Kosovo’s independence is a matter of survival p. 5

At 11 o’clock today, the secretary general of the PS, Gramoz Ruçi, and the former Minister of the Interior of the PPSH will appear before prosecutor Bekur Kokona. Ruçi will finally have to answer for what happened on 2 April 1991 in the city of Shkodër, where 4 young people aged 20-26 were killed by secret police bullets and many others were wounded. A list of questions has been prepared for Gramoz Ruçi so that he can give detailed explanations about what happened in Shkodër, since at the time Ruçi was the Minister of the Interior and is fully informed. Three taped recordings have also been made public, about which, although there was a hunt to punish the unpunished, there was no sign that they had ever existed. Ruçi confirmed yesterday to journalists that he will appear before the prosecutor. I. Z. Ruçi summoned to the prosecutor’s office At 11 o’clock today, the secretary general of the PS, Gramoz Ruçi, and the former Minister of the Interior of the PPSH will appear before prosecutor Bekur Kokona. Ruçi will finally have to answer for what happened on 2 April 1991 in the city of Shkodër, where 4 young people aged 20-26 were killed by secret police bullets and many others were wounded. A list of questions has been prepared for Gramoz Ruçi so that he can give detailed explanations about what happened in Shkodër, since at the time Ruçi was the Minister of the Interior and is fully informed. Three taped recordings have also been made public, about which, although there was a hunt to punish the unpunished, there was no sign that they had ever existed. Ruçi confirmed yesterday to journalists that he will appear before the prosecutor. I. Z.

At the invitation of President Sali Berisha, Hungarian President Arpad Gonz arrived in Tirana yesterday. Hungarian President Arpad Gonz in Albania At the invitation of President Sali Berisha, Hungarian President Arpad Gonz arrived in Tirana yesterday. The Hungarian guest will stay in the Albanian capital for three days. Gonz is the first president of Hungary to come to Albania in a span of fifty years. At the airport, President Berisha told the Hungarian president, “I am happy to be in Albania.” Berisha and Gonz met yesterday for about 35 minutes. At the end of the meeting, Berisha said that the talks were marked by a friendly spirit and mutual understanding. We agreed to expand cooperation in all fields at the bilateral level, through continuous consultations on various regional problems and on integration into Europe. Berisha said they discussed the situation in the region, the resolution of the Kosovo issue, and other problems as conditions for securing peace in the region. We believe that dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade should take place on the basis of a third party, and steps can be taken in that direction. Berisha said, “I think President Gonz’s visit is a historic event.” President Gonz said, “I want to stress that it is no coincidence that this meeting is happening now. What we are doing is not the end of the talks but the beginning of a long cooperation. We want to renew a centuries-old process.” The Hungarian president is accompanied in Albania by a large delegation made up of more than 30 Hungarian businessmen. Also yesterday, many agreements were signed, especially in the field of investment protection. Continued on p. 3

LDSH platform pp. 4-5

Kruja and the Ottomans of the 20th century p. 3

Why the grazing law has been blocked p. 2

Preserving the existing law. That will be the motto of the opposition parties at today’s meeting. Today 14 parties on the electoral law PD will put forward its own position Preserving the existing law. That will be the motto of the opposition parties at today’s meeting. In recent days, the parties have held meetings of their leaderships, which have defined their positions for today’s round table. A boycott of Parliament, should their demands not be met by the PD, will today be an option open for discussion at the meeting. Some opposition parties have considered this alternative reasonable. “Boycott will be the least we do, if the PD drafts an anti-legal law, and outside the statement of the fourteen parties,” said deputy Fehmi Alvdia, the PS representative at today’s meeting, yesterday. “We must raise voters’ awareness of the ruling party’s illegal and anti-democratic action.” The idea of a boycott is not shared by the Democratic Alliance, whose leadership met yesterday afternoon on this issue. “We are not in favor of abandoning Parliament,” said deputy Arben Imami, who will represent AD today, after the meeting yesterday, “but rather of insisting on finding a solution. This can be achieved by setting up a parliamentary group from both sides: from the PD and the opposition, so that they can follow this issue more closely. We believe the struggle should be carried into Parliament. For that reason, we are in favor of this meeting retaining its propagandistic character.” Imami also said that a boycott could bring bad consequences, which the PD would leave behind, as happened with Brozi’s dismissal. Deputy Teodor Laço also sees the boycott as ineffective, and that is why he is “absolutely not in agreement” with abandoning the Assembly. “Boycotts are not democratic,” Laço said yesterday, who will not be present at the meeting, Continued on p. 2

Another person has been arrested in connection with the border killings. Arrested for the border killings Another person has been arrested in connection with the border killings. Yesterday, the fourth person was handcuffed in relation to these killings. He is Agim Leshi, from the city of Elbasan, who was arrested for the border killings when he was post commander in the city of Korçë (in 1990), and after 4 killings took place in the area of the post he commanded, he was transferred to the city of Dibër. The people killed at the border were from the city of Dibër, and the victims’ families were informed there. He has therefore been charged with genocide. The 38-year-old Leshi is awaiting investigation by the Dibër Prosecutor’s Office. A. D.

GODO meets representatives of the “Konrad Adenauer” Foundation p. 3

In the next issue The revised PRSH program: a modern national vision

Soon one of the cartoons by the well-known 28-year-old cartoonist Medi Belortaja will be printed as a postcard in 50,000 copies in Japan. The Albanian cartoonist is among the most popular in that country Belortaja as a postcard in Japan Soon one of the cartoons by the well-known 28-year-old cartoonist Medi Belortaja will be printed as a postcard in 50,000 copies in Japan. The request was made by the “Kyoto International Humor Society” and was approved by Belortaja. Belortaja sent several works to the international cartoon competition that will be organized in Kyoto from 15 to 20 February this year, and the work selected for the postcard is part of the publicity campaign for this competition. Only the works of 16 cartoonists have been selected for the postcard. The request sent to Belortaja states that “cartoonists have been selected whose works seem likely to be the most popular in Japan.” The sale price of a postcard will be 100 yen (1$), and the author will receive 5% of the sales value. In 1994 Belortaja won the Golden Prize at the international cartoon competition organized in Tokyo. Belortaja also received the Golden Prize this year at an international cartoon competition organized in Seoul, South Korea. The work selected for the postcard in Japan will be published in “Republika” in upcoming issues I. d