Dialogue and a Constituent Assembly make up the solution plan Godo has taken with him to Strasbourg. Invited by the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Republican chairman left Albanian soil yesterday for the European capital. There, the PR leader, as well as the heads of other major Albanian parties, will be heard by this Political Committee regarding the right-wing party’s position on the May 26 elections. Godo, as he has always stated, while remaining consistent with the political line of the party he leads, will adhere to the May 28 declaration. That declaration called for the elections to be held again in areas where there had been manipulation, which the PR would also try to document, but above all for dialogue between the parties and the creation of a proportional-representation Constituent Assembly. The republican idea for an Assembly is also embraced by the Centre Pole, which in The Assembly in Strasbourg The difference from Godo’s plan lies in the issue of Parliament. The PR supports the July 1 Parliament and a government formed by it, whereas the Pole supports taking the Constituent Assembly into consideration. The PD does not listen at all on that point; it is open to dialogue in Parliament. And this is where things get stuck, because the PS refuses to enter Parliament. And these are the two parties which, as stated in a PR declaration on May 27, through their unrestrained conflict caused the sidelining of pluralism, and these are the parties that must accept compromises. But Pellumbi says, “there is no compromise,” while Shehu says, “The election file is closed this time.” Therefore, everything depends on the politicians’ visit to Strasbourg. Thus, Shehu and Godo have set off for nipulations, solution set out in the memorandum addressed to the Assembly of the Council of Europe, supports an Assembly that will draft the constitution, the electoral law, the powers of the President of the Republic, and the law on electronic media. The difference from the Pole’s proposal, which is inspired, according to Pashko, by his plan that forms the foundation of The Assembly in Strasbourg On this proposal, from the Godo project, the issue of Parliament remains. PR is in favor of the Parliament of July 1 and a government emerging from it, while Poli is in favor of the Parliament of March 22 and a technical government. Then, both PR and Poli are calling for general elections to be held again, but with a change in the deadlines. These are, at least so far, the proposals of the Albanian parties for resolving the political crisis. But while the SP takes it as a “promise,” Shehu says: “The election file is closed this time.” So and Godo set off yesterday, while the others will leave today. The seven leaders will appear before the political commissioners of the EC, and perhaps these commissioners will be the ones who can decide on a compromise. Aurel Simoni

P. 2

There are more than 25,000 German speakers in Albania. August is once again the month when the Germans return. From August 1 to 30, in Tirana, following a tradition first organized in 1995, the German-language course will organize the Summer University for the German language. The Geë Institute from Germany, together with the University of Tirana, has selected a total of 120 German-speaking candidates for the 1996 Summer University, from among the approximately 20,000 students at the University of Tirana. The lessons will be taught by six German lecturers arriving from the Geë Institute, and participants will be under 23 years of age. The university will be free of charge, and participants will receive a certificate from the German institute. As is known, German has become a family language for around 20,000 Albanians working in Germany. In addition, at the end of the course—especially over the last ten years—the number reaches 1,500 people who have learned it in courses opened in Tirana and throughout the country.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs will discuss again the issue of the elections in Albania and the resolution that this Parliament adopted two days ago, the press and information office of the PD reports, citing confirmation from Austrian Members of the European Parliament. According to their confirmation, the issue of the parliamentary elections in Albania will be discussed again at the request of German MEP Otto von Habsburg, a member of the German right-wing parliamentary group. German MEP von Habsburg has protested the procedure followed in discussing and adopting the resolution initiated by the European Parliament’s left-wing group, and at his request it has been decided that this issue will be reviewed in greater detail by the Foreign Affairs Committee of this body at a near-future date.

“There will be no repeat election in Albania. I say this very clearly on behalf of all those who cast their vote freely in a sovereign country,” Berisha said yesterday in Crans Montana.

P. 2 Ahead of the elections in Kosovo P. 4 The first semifinalists are England and France. On Saturday, Italy reached the semifinals only after penalty kicks EURO ’96 England Who is the Brazil of Europe?

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