- A comment from you regarding Albania’s admission to the CoE. - Undoubtedly, this is an important step for Albania toward Europe and welcome news for everyone. This should make us realize that, regardless of political infighting, when it comes to Albania’s interests we must act together and speak with one voice. The Socialists and some other forces close to them, carried away by the moment, have often forgotten this duty and, in their dealings with Europe, have put their own party issues first, seeking to resolve them by denouncing the government’s mistakes. This is political naivety, to say the least. - What was the PR’s position on this issue? - I believe we made a special contribution to Albania being admitted to the Council of Europe, and we did so without fanfare or self-promotion. In April of last year, Lord Finsberg, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Albania, sent me a personal letter, Continued on p. 2

At the meeting of the leaders of the main political parties with Mr. Van Den Broek, the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Sabri Godo, said:

On Tuesday, together with a government delegation At a press conference in Tirana, the Austrian ambassador, Kurt Shpalinger, announced the visit to Albania by Austrian President Dr. Thomas Klestil. According to this announcement, the visit in question will begin on May 2. President Klestil will be accompanied on this visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Alois Mok, the Minister of Justice, Dr. Nikolaus Mihalek, the president of the Austrian Economic Chamber, Leopold Maderthaner, the minister of the province of Vorarlberg, Elisabeth Gehrer, as well as an economic delegation comprising 20 Austrian entrepreneurs and representatives of universities and organizations active in Albania. The Republican Party, which considers Austria one of the five closest allied countries of Albania, regards the Austrian president’s visit to Albania as very important and is certain that this visit will be another step toward strengthening cooperation between our two countries, while also helping strengthen our country’s position in the troubled Balkan region. Historically, Austria has always been a friendly country to Albania. As far back as the time of the Ottoman occupation, Kara Mahmut Pashë Bushati had established ties with the Habsburg Empire. Later, during important historical events in which Albania’s very existence was at stake, the Albanian nation found its greatest protector against the aims of those who sought to erase it from the map of the Balkans in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If an independent Albania exists today, the Austro-Hungarian role at the London Conference must not be forgotten. Historically, Austria has always supported the Albanian patriotic movement. During the two world conflicts, too, our two countries had more or less the same fate. Austria is one of the countries that today supports the rights of the Albanians of Kosovo more than almost any other. “Republika” correspondent Federal President Tomas Klestil — Born in 1932, he completed his studies in world trade in Vienna. Immediately after graduating, he joined the federal Chancellery as a specialist in trade affairs. After two years in this post, he joined the Austrian mission to the OECD, where he gained experience that later gave him the opportunity to work at the Austrian embassy in the USA, as secretary to the Federal Chancellor, as Austria’s consul general in Los Angelos, as director of the Office of International Organizations at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Austria’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, and as Austria’s ambassador to the USA. From 1987 until shortly before he was elected Federal President of Austria in 1992, he was Secretary General for Foreign Affairs.

At the meeting of the leaders of the main political parties with Mr. Van Den Broek, the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Sabri Godo, said: Republican Party, Mr. Sabri Godo, said: We are the second party to have been established, immediately after the PD. We were in coalition with this party until the end of last year and left because the coalition no longer served democracy. We are part of the Albanian Right League, together with three other parties and two associations, one of which is the association of former Political Prisoners. We support private property and the free market in the true sense of the word. The parties represented at this meeting have different views, but there is no doubt that the Albanian people are united in their European orientation and place their hopes there. That is why Mr. Commissioner’s words, upon his arrival at the airport, were warmly received. It is true that our country has made progress over these three years, but there are some things we must not, and cannot, hide from friendly Europe. We have problems with the development of democracy, economic reform, and the recognition of legal ownership. I would single out, in particular, the Law on Land. No democratic government in the world has done what was done here. The government declared itself the general owner of the land and divided it according to a thoroughly Leninist criterion. Nevertheless, Albania can resolve these problems better within European structures. I believe the government should heed Mr. Commissioner’s comments about establishing a legal framework and financial structures that hinder foreign investment. As for foreign policy, we have been a factor for stability, despite some naivety in

this role and, in our contacts with Europe, have been trying to resolve them by denouncing the mistakes of

Pages 4–5

Page 3

On Tuesday, together with a government delegation

Page 3

. Crossword, advertisements, announcements, etc. Pages 7–8

. Page 6