The U.S. Congress passed a bill calling on the U.S. administration to recognize Kosovo’s independence and its legitimate institutions. Although this bill has a long way to go before it can oblige the White House, its political weight is considerable. The bill once again expresses American support for the Kosovo issue. On the other hand, following the radicalization of the situation in Bosnia, which may lead to developments toward a solution to this problem, Kosovo inevitably imposes itself on the agenda. In a way, this bill signals that. All the more so, this bill provides assurance of American support for Albanian aspirations. The United States has reiterated the “red line” for Millosheviq several times, and the latest action by Congress Sandžak Senica Novi Pazar Serbia Niš Montenegro Podgorica Berana Plava Peja Trepça Mitrovica Medveja Prishtina Gjilani Bujanovci Presheva Gjakova Ferizaj Kosovo Prizreni Kumanova Shkodra Kukësi Tetova The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new bill on Kosovo by acclamation yesterday afternoon. It was attached as an amendment to the U.S. foreign aid bill for fiscal year 1996. As the “Bujku” correspondent in Washington reports, the bill calls on the U.S. government to recognize a special status for Kosovo, respecting the people’s right to govern themselves, or to place Kosovo under international protection. It also calls for the lifting of United Nations sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro to be conditional on improvements in the existing situation in Kosovo, allowing the Kosovo government to exercise its legitimate mandate as the elected representative of the people, and the return of international observers to Kosovo. The bill, introduced by Congressman Eliot Engëldhe and passed unanimously by the House of Representatives after an hour and a half of debate, is now expected to be approved by the U.S. Senate as well.

arriving yesterday at Rinas Airport. Albania is the second leg of the President of the Republic of Turkey’s journey. He comes to Tirana after visiting Bulgaria and before his visit to Shkup, which will conclude his tour of these three Balkan countries. “Relations between Albania and Turkey have a brilliant future” was the assessment of our president, Berisha. In this context, he described President Sulejman Demirel’s visit as a boost that would extend and intensify the excellent political relations across all fields. President Demirel shared this view, saying that “stable political relations provide an excellent basis for cooperation in every direction.” The fact that the president of friendly Turkey is accompanied on this visit by a large group of businesspeople from his country clearly demonstrates Turkey’s commitment in this regard. Immediately after political pluralism was established in Albania, Turkey was among the first countries to offer generous assistance to the Albanian people, beginning in early 1991, to help them overcome the difficult period of transition. The Turkish government took this step toward Albania without being deterred by the fact that a communist government was still in power there. Albania would become a place of pilgrimage for numerous Turkish delegations at various levels, the most prominent of which were those led by Mr. … Continued on p. 3

French President Zhak Shirak declared that France would work for a fair and acceptable solution to the Kosovo issue. In a message sent in recent days to the president of the Republic of Kosovo, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, through the first counsellor of the French Embassy in Belgrade, Zhan Lui Pezh, in reply to greetings from Prishtina on his election as President of the Republic of France, Shirak expressed his confidence that France, faithful to its traditions of democracy and tolerance, would closely follow the situation in Kosovo and continue working to ensure respect for the rights of the people of Kosovo as part of an overall, fair and acceptable solution.

The United Nations will offer a prayer for Srebrenica. The safe zones are becoming increasingly dangerous. Butros Ghali will raise a toast to the UN’s successes in Bosnia. Ghali has issued an ultimatum: the Bosnian Serbs must turn back immediately, otherwise… NATO planes will force them to move forward. A colonel, 1.82 metres tall and with his two front teeth broken, is missing from the lists for Tirana. The lists are exact, so don’t worry: everyone will be found, except those who drew up the lists. The Socialist Party is preparing a petition to condemn the genocide committed during the socialist era. It is reported that Ruçi will be the first to sign it, followed by Nano, Pellumbi, and others. We are for peace, but not at any price and not with the class enemy. Better to have a ceasefire. A ceasefire is very good. When we were in a ceasefire with Greece, we didn’t have any problems. Butros Butros Butros Ghali has sent Izetbegović an appeal for help to save the helmet-caldron from the Serbian danger. We quote an excerpt from the appeal: “…these soldiers, defenseless victims, will be a burden on your conscience…” It is expected that at the last moment Serbia’s planes will be authorized by the UN to help the people of Srebrenica. If only they arrive in time…

This is what Turkish President Sulejman Demirel declared immediately after

Citizens, sign the petition against the law on the purchase and sale of land! By signing this petition, you protect lawful ownership of land. You can sign the petition at the local branches of PR, PBK, PBD, PLL, the Kukalëve Association, and the Association of the Politically Persecuted in the districts.