The president’s decree establishing the General Elections Commission may be considered another important step toward establishing democratic standards in our country. The president’s decree establishing the General Elections Commission may be considered another important step toward establishing democratic standards in our country, immediately following parliament’s approval of the Convention on Human Rights. On the other hand, it is also another fulfillment of the recommendations made by the Council of Europe and its bodies to create normal conditions for conducting elections properly and, above all, to restore faith in democracy in Albania. But issuing a presidential decree does not mean everything, especially when we are talking about a democratic country, or one that claims to be. In a democracy, it is absurd even to think that various steps in the development of democracy and other areas of life can be the property of an individual or a particular group. Democracy above all means participation. In this respect, all political forces must fully commit themselves to giving life and momentum to this initiative, first by making their suggestions and criticisms, so that it does not remain merely an ornament that serves no one. But this does not mean that this initiative should be understood as an opportunity for horse-trading, starting with the selection of the people who will sit on this commission. The fact that such a commission will be permanent means that the political parties, which will be involved in determining its composition, must first of all set aside partisan tendencies and criteria, which have more than once, in cases like this, had very damaging consequences for the fate of democracy in the country. It would be good for this commission to include distinguished figures from various fields, personalities who have demonstrated through their deeds and positions the important place they hold in our country. On the other hand, the way the members of this commission are selected, and the commission’s composition itself, may serve as the first benchmark by which Europe evaluates subsequent developments, especially those connected with the two challenges set before us by the Council of Europe and other European institutions. One can never claim to have normal elections while having party-based election commissions. The experience of 26 May, when some members of the commissions became involved in vote-rigging and some of them later, at the party’s order, left the ballot boxes to the mercy of fate, is the best indication that partisan criteria in this respect cause considerable harm. Cooperation in appointing the General Elections Commission may, among other things, also serve as a first step toward starting the long-awaited meeting of all the parties. In this way, the tendency to organize one meeting and then counter-meetings, as has been happening lately, will also come to an end. A. D.

The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, exercising his authority as set out in Article 28 of Law No. 7491, dated 29.04.1991, on the main constitutional provisions, decreed the establishment of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Albania. The commission will be a permanent body that organizes, directs and supervises the conduct of elections in the Republic of Albania, in accordance with the electoral laws of the Albanian state, according to a notice from the Press and Information Office attached to the President of the Republic. The permanent Central Election Commission consists of a chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary and 14 members. It is appointed by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Council of Ministers and the political parties. In this connection, all political parties that have submitted nominations for members of the Central Election Commission for local government bodies are hereby notified to withdraw their proposed candidates if they consider it necessary to replace them, or if the candidates themselves do not agree with the nomination. By 13 August 1996, the Council of Ministers and the political parties are to submit to the President of the Republic their proposals for members of this commission, in accordance with Decree No. 1568, dated 2.08.1996, on the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Albania. I. Z.

Five Albanian prisoners became eligible for repatriation from Greek prisons yesterday. Yesterday, the Court of First Instance in Gjirokastër and the court in Tepelenë converted, through judicial proceedings, the sentences of five Albanians serving their sentences at “Kalilis” prison in the Ajus Fanurios district of Athens. All five prisoners had been sentenced in 1993 and 1994 for theft, to prison terms ranging from 6 to 8 years. The presiding judge of the Gjirokastër court, who chaired the panel, held three judicial proceedings for three prisoners from Gjirokastër. For prisoner M. Nivana, his sentence was converted from 7.5 years in prison to 5.5 years. Two other prisoners from this city were also sentenced to one year less each. Two proceedings were also held in the city of Tepelenë for two 22-year-olds who were sentenced to six years in prison each for theft in 1994 and are serving their sentences in an Athens prison. The files of these prisoners were prepared the same day to be sent to the Greek Ministry of Justice, together with the files converted by the Tirana Court two days earlier. Official sources confirm that on Monday further proceedings will be held in the courts of Fier, Ballsh and Sarandë to convert the sentences of Albanian prisoners in Crete prison, which is also the toughest prison in Greece. I. Z.

In a statement, the Albanian Intellectuals’ Forum expresses its concern over the recent actions of the Patriarchate of Istanbul concerning its appointment of three metropolitans for Korçë, Gjirokastër and Vlorë, and its interference in the affairs of the Albanian Autocephalous Church. In the statement, the chair of this association, Mr. Z. Bardhyl Fico, acting in that capacity, expresses concern over the Patriarchate’s blatant direct interference in the affairs of the Albanian Church and state. By acting in this way, the Patriarchate has disregarded the autocephaly of the Albanian Orthodox Church and has completely violated its 1929 statute, under which it recognized the autocephaly of the Albanian Church in 1936. At a time when Albanian-Greek state relations have, fortunately, improved, this must not once again become an instrument of Greek chauvinist circles for denationalizing Albanians and undermining the Albanian state, the statement adds. “This is an unprecedented act; it goes beyond even the most basic rules,” said Mr. Bardhyl Fico, who is responsible for religious affairs at the Ministry of Culture. The latest step by the Patriarchate of Istanbul clearly shows that matters have reached the point where it now treats the Albanian Autocephalous Church as one of its dioceses. This should give pause to anyone responsible for the fate of the Albanian Autocephalous Church and the Albanian state, the intellectuals’ statement stresses. The representative of the Albanian government has stressed that the official response on this matter has been made clear, and that the Albanian Autocephalous Church likewise held that they should not be ordained. The Albanian Committee for the Defense of the Autocephaly of the Albanian Church, the Orthodox Church of the Albanians of America and the Fan Noli Association have also protested this issue. The association has asked that protests be made to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul, the Phanar and Patriarch Bartholomew against the appointment of the three metropolitans for the cities of Gjirokastër, Vlorë and Korçë. I. Z.

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