The sentimental sentences handed down by the courts are turning Albania into a reserve of prostitutes and homosexuals [Illustration: “Justice”] The trial of the English pedophile, and the sentence imposed, once again brought to light one of the strangest wounds of that period which has officially begun to become monotonous under the name of transition. ... those harmed by wrongdoers, disappointed by “Justice’s” revenge, find salvation in the (unbridled) revenge of taking the law into their own hands. It is superfluous to speak of the essential role of the Law in ... ... of the judicial body, which may even end up within prison walls, are preventive warnings about the consequences of crime to anyone who, willingly or not, has decided to embark on that path. It is true that, despite the fact that the speculative use of the transitional character of the years we are living through has made the constant repetition of the word “transition” almost allergic to Albanian ears, the transition brought Albanian mentality face to face not only with unknown phenomena (for the reasons we know), but also with the tempting dilemma of resisting the lure of- to become monotonous under the name of transition. The issue is the position of Albanian legislation, and often its administration as well, not as a means of punishing or restraining harmful and highly consequential phenomena, but as an impotent “opposition” to them. The collection of examples confirming this legal “joke” has become so paradoxical that many people, in the happiest case “good citizens,” have begun to see the imposing institutions and the judicial authorities as educational foundations, not to mention the “harsher segment” of the disillusioned, who, in general and of its administrators in particular, just as it is superfluous to say that although the law punishes an act once it has been committed, its operation in itself represents not so much revenge for the person harmed by the crime as a severe deterrent. Prisons, in the true sense of the word, may be considered, or may indeed be, institutions of education, even though they use the punitive measure of deprivation of liberty. On the other hand, however, the operation of the law, beginning with the pursuit and capture of wrongdoers and continuing through the enforcement (implementation) of the judgment ... ... resisting the lure offered by paths to rapid enrichment. The triumph of the latter is so obvious that even for the most ardent patriot, the new ideas of “Albanian puritanism” (which, at times, with the pastoral and communal motifs evoked by the propaganda of the time, were offensive even to Albanians themselves) are so remote that not only do Albanians no longer believe in them, but Europe too no longer sees them as a balancing element in its many chronicles, where the main characters...

After the news about the OSCE observers, the Presidency: “No comment!” Godo: “The news is unsubstantiated; a statement from the OSCE or the Council of Europe is needed” “NO comment” was the answer given by the Presidency when asked whether the Albanian President had or had not rejected OSCE observers being present at the local elections in Albania. The news conveyed to the press by the chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Gjinushi, has received neither confirmation nor denial from the highest institution of the Albanian state. “No comment,” said President Berisha’s political adviser, MP Genc Pollo, explicitly; he also said he could not say anything about it because that responsibility belonged to the Presidency’s spokesperson. Pollo, who had previously been Berisha’s spokesperson, no longer performs that function now that he has been elected an MP. Meanwhile, two other people now work in the President’s press office, one of whom is Aida Shehu. Ms. Shehu said yesterday that she had happened to read the news in one of Sunday’s newspapers and that it had not concerned her at all. Asked whether she too was responding “no comment” on the matter, like Pollo, she answered in the affirmative, adding that she did not know what to say about it. The spokesperson for the President of the Republic also added that she knew nothing about the news circulated by Gjinushi and that today she might be able to say a little more about it. More on p. 4

The English citizen Elton Bill, from London, has been sentenced to three years in prison. He was found guilty of committing the criminal offense of falsifying documentation concerning relations between Albania and England. He committed this criminal offense in 1990–1991 by falsifying documents to make it appear that he had imported a large quantity of powdered milk into Albania. Through this forgery, he unlawfully obtained 160,000 pounds from the assistance provided by the EC for fictitious imports to Albania. After the criminal investigation began, the English investigators secured almost all the evidence of the defendant’s guilt from the General Directorate of Customs in Tirana, as well as testimony from four witnesses who appeared in the courtroom in London. The trial of this defendant concluded on Saturday, September 14, 1996; he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. However, it is understood at the General Directorate of Customs that the same forgery scheme was also used for “aid” shipments allegedly brought from France and Italy. Two cases are being investigated in this regard, both by the Albanian authorities and by the authorities of those countries, since the EC lists include aid shipments that were declared but, unfortunately, never arrived.

After many days of discussion, the Tirana branch of the PR decided to nominate Neritan Alibali for the position of mayor of the capital. Several names were competing for the post, but in the end Alibali is the one who will represent the PR in the fierce battle to win the capital. Neritan Alibali currently serves as Head of Press and Information in the Republican Party and is also a member of the PR Steering Committee. More on p. 5

Gramoz Pashko heading to court Page 3