POLITICS The PS leader calls for deep restructuring in the Meksi cabinet. «For us, the result of 6 November was a clear protest vote against today’s government» «I don’t believe in PD’s changes» Servet Pëllumbi on the changes in the Government TIRANA — While changes in the composition of the Government are being planned in the Democratic Party camp, the socialists do not hesitate to express their mistrust of the moves made by their political opponents. In line with the PS chairman, Servet Pëllumbi, Gazeta Shqiptare answered the questions that are now being posed with greater urgency to Albanian public opinion. “Believe me it will be nothing more than a reshuffling of people and not a deep restructuring,” Pëllumbi said. “To judge it definitively, we need to see how deep the changes will be and then what the purpose will be in relation to the problems we consider political, what its credibility and stability will be. We continue to believe that the people’s vote on 6 November was a break, and a strong one, from today’s government,” which is essentially the core of Pëllumbi’s stated position. What is your assessment of the government changes now announced by the PD? In our view, the result of 6 November clearly shows that the majority of the people are dissatisfied with today’s government. The referendum vote was not simply for the draft Constitution — which I think many people had not even read — but a sign of protest. In this sense, we have been of the opinion that the current government should resign. President Berisha should have done the same. The PD should have understood this too, but apparently it is not capable of understanding it. In any case, the PD has now decided to change the composition of the Government. If, at the end of the restructuring, only a few simple personnel changes are made, the people will be the first not to support it, but to judge it definitively we must wait and see how deep the changes are and especially what its future credibility and stability will be. Also important will be the positions taken on the issues that weigh heavily on the Government. Servet Pëllumbi, deputy chairman of the PS Has there been any agreement between the parties on the new Constitution? “This depends on the PD’s attitude. By now most parties have made it clear that the Constitution must first be approved by two-thirds of the deputies and then in the new Parliament, and afterwards submitted to the people for a referendum. The PD insists on a different view and I think that is the biggest obstacle. Technical arrangements regarding the commission are entirely surmountable.” Fatos Baxhaku.

The republican leader speaks TIRANA — “The Government must be rebuilt.” This is the position of the Republican leader Sabri Godo. According to him, the PR — which has representatives in the Government — is responsible for the existence of many forms of corruption and therefore also for the inadequate fight against many negative phenomena in today’s society, from oil smuggling to drugs, prostitution and the trafficking of minors. You have said that the Government should be “rebuilt.” What do you mean by that? “With this I mean that Albania must have a government team better able to overcome the major problems the country faces. In our view, the change must be profound. It should be made as quickly as possible, but not in haste.” By profound change, do you also mean ministerial changes in Meksi’s government? “In a period of the deepest possible overhaul, as far as Meksi personally is concerned, it is up to the majority party to decide whether he will continue to remain at the head of the Government or not.” Have you proposed changes in the composition of the future Government? “Nobody has asked us about this matter; we are waiting to be asked. On that occasion our concrete proposals will also become apparent.” What are, in your view, the shortcomings of the current Government? “First corruption, which we have spoken about before as well. To eliminate it, a thorough cleansing must be carried out, starting with the state and privatization; in fact some privatizations need to be reviewed. Then the Government has shown unjustifiable negligence toward oil smuggling, which risks turning into an Albanian economic bubble for the Albanian people. It should be more concerned about phenomena such as drugs, prostitution, the trafficking of minors, generally about all those acts that can be described as mafia activities.” (fa.bax.)

Shehu’s statement: «Otherwise bankruptcy will come» TIRANA — The parties have been hit by an economic crisis. It seems that the funding provided by the Government, now together with rising prices, has put party administrations in a difficult position, and these administrations have apparently spent a good part of their budgets in the “battle” for the Constitution. An alarm has come from the secretary of the ruling party. Tritan Shehu, Secretary General of the PD, expressed alarm at his party’s latest press conference. “If the Government does not increase funding for the parties, they risk going bankrupt.” Shehu did not speak only about the condition of his own party. According to him, almost all parties are in financial difficulty. “We have intervened with the Government to apply an increase in funding for the parties based on price indexation — Tritan Shehu explained — in other sectors this has already been done, whereas for the parties it has not yet been applied. We will continue to pressure state structures so that this request is fulfilled; otherwise the parties will be seriously harmed and this serves no one in the country at all.” Shehu also rejected accusations of irregularities in the PD company “Shqiponja.” “If there are doubts, let the relevant bodies verify the documentation; we are completely open.” Tritan Shehu

Çela reports to Parliament on the Commission’s activity TIRANA — “The State Control should be given greater decision-making powers in order to increase the effectiveness of work in the fight against corruption.” Blerim Çela, head of State Control, concludes his report on the work of the body he heads over a period of almost one year in this way. For nearly an hour and a half, Çela presented before Parliament the results of inspections carried out to uncover legal violations, damage, theft, misuse and corruption-related evasion in the state administration at all levels. It turned out that during the period in question, the control bodies uncovered 1 billion 327 million lek in shortages, damage and breaches of financial discipline. For 16,300 cases, restitution to the state budget was requested. Fines totaling 7 million 713 thousand lek were imposed. 520 people were prosecuted; 367 people were removed from office; 959 others were dismissed. In total, 17,177 people were denounced, dismissed, fined and referred for criminal prosecution. These are the figures. Çela used them as an argument for the Government’s fight against corruption. “These facts show the improvement of the Democratic Government and the specialized control and justice bodies. Çela — for the fight against corrupt individuals and lawbreakers.” Among other things, the State Control report mentions the most pronounced unlawful corrupt practices in local government bodies, concerning which cases have been referred to ministries and other state bodies for criminal proceedings. The Finance Report notes pressure from traders or delays in criminal cases by judges and prosecutors for profit-making purposes. There are also accusations regarding the minister of banking, credit and employment, whose loans require payments in certain cases and agreements. As for privatization, apart from other cases, there was less damage. It was again found that some enterprises and facilities were misused through privatization boards, where there were violations and corrupt acts that were reported for criminal prosecution. The report adds that this phenomenon has been particularly pronounced in the commissions for the return of private property. In many cases they kept owners running around and property certificates were only issued after the object had been sold by the privatization board. (An. Se.).

YESTERDAY IN ALBANIA Until 28 November, the day of Albania’s liberation, a torch will remain lit at the Martyrs’ Cemetery. The ceremony for lighting it symbolically was organized in Skanderbeg Square, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the capital from the Nazi-fascist occupying forces. In the government ceremony, the chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori, and guest Aleksandër Meksi laid the wreath and are expected to go to the Martyrs’ Cemetery. The ceremony is part of the government program of solemn celebrations in honor of the 50th anniversary of Liberation, which will be held throughout the country.

A population boom in the small town of Brëshen. Within two years its population has reached nearly 8,000 inhabitants. Two years earlier the town officially counted 4,000 people. With little concern for the “planned distribution of the population,” most people in this place have settled in the town in the hope of having a better life. At the same time, Prëshen has become a village where the land reform left some with only a few hectares of land or none at all. Thus, by following their desire for their future place of residence, they end up turning the entire countryside into a town. The growth has caused no small number of social and economic problems.

The witness is also in jail; he did not report the crime LAÇ — The police forces in Laç were, this time, forced to detain a member of the law-enforcement forces. This concerns the officer of the Bulqizë police commissariat, Marash Vata. Together with Vata, the citizen Asllan Çela ended up in the commissariat offices. The reason for Vata’s detention was the shooting and wounding of a person by him a few days earlier, namely Prenq Pepa, born and residing in Fushë-Krujë, who is still in hospital. The incident had also occurred in Laç, at the place called the freight park. During an argument — the reasons have not yet been clarified — Vata fired a pistol and seriously wounded Pepa. Meanwhile, the authorities of the Laç commissariat have also detained 44-year-old Asllan Çela. He faces charges of unlawful possession of weapons as well as failure to report a crime. Çela was present at the scene of the incident.

ELBASAN — The military court has handed down 9-year prison sentences to 4 police officers from the Elbasan commissariat. They had appeared before the court last May, accused of abuse of office. In November of the previous year, they had used violence against 28-year-old H. C., which cost him his life. And although the forensic medical report spoke of the causes of death, the testimony presented during the trial was enough for the court panel to hand down 9 years in prison for the four policemen. M. Ki

Tragedy in the forests of Librazhd. A legend begins... Death under the weight of a trunk Tragedy in the forests of Librazhd. A legend begins... The “revenge” of the cut tree Death under the weight of a trunk ELBASAN — Was it a fatal accident or the revenge of the freshly cut tree? The villagers of Prrenjas in Librazhd know how to give both answers, with much hesitation. Their fellow villager, 37-year-old Xhovit Kasa, lost his life in the forest crushed by the weight of the heavy trunk of the tree that had just fallen. The tragic event has also given rise to discussions about the revenge of the tree. It happened only a few days ago. Kasa, together with two fellow villagers, had gone up into the forest to cut wood. It was work he had done for years. While working among the trees in the forest and arranging the logs, everything had gone normally, and as they were descending none of them suspected that the ground would move and, before their eyes, take away what they could not see. Aside from the great fatigue, they had suffered no other harm. The other two escaped, while in a matter of seconds they saw the “revenge” of the old tree unfold. Kasa was killed on the spot. The others were so “stunned” that they could scarcely remember their companion and the legend of the tree’s “revenge.” Mentor Kikia

Specialists complain TIRANA — They have started businesses, but without complying with state laws. This concerns many citizens, traders and even producers of food products, who carry out their activity without permits issued by the sanitary regulatory authorities, even though they have obtained professional licenses and authorizations from the tax authorities. The alarm comes from inspectors of the Hygiene Directorate, who speak with concern about the situation that has arisen. “There are hundreds who carry out their activity without first obtaining a license from us,” says Niko Nika, an inspector at this directorate, for Gazeta Shqiptare. “These are mainly kiosks that serve as cafés and that may also sell things, or even do so without toilets. There are butcher shops whose cooling refrigerators are missing, while the walls of these shops are not covered with ceramic tiles. Filth and grime are everywhere. There are also restaurants without special sinks, which according to the regulations should be separate for plates, glasses, vegetables and meat. There are also private subjects that work without having their own permits. According to the law, fines of up to 25 thousand lek are imposed on those who work without their permits.”

Tomorrow in «Gazeta Shqiptare» TIRANA — Nobel Prize contender Ismail Kadare will speak to Albanians through Gazeta Shqiptare. In tomorrow’s issue there is a full page dedicated to an interview with the distinguished writer. And this is not about literature. This time Kadare presents his opinion on the most important problems of political life in the country. Reform, the constitution, power, the opposition as well as relations with the world, the fight against corruption, the national question, foreign policy or surrender [?] will not be missing; all of these will be there, presented with a perspective and expressed with a highly original culture. Tomorrow. Ismail Kadare

Bosnian President Izetbegović’s headquarters hit The siege of Bihać continues ON PAGE 2 “Albanian” football returns to stadiums The calendar gives way to “Tirana” ON PAGE 3

TIRANA — The 160 Albanian finalists of the American visa lottery have now been fixed. Each of them now hopes to be the final winner of a visa for the USA. This was announced in a statement by the American Embassy in Tirana, specifying that the finalists — to whom the documents to be filled in have now been sent — will determine to some extent the дальнейша course of the draw. According to advisers, the winners can be included only through the consulate and there is no published list of visa names.