Medi Belortaja, 28, the well-known Albanian cartoonist, adds another international prize to his collection. Another international prize for Belortaja Medi Belortaja, 28, the well-known Albanian cartoonist, adds another international prize to his collection. In the annual international competition organized in Tokyo, Japan by the "Yomiuri International Cartoon Contest," Belortaja’s work this time was awarded an honorary prize. Along with the medal and the catalogue, Belortaja also received an invitation from the organizers to take part in the next competition. This year, 10,000 works from 73 countries around the world were submitted to the contest. In 1994, Belortaja won the Gold Prize in this contest. In 1995 in Seoul, Belortaja received the gold prize, and recently a postcard based on Belortaja’s work was also issued in Japan in 50,000 copies. The work with which Belortaja won an honorary prize in Tokyo

Inside BERLIN 2000: The old one on the road to the new capital

Kurt Kola declares his assets "LDSH first in the elections" Page 2

There were significant price reductions in all souvenir and flower shops, in the run-up to Valentine’s Day yesterday in Italy. No to price cuts on Valentine’s Day There were significant price reductions in all souvenir and flower shops, in the run-up to Valentine’s Day yesterday in Italy. The new fashion of special cards for this date is drawing attention, but it has not crossed the Albanian border, which, as every year, has shown itself to be conservative and stingy. There were no price cuts in the shops, which for every religious holiday have sacrificed up to 30% of their profit. Apparently the owners have eagerly awaited the chance to sell expensive perfumes, which are mostly imported from Eastern Europe with fake brands. The greatest blessing of the day was the sunny weather, which made selling possible on the boulevards, allowed school and university students to skip classes, and enabled the few activities that Albanians had prepared for the day. Television was left behind on Valentine’s Day; on its schedule that day it intervened only with three love films. Politicians promised more love yesterday, but unfortunately most of them were outside Tirana on 14 February, away from their wives and sometimes even outside the homeland. Meanwhile, according to statistics, the lovers’ holiday is being understood more and more differently by Albanians. The marriage rate continues to fall, while the divorce rate is steadily rising. The possibilities for illegal cohabitation have so far proved incalculable, taking into account mentality, financial means and housing conditions. At the same time, the age at which one can fall in love has dropped significantly, reaching even high school level. In a broadcast Continued on p.4 Valentine’s Day cancels the separation of couples P.4

MOSCOW, 14 February/ATSH-Reuter/ - Russian oil companies and bankers on Wednesday attacked Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov’s call for partial privatization, and a presidential spokesman said Boris Yeltsin does not appear likely to agree with the proposals. RUSSIAN FIRMS ATTACK THE CALL FOR NATIONALIZATION MOSCOW, 14 February/ATSH-Reuter/ - Russian oil companies and bankers on Wednesday attacked Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov’s call for partial privatization, and a presidential spokesman said Boris Yeltsin does not appear likely to agree with the proposals. In an interview with the news agency INTERFAKS on Tuesday, Kulikov suggested partial nationalization of several oil companies. He also mentioned several large industrial companies as well as some banks. "I think it is difficult for him (Boris Yeltsin) to agree to this," said Yeltsin’s press secretary, Sergei Medvedev. "Some of Kulikov’s proposals Continued on p.3

Notice Due to the relocation of the Central Headquarters of the Republican Party, all interested parties are informed that, temporarily, contact will be available through the telephone numbers 231-81, 292-03, 420-68 and also through the editorial offices of the newspaper "Republika" you may contact us at telephone number 324-12, address: "Ferit Xhajko" Street, 65/2, near Medreseja, Tirana.

The Constitutional Court rejects the request of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party to declare unconstitutional and unlawful the decision of the People's Assembly dated 21 September 1995. Constitutional Court: Brozi’s dismissal - in accordance with the law The Constitutional Court rejects the request of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party to declare unconstitutional and unlawful the decision of the People's Assembly dated 21 September 1995. The dismissal of the former chairman of the Court of Cassation, Zef Brozi, by Parliament was carried out in accordance with the laws set out in Albania’s constitutional package. In its request, the Socialist Party argued that the Constitutional Court’s decision of 21 September 1995 was adopted in violation of Parliament’s rules of procedure, since the voting in the parliamentary session was manipulated and Brozi’s dismissal by Parliament is illegal. The Constitutional Court argues that in the 21 September session, based on the review of the minutes and the results of the electronic vote table, there were 74 deputies, which is 3 more than the minimum required to vote on a law or a decision. As for Zef Brozi, the Ministry of Justice had gathered sufficient evidence for his dismissal, since an inspection it carried out regarding the enforcement of decisions in 8 courts of our country showed that Brozi’s name appeared on more than 200 suspension orders, repeated up to 4 times, thereby seriously violating the law. The Council of Ministers also announced in September 1995 that the former chairman of the Court of Cassation, Zef Brozi, had sent orders to the enforcement office in Tirana and in the districts to suspend final court decisions and, above all, that Brozi, through his conduct, had created considerable difficulties in the normal work of the courts, which, without legal grounds, should have conducted trials that violated the Code of Civil and Criminal Procedure. The main culprits regarding the magnetic cards are deputies Camro Ashto, Arben Imami and Sheqim Cani, who left the cards unaccounted for, along with every other decision related to the dismissal or appointment of a state official who had violated the law. A.Gj