PSD leaders benefit The left-wing alliance broke apart before it could even take shape . The leaders of the Democratic Alliance have refused to run in constituencies left open by the Socialist Party. The latest news from the AD’s senior offices confirms that, to date, the leaders of the centre-right have refused to win votes in the shadow of the former Communists. Thus, in the North–South division of Albania, the two parties of the Pole have been paired in the same regions, while in those regions the PS has conceded only one constituency each. In the North, the candidates are Zefi, chairman of the PAD Assembly, and Rokaj, an PSD MP. But only Rokaj will benefit from the Socialists’ generosity, while AD’s number three will also have to test his strength against the PS. In central Albania, specifically in the district of Elbasan, two leaders of the Pole are standing: PAD President Ceka and PSD Secretary General Apostoli. But Ceka has refused to be placed in the constituency left open by the PS and will have to cross swords with the chairman of PS Elbasan. Continued on p. 2

Albanians, the Trojans of the Balkans. P. 2 Is one of the Commission members on file? Mezini: We have all been vetted One of the members of the Verification Commission has a file. This is the latest accusation levelled against the Vetting Commission. The person who made it is Gjergj Zefi, chairman of the PAD Assembly. “Adnan Beli,” Zefi explains, “in 1988 denounced two young people who wanted to escape from Gjirokastra.” But the chairman of the state commission, Hajri Mezini, has not found this remotely credible. “We have all been vetted,” he says, “starting with me. I have documents assessed by all the officials concerned, confirming the good standing of every member of the Commission.” Mezini therefore considers such an accusation completely absurd. The coincidence of people with files judging others over files was raised on the day the relevant law was discussed in Parliament. Some MPs who voted against Hajri Mezini becoming chairman of the Commission justified their red card by saying that they did not know whether Mezini himself had a file. But from the chairman’s own words, it appears that he and all the members of his commission have not been vetted. These days the Court of Cassation is issuing decisions on appeals by some of those rejected by Mezini’s panel of seven. Most of them have been cleared, and, according to Mezini, “they have gone away with their tails between their legs.” He is very pleased that his commission has made no mistakes. Mezini agreed to say only this, arranging to meet again after he had finished dealing with the candidates. To date, the head of the vetting panel has spoken only to the newspaper “Republika.” In this way, through his statements, he has in a sense responded to the serious accusations and attacks made against the Commission for the Verification of Public Figures by the leaders of the Centre-Left opposition. In one of these attacks, it was demanded that the seven be put in prison after the elections, but Mezini calmly replied: “Nobody is going to put us in prison.” A. S.

Once, during the totalitarian period, the name Benz was associated only with the upper echelons of the red nomenklatura. But democracy and the liberalization of life have brought about in Albania a layer of private-car ownership of tragic proportions, including ownership of Benz cars. In Albania, the Benz has an original record. In Albania, more than anywhere else in the world, when you see those cars, you think of vehicles of this make, which are becoming increasingly common. For this reason, the initiative to establish a Daimler Benz subsidiary has become an imperative necessity. Perhaps the presence of a considerable number of “Mercedes-Benz” vehicles is what brought the management of Daimler Benz to Albania.

The Serbian party “League of Communists, Movement for Yugoslavia,” through its Kosovo Council, called for the immediate banning of “Bujku,” the only Albanian-language periodical for the more than two million Albanians in Kosovo, at a press conference held yesterday in Prishtina. This announcement was made last night by Serbian television from Prishtina and was also published by the Serbian newspaper “Jedinstvo,” which is published in Kosovo’s capital. It has been stated that the 17-year-old occupying regime in Belgrade forcibly shut down Prishtina’s Albanian-language radio and television service and banned the daily newspaper “Rilindja,” after it had been published in Kosovo for 45 years. The Albanian-language newspaper “Bujku” is published under very difficult conditions, amid pressure, repressive measures and constant blackmail by the Serbian regime. It survives only thanks to the sacrifices of its journalists and staff, and is self-financing. Under such circumstances, it is understandable why the banning of the Albanian-language newspaper “Bujku”—the sole source of daily information for Albanians in Kosovo—is being demanded precisely at a time of dangerous developments and rising tensions in recent days, following tragic armed incidents. Even amid these developments, with a real risk of open conflict breaking out, the Albanian-language newspaper “Bujku” continually reiterates the measured, peaceful stance of Albanian politics, calling on all the citizens of Kosovo to exercise the utmost restraint in every action that could exacerbate the situation. Meanwhile, the Serbian newspaper “Jedinstvo,” which is funded by the Serbian state, has called for even harsher measures of violence against Albanians and has warned that Serbia will take such harsh and immediate measures.

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