbian Socialist Party. The Serbian Socialist Party did not even come up with the idea. The idea belongs to Albania’s Socialist Party. Nobody knows where cholera comes from. Whoever finds its origin will be declared an intellectual of cholera’s intellectuals. MPs vacationing in Greece are hereby notified to return, because the parliamentary session is about to begin. There will be no sanitary cordons for Albanian MPs arriving from Greece. PDH has begun to be published by the newspaper ‘Kombi.’ They call out to the writers of ‘Janullatos,’ those who kiss the hand of ‘Omnia shqiptare,’ ‘Shqipërisë,’ ‘Hondet e tjera,’ along with Hyjdelaj, who think about the Nation. A mouse that has become like a? newspaper. Make it Romanian! In summer? His wife more beautiful? A place? [partly illegible]. Four others have denied the accusations, and their fate will be decided by the court.

Milošević’s embargo against the Serbs in Bosnia was not imposed in exchange for lifting the embargo against Serbia and Montenegro. It was imposed in exchange for keeping the Bosniaks under embargo. It seems that the Serbian trick of supposedly imposing a blockade on the Bosnian Serbs will go over well with the Europeans, who have gained legitimacy to arm the Bosniaks. But is blocking the arming of the Serbs an answer to the Bosniaks’ request to be armed? The Serbs have the advantage in weaponry, and a further blockade on their arms will change nothing in Bosnia. When the Bosnian Serbs rejected the peace plan, it seemed that the international community had nowhere to turn and could no longer delay lifting the arms embargo on the Bosniaks. European skepticism toward this idea was openly expressed, especially by those European countries that have their own troops in Bosnia and, despite the “threats” they make, will not risk withdrawing them. On the other hand, the US administration, under pressure from the Senate, committed itself to lifting the arms blockade against the Muslims if the Serbs did not accept the peace plan. Regarding the military blockade of Milošević’s Serbs in Bosnia, new things seem to have emerged, apparently intended to create a disagreement? [partly illegible]. Arben popoli

Instead of a reply I now have before me a letter from seven priests who still sign their names in Albanian, and a newspaper, “Kombi,” whose title needs an adjective as well. The former calmly reply that, having had to choose between their Fatherland and Greek chauvinism, they chose the latter, represented within the structures of the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church by its head, the appointed archbishop Anastas Janullatos. It is in the logic of an Albanian institution’s survival that its honor should at least be saved from those who have brought it down, if not through a prearranged plan then through a silent compromise, in the belief that things are temporary. Seven signatures translated into Albanian are few, so they must certainly be published on the front pages of Albanian newspapers, so history can record their names alongside the Greek ones. They are Dhaskal Todrin, those who [text unclear] helman Lazarasin, etc., who for 13 years sabotaged recognition of the Albanian Orthodox Church’s independence from the foreign Patriarchate, along with other figures who did not see only an independent [text unclear], but also the ideals for which they had striven. Their letter convinces me definitively that within the walls of the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church there are very few people who could become accomplices in burying the great work of dozens of Albanians at the beginning of this century, who secured, with such effort and sacrifice, the Albanian Church’s separation from the claws of Greek chauvinism. The signatories are led by Father Jani Trebicka from Korçë, who inspired the crowds of thugs and Roma in the city of Korçë in the summer of 1992 to sabotage and insult the sacred mission of Father Artur Liolin and to support the appointed Greek archbishop, Janullatos. What “the seven” are trying to explain to me is that Janullatos is not an occupier, since he has occupied nothing, but has established theological [text unclear] and integrated “his Church” into the structures of the Orthodox hierarchy. Put humorously, according to “the seven,” the true history of the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church begins with Janullatos. The letter mentions none of its true martyrs, none of those who laid the foundations of its independence with their blood. The letter mentions only “His Beatitude” Janullatos, and “the seven” vow that his success is also Albania’s success. Without wishing to revisit the lines of this article or the few things I have written before, I want to explain why, in sounding the alarm to rescue the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church from the Greek hook, from Hellenic nationalism and aggression—with the direct support of the Greek state—I want to recommend that “the seven,” while they have not yet forgotten Albanian, take a look at the documents published in the Albanian press that prove “His Beatitude’s” direct ties to Greek chauvinism. Let them look at the photographs of his caresses with Sebastianos, read the letters from the leaders of the Greeks of Albania to the Greek prime minister, in which they call for Greece’s support for Janullatos to be withdrawn; let them see where “His Beatitude” has buried the independence of the Albanian Church by trampling the Autocephaly Statute with both feet, and then let them become his [text unclear]. In calling on Albanian Orthodox priests to respond in defense of their Fatherland and against Greek chauvinism, I did not intend to encourage a race of servility among Orthodox priests to defend integrity, nor a patriotism contest between the former “patriot” Idajet Beqiri and the former editor-in-chief of “Republika,” Petro Dhimitri, but to help as much as I can prevent a grave act of national treason involving the Hellenization of the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The fear that has arisen among “the seven” of a possible split within the Church against Janullatos, and Idajet Beqiri’s nostalgia for when he was a “patriot,” have nothing to do with my invitation to choose between Albania and Greece, but with the choice they themselves have made. There are only a few of them, just seven priests who have sworn allegiance to Father Jani Trebicka, Father Gaqi Petrri, Father Kristaq Shkaro, Father Jovan Koroveshi, K Dh Sotir Kanxheri, Dh Sotir Xhaferr, Dh. Joan Petrushi, and Idajet Beqiri with the crime? Red [text unclear], who are trying to create the Albanian face of crime.

Tirana toward Europe – Albania toward Sebastianosi Page 3 The return of property: delays, obstacles, or… Page 2 “Democracy in Albania exceeds the most optimistic forecasts” Page 4 What the beku-rudha should be like Page 2

The madwoman N of Tirana was shouting on Tuesday afternoon in the streets deserted because of the continuous the Serbian Socialist Party; it illegible]. On Wednesday, throughout the day, the madwoman N was seen at the doors of the Municipality with a pad of fine tickets in her hands. The number of fines and the people fined are not known exactly. The protest was announced, which the madwoman [text unclear] for the parallels of Tirana. Tomorrow I will meet with someone from the municipality named “vig.” The madwoman was seen selling medicine against cholera in the central square. “Only for politicians” was written on a sign placed above the madwoman’s stalls. “There are some cholera [unclear],” was the madwoman’s last speech. At midnight on Wednesday, Cholera [text partly garbled] that field [text unclear] ... Cholera has no way [text unclear] a few ministers. The [text unclear], which may manage to [text unclear] a deputy. Haven’t they heard? [partly illegible]