INTERVIEW The DP leader: “I have put my name forward again for the Party leadership, and I do not want to become a minister.” “The government will not change” Selami a few hours before the Congress CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA — “This Congress will have no consequences for the Government, and I am not a candidate for minister. I hope to be elected Chairman of the Democratic Party tomorrow. In any case, until the next elections, I will certainly not accept positions in the Government.” A few hours before the start of the second National Congress of the Democratic Party (which opens this morning at 10:00), DP leader Eduart Selami gives Gazeta Shqiptare an account of his political activity, discusses the Party’s program, and promises that the fight against corruption will continue. Let us start with corruption: the opposition, as well as your former Tirana secretary, Kalakula, accuse the DP and the Government of corruption. Is it all false? “From many quarters, efforts are being made to cast suspicion on the Party and the Government over corruption. But that is not the case. The DP is under the scrutiny of Parliament, as well as the Socialists, and no financial violation has been demonstrated so far. We have chosen the path of honesty: just think, we do not even have the cars we need. And that is why, when faced with cases of corruption that have come to light, we have dealt with them all in the same way: whether the people involved were members of our party or not. Of course, I can vouch only for myself, but we certainly have honest people, such as President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi, as well as many other government officials. One thing is certain: we will continue the fight against corruption.” Many people think this Congress will bring changes to the Government. Your name has even been mentioned... “Yes, I know; they say I will be the next Foreign Minister. No, that is not true. The Government is not changing; the changes that needed to be made have already been made. I have accepted the nomination for Chairman, although this will be the last time, because our statute does not allow more than two consecutive candidacies. The other candidate will be Ylli Vejsiu: the election will be held tomorrow, by secret ballot. We shall see who is elected.” Will the Congress change the DP’s policy? “No, at least not its fundamental points. One of the Congress’s main issues is organizing new and different sections: currently there are around 3,000. We also want to increase our membership: today it stands at 150,000. Naturally, these two days of debate will also serve to take stock of our activity.” Is it true that there are former Communists among DP members? “Yes, it is true. We have sought to remove from the Party only those people who belonged to the upper echelons of the dictatorship and had ties to the former Sigurimi. We do not conduct biographical investigations into everyone else.” Are there deep divisions within your Party? “I would rather say that there are disagreements, different views on the country’s problems, such as the law on former owners, social insurance, and the timing of reform.” But are there different opposition factions within the Party? “These are not real factions. Recently, there was a strong attempt by MP Kalakula, but it failed. Today, as the Party continues to grow, Kalakula is no longer part of our Party, precisely because he has become isolated.” Is your position toward the Socialist Party changing? “Within the Socialist Party, we want to distinguish between those nostalgic for the dictatorship and everyone else. We have also tried to engage in dialogue on the major national issues, and at times we have held quite similar positions. Problems arise when internal matters are discussed, and that is where disagreements grow. You only have to look at what happens in Parliament every day.” You were among the most ardent supporters of judicial convictions in relation to the old regime. How long will this continue? “I expect the convictions to continue for some time yet, but no one can say for how long, because no one can know how deeply the roots of the dictatorship run.” Leka Zogu is proposing a referendum in Albania to choose between the Monarchy and the Republic. What do you think about this? “Zogu can come to Albania whenever he wants as a citizen, but I do not believe the Crown can be accepted at this time. I do not consider a referendum of this kind necessary, and in any case my opinion is that Zogu does not have the necessary support in Albania to realize his aspirations.”

An illegal exchange for calls abroad discovered in Tirana Telekom reports: “200 million lekë have not been paid” ANDREA STEFANI TIRANA — The telephone network continues to be one of the favorite targets of thieves. In addition to the theft of cables, copper wires, or wooden and concrete poles carrying the lines—which is still going on—the theft of telephone units has now become a major concern. The phenomenon of this sophisticated theft has been intensifying for two years, causing numerous disputes between the Telekom Directorate and subscribers. Citizens are refusing to pay for telephone service on the basis of the bills sent by Telekom. While 1992 ended—with a deficit of around 33 million lekë for the Telekom branch in Tirana alone—another 200 million lekë remain uncollected for the first nine months of this year, for the same reasons and because of delayed bill payments. The citizens’ complaint is almost always the same: the bills show large sums that do not correspond to their actual use of the telephones. Their explanation is also the same: the telephone lines have been stolen. Officials at the Telekom Directorate in Tirana say they are concerned about this phenomenon. “The main reason for the thefts,” Mustafa Koskia, director of this branch, told Gazeta Shqiptare, “is that the telephone network is highly exposed to theft. We also lack modern equipment that can record the duration of calls and their routing. Consequently,” he added, “we are unable to determine clearly what proportion of citizens’ complaints are genuine. These difficulties were explained to citizens when they signed the service agreement.” To deal with the situation, Telekom employees have stepped up inspections of the lines, enabling them to catch several thieves in the act. In some cases, they had turned the theft of telephone units into a profitable business. Two of them caused the state losses of 3 million lekë by stealing telephone units from the line of the Institute of Physical Education. They had illegally installed a telephone and invited people to make calls abroad at half price. Other citizens had used the same method. One stole the line that ran past his home. Many thefts also take place from office phones after working hours. Since direct international lines are the most frequently targeted, Telekom has left it to subscribers to decide whether or not to keep them open. Of the 7,700 phones with the 2 prefix, only 1,200 subscribers currently keep international access enabled. But despite the improvements brought about by these and other organizational measures taken by Telekom, the thefts—and the complaints from citizens along with them—appear to be continuing. POLL

Rinas, a magic phone in a bar TIRANA — It is not always difficult to steal phone calls, as the experts say. There is, in fact, a phone in the bar at “Rinas” airport, a kind of magic phone (we see it in the photo). It is “magic” because, although it does not accept the coins needed to make a call from any public telephone—the slot where the money is inserted simply does not work—it gives everyone free calls. In other words, you just dial the number and that is all; everything works: you make calls without spending a single cent. We do not know whether the service is free by design or whether it is simply a fault; what is clear is that this phone works without money. But if it is a fault, it is at least better than those public phones that never work, even when you insert a coin.

The Government has not yet allocated the funds TIRANA — (Ar. Me.) - Foreigners will clean the capital. “Nuova Ecologia”—an Italian company—and “Tecnocem”—a Slovenian company—are the two firms that won the tender organized by the Tirana Municipality for cleaning services. They were selected last Saturday by a committee of 10 specialists and technicians. At long last, hopes are being revived that the capital too will be freed from its filth. Twelve companies applied for this tender—announced by the Tirana Municipality several months ago—only two of them Albanian. These companies were to compete by submitting project studies. The main element of these studies, in addition to cleaning and collecting waste, was a proposal for a modern plant that would make it possible to process the waste without releasing it into the environment and to reuse it for energy, agricultural fertilizer, and so on. But although the winners have been selected, the financial arrangements have yet to be resolved. So far, there is only a Government promise to allocate 1 million dollars for the initial phase of cleaning up the capital.

Montenegrin Health Minister meets Shehu TIRANA — “There is no radioactivity in Lake Shkodra.” The statement was made to Gazeta Shqiptare by specialists gathered for a special meeting at the Committee for Environmental Protection in Tirana. “There are no radioactive sources in this area,” explained Koco Dollani, a specialist at the Institute of Nuclear Physics; “there may perhaps be technological pollution, which we are investigating.” The alarm over this phenomenon was raised on October 25 by Filip Guraziu, Mayor of Shkodra: “There have been hundreds of cases of people who, after bathing in the lake, have been covered with red spots on their bodies.” According to Guraziu, the pollution resulted from discharges from Montenegro’s factories into the waters of Lake Shkodra. Meanwhile, Miomir Mugosha, Montenegro’s Minister of Health, who arrived in Albania on Thursday, declared: “There is no reason for concern. Albanian experts can come and carry out the necessary tests on our side of the lake as well.” But the greatest concern for the Montenegrins now is the fifty people at the Bajzë railway station. The alarm that broke out in the German press over this issue also spoke of the danger of a toxic cloud that could affect Montenegro too. It was precisely for this reason that Mugosha met Tritan Shehu, Minister of Health, in Tirana on Thursday. So far, however, no concrete figures can be given for the damage that may have been caused. “It is not yet known how much damage there is,” Shehu told Gazeta Shqiptare; “the necessary tests must be carried out to determine the extent of any seepage, although the materials were isolated. We are now trying to send them back to where they came from. So far, we have learned from unofficial sources that Germany has allocated 1.4 million marks solely for the program to remove them.”

INSIDE The final matches of the First Phase will be played today Italian league matches ON PAGE 3 Yeltsin challenged by the Communist Commission in a referendum The decision was made by the Supreme Court ON PAGE 2

LUSHNJE — The dilemma of the day, “a degree or a shop?” , has, in civic terms, been settled in favor of a degree. This is a survey conducted by ATSH among 103 intellectuals in the districts of Lushnje and Berat. Sixty-two respondents who answered in favor of a degree used the argument that competent, professional management of productive and social activities is essential. Only 28 people surveyed gave a direct answer in favor of a shop. Meanwhile, 13 intellectuals did not respond, although they expressed reservations about working in the budget-funded sectors.

Tirana, referee cancels a Second Division match 22 footballers in search of a stadium TIRANA — Three referees and 22 Second Division footballers could wait no longer: the goal nets had no intention of appearing on the pitch. The head referee therefore announced that the match was cancelled. A slight resemblance to an old sports documentary from the 1980s. Yet this scene took place a week ago, and in the capital at that. The FSHF has now put on the list [??] all the evidence concerning the clubs and Studenti, whose match was to be played in Tirana. There was no shortage of goal nets. And all this after the footballers had already wandered around Tirana looking for a football field. It is just one episode from these difficult times for Albanian sport. And it is precisely in times like these that strange stories also occur. Thus, our handball teams taking part in the European Cups, for lack of funds, are trying something else: the day before yesterday, the entire Tirana volleyball team set off for Maribor, and they will play both matches there within 24 hours. The lack of funds to host the visitors from Geneva will mean that, a week from now, Partizani’s volleyball players will also play their Tirana match... in Switzerland.

RADIO-TELEVISION DIRECTOR SUMMONED TO A PARLIAMENTARY INTERPELLATION — “RTV has not violated its statute but has implemented it.” This was, in essence, the response given to Parliament by Shkëndër Bucpapaj, Director of Radio-Television, who had been summoned to an interpellation by Arben Imami, a deputy from the Democratic Alliance Party. The cause of all this was a comment made by Television some time ago about a visit to Belgrade by a delegation from this party. Imami described the comment as defamatory and as inciting political hostility; Bucpapaj said it was justified by national interests. A GROUP OF THIEVES ARRESTED IN SARANDA — Three people from the Shkodra district, Arstit Barcula, Hekuran Bedull and Lulzim Gjoraci, are now under arrest by the Saranda Police Commissariat. They will face criminal prosecution because they were caught stealing livestock in Ksamil, Saranda. THE UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK ISSUE ON THE WAY TO A SOLUTION — At last, a solution seems to have been found for publishing textbooks for the country’s higher education institutions. Unable to print the course packs on time as a result of the technical department’s dire financial situation, the University Book Publishing House has found a solution by publishing lecture series. So far, about 30 lecture series have been published for the Faculties of Law, Economics, Medicine, Electrical Engineering and Natural Sciences. The five-million-lek subsidy provided by the Government has had a positive impact.

Winning companies selected Montenegrin Health Minister meets Shehu INSIDE Poll

The Gazeta Shqiptare initiative of giving readers old panoramas of several Italian cities has been a great success. Indeed, many people who were unable to find them on the market have asked us to repeat the initiative. In order to delight the readers of our newspaper, we will continue distributing these views. Tomorrow, too, readers will find a new panorama as a gift at Gazeta Shqiptare distribution points.