“LDSH first in the elections” Page 2

A considerable reduction in prices across all souvenir and flower shops was the act that crowned Valentine’s Day in Italy yesterday. The new fashion of special cards for this date or boxes of chocolates has not crossed the Albanian border, which, as every year, has proved conservative and cynical. No price cuts in the shops, which for every religious holiday have sacrificed up to 30% of their profits. Apparently, the owners could hardly wait for the chance to sell expensive perfumes, most of which are imported from Eastern Europe with fake brand names. The greatest kindness of the day turned out to be the sunny weather, which made it possible to stroll along the boulevard, for teenagers and students to skip classes, and for the few activities planned by the shows for the day to take place. So, for Valentine’s Day, there was television, whose programming for the day included only three love films[a?]. Politicians promised more love yesterday, but unfortunately most of them were outside Tirana on 14 February, far from their spouses and sometimes even outside the Homeland. Meanwhile, according to statistics, the lovers’ holiday is being understood in increasingly different ways by Albanians. The rate of marriages continues to fall, while the number of divorces is rising. The possibilities for unmarried cohabitation have so far proved incalculable, given people’s mentality and their financial and housing circumstances. At the same time, the age at which people are able to fall in love has dropped considerably, reaching high schools. In a program Continued on p. 4 Valentine’s Day calls off couples’ breakups P. 4

Constitutional Court: The Constitutional Court rejects the request by the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group to declare unconstitutional and unlawful the decision of the People’s Assembly dated 21 September 1995. The dismissal by Parliament of Zef Brozi, former President of the Court of Cassation, was carried out in accordance with the laws set out in Albania’s constitutional package. In its request, the Socialist Party had argued that the Constitutional Court’s decision of 21 September 1995 was made in violation of Parliament’s rules of procedure, because the vote had been manipulated during the parliamentary session, and that Brozi’s dismissal by Parliament was unlawful. The Constitutional Court argued that, at the session on 21 September, based on its review of the minutes and the results shown on the electronic board, there had been 74 members of parliament—three more than the minimum required to vote on a law or any other decision concerning the dismissal or appointment of a state official who had violated the law. The main culprits in the matter of the magnetic cards were members of parliament Gramoz Pashko, Arben Imami and Shkëlqim Cani, who had left their personal cards unattended, although by law they were required to keep them in their own possession. As for Zef Brozi, the Ministry of Justice had gathered sufficient evidence for his dismissal, since an inspection it had carried out into the enforcement of decisions by bailiffs in eight courts in our country found that more than 200 suspension orders issued by Brozi had been repeated up to four times, in serious violation of the law. The Council of Ministers also announced in September 1995 that Zef Brozi, former President of the Court of Cassation, had sent orders to the bailiff’s office in Tirana and in the districts to suspend final court rulings. Above all, through his conduct, Brozi had created considerable difficulties for the normal work of the courts, which, without legal grounds, had to hold trials in violation of the Code of Civil and Criminal Procedure. A.Gj

Medi Belortaja, 28, the well-known Albanian caricaturist, adds another international award to his collection. At the annual international contest organized in Tokyo, Japan, by the “Yomiuri International Cartoon Contest,” Belortaja’s work was awarded second prize this time. Yesterday, along with the medal and catalogue, Belortaja also received an invitation from the organizers to take part in the next contest. 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, Belortaja won the Gold Prize in Seoul, and most recently one of Belortaja’s works became a postcard in Japan, printed in 50,000 copies. The work with which Belortaja won the international award in Tokyo

MOSCOW, 14 February /ATA-Reuter/—Russian oil companies and bankers on Wednesday attacked Interior Minister Anatoli Kulikov’s call for partial nationalization, and a spokesman for the president said that Boris Jelcin did not appear likely to agree with the proposals. In an interview with the INTERFAX news agency on Tuesday, Kulikov suggested the partial nationalization of several oil companies. He also mentioned several large industrial companies as well as some banks. “I think it will be difficult for him (Boris Jelcin) to agree to this,” said President Jelcin’s press secretary, Sergei Medvedev. “Some of Kulikov’s proposals— Continued on p. 3

Due to the relocation of the Republican Party’s Central Headquarters, all interested parties are informed that, temporarily, contact can be made at the telephone numbers 231-84, 292-03, 420-66 and You can also contact the editorial office of the “Republika” newspaper at telephone number 324-12, at the address: 65/2 “Ferit Xhajko” Street, near the “Medrese,” Tirana.

BERLIN 2000: The old man on the road to the new capital