Wirth issues new warnings to the Albanian state USA: Stay the course toward democracy “If not, then we will no longer support our programs there” The United States of America once again warns the Albanian state. U.S. Undersecretary of State Timothy Wirth said in an interview yesterday with the radio station “Voice of America” that if Albania deviates from its course toward democracy, American support will be reduced. “The U.S. is undoubtedly interested in a stable and democratic Albania,” the senior American official said, “which has been a good ally in the past. We hope this will continue, but if it does not, the U.S. cannot support the programs for May 26. Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Wirth is concerned about the steps Albania has recently taken in the political process. “Both the European Union and the United States welcome the changes that have been made, but they are concerned by recent political actions that do not conform to democratic ideals in any country, which the European Union and the United States would wish to see.” Wirth also spoke about the local elections. “They,” he said, “are important as a step toward establishing confidence in Albanian democracy. We will provide our assistance and send observers, as will the European Union, to these elections. The United States is concerned about the results of the local elections and the way they will be conducted. We hope the local elections, with the participation of all ... Continued on p. 2 the senior American official, U.S. cannot support the programs for Albania at previous levels.” The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, and his state staff must certainly regard these statements as a cause for concern, because, according to the American radio station, they come as a reaction to the highly disputed elections in Albania FORUM OF ALBANIAN INTELLECTUALS Tirana, 5.09.1996

Yesterday morning, Mr. Godo received at the PR headquarters a delegation of the Albanian Republican Party of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Yesterday morning, Mr. Godo received at the PR headquarters a delegation of the Albanian Republican Party of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, headed by the party’s deputy chairman, Mr. Zejnula Selimi. The delegation included Messrs. Hysni Ismaili, Selman Hyseni and Avni Ismaili, members of the central leadership. The meeting included an extensive discussion of the situation of the Albanians and the political situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Particular attention was given to the issue of education for Albanians and the University of Tetovo. The meeting stressed the need for more frequent contacts between the two parties.

The President of the Republic speaks about the local elections “Responsibility and transparency in the elections are entirely compatible.” President Berisha gave an account of the local elections yesterday, speaking only to RTSH and refusing to comment to other journalists. Berisha affirmed the full responsibility of the state he heads for creating all the conditions for free and fair local elections. “The government will bear full legal responsibility,” the head of state declared. “The opposition will be considered equally responsible, morally and legally, as long as it remains loyal to the law and the electoral process.” Berisha spoke after the meeting he held with thirteen Albanian parties two days earlier at the Palace of Congresses. There, the President obtained the parties’ consensus on amendments to the electoral law for the local elections and promised to change his decree on the Permanent Central Commission, whose deputy chairman will be a Socialist. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party, the largest opposition force, promised not to boycott the elections. Under the new electoral law, on the other hand, boycotting the commissions is prohibited by law. PD chairman Shehu also spoke the day before yesterday about the responsibility of the head of state. “The President of the Republic,” Shehu said after meeting with the other parties, “had taken it upon himself with full responsibility and was wholly committed to finding the most optimal solution with all the forces.”

1. The Kosovo issue cannot be resolved within Serbia, nor within the framework of the so-called truncated Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The Kosovo issue is a determining part of the resolution of the pan-Albanian question in the Balkans. The Kosovo issue is inextricably linked to the fate and future of Albania, of the Albanians in Macedonia and Montenegro, and to the eventual establishment of civilised relations between the nations and states in our region. 2. This means that political opinion in the United States and Western Europe must finally adopt the conclusion that without a free Kosovo there can be no stable, democratic Albania capable of pursuing the processes of European integration, as required by historical developments in the Balkans. The Albanian people and nation, fragmented and divided into five parts, will never be able to create the domestic market necessary for a normal and civilised life, nor will they ever be able to ensure the use of all their collective economic and cultural creative abilities. The entire twentieth century has shown, step by step, that a weak and powerless Albania is a cause of the flourishing of numerous chauvinisms in the uncivilised states of the Balkans, which seek to devour one another, and thus a cause of inexhaustible conflicts and perpetual wars. 3. The Forum of Albanian Intellectuals welcomes the normalisation of education in Kosovo and every other step that leads to a final resolution of the Kosovo issue, in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Charter and the 1990 Copenhagen documents. FORUM OF ALBANIAN INTELLECTUALS Tirana, 5.09.1996

Newspaper “REPUBLIKA”, Kruga “Sami Frashëri”, near “Petro Nini Luarasi” High School, Tirana, Account No. BTK 986/110 Tel/Fax 259 88