Minimum pensions are favored The government decision takes effect from 1 October ANDREA STEFANI TIRANE — The government decision to increase social insurance income for around 500,000 pensioners has been announced. Starting from 1 October, the minimum city pension will be 15 percent higher, while for the maximum pensions this increase will be 7 percent. Meanwhile in the countryside all pensions will rise by an average of 35 percent. Although in general the government decision follows the draft proposed by the Ministry of Labour, Emigration and Social Welfare, some changes are also reflected. Thus in the city, where around 340,000 pensioners live, the tendency proposed to increase minimum pensions at a faster rate has been maintained — 15 percent or 280 lekë — but in addition, an increase of around 7 percent, or about 150 lekë, for the higher pensions has been accepted. The draft had foreseen that these latter pensions — received by 20 percent of pensioners — would remain almost unchanged. As for the countryside — where the number of pensioners is 140,000 — the draft’s tendency for an average pension increase of 35 percent has remained in force, thus even surpassing the rate of increase of pensions in the city. After this, in the city there will no longer be pensions below 2,200 lekë, while in the countryside this minimum will not be below 700 lekë. If we also calculate the roughly 500 lekë in various compensations received on top of the basic pension — among them the one for food, which will come into force in November — the income from social funds for pensioners reaches higher levels. In the city this type of minimum income averages around 3,000 lekë, while in the countryside around 1,100 lekë. Among other things, the decision seems aimed at restoring some of the pensioners’ income, which since 1 January of last year had been especially affected by the economic consequences for a considerable part of them. For the first time, the minimum pension in the countryside will exceed the 950 lekë threshold of economic assistance, thus putting into practice a legal requirement. In addition, the aim is to keep the perspective open. By narrowing the gap between city pensions and those in the countryside, it becomes easier to integrate the latter into the pension scheme in the not-too-distant future. Such a thing would otherwise be impossible for the state budget, under conditions of maintaining the differences that existed until now. PENSIONS Increase in pensions approved by the Government Cities Minimum +15% Maximum +7% Villages Average increase +35% The increase took effect on 1 October and concerns around 500,000 pensioners

Mr. SALI BERISHA President Berisha TIRANE — The debate over the constitution has returned to the stage, this time over the way it should be adopted. The dilemma was taken up by President of the Republic Sali Berisha, who — in a message addressed to the people — put forward for the first time the idea of organizing a referendum: “A proposal that Albania’s first constitution of European standards be approved by referendum, in which every citizen would have the opportunity to express an opinion, an opinion which overall constitutes a fundamental element of his state.” Berisha’s proposal came immediately after a hot political summer in which the debate centered — distorted after the bitter split caused by the Democratic Party over the convocation of a Constituent Assembly — precisely on the way this fundamental state document should be adopted. The clashes of opposing views, the accusations and counter-accusations, however unjustified, further damaged Parliament and left it mired in bad publicity. And now it is emerging again, but this time — directly after the drafting of the constitution project has been completed — in a new idea that until now had hardly been mentioned: the referendum. How will the President’s proposal be received by the Albanian political forces? It is still too early, but it is certain that this too will not escape debate and many discussions. Will the constitutional law be signed stipulating that the Constitution is adopted by Parliament? Or will a special law on the referendum first be proposed, and for the first time the people will be the arena where it is voiced and decided? Will the exact form of approval finally be sought? And this perhaps will concern the whole country. Only a few days ago it was President Berisha who launched the “referendum” debate to President Ramiz Alia, the discussion of which will continue with rapid responses. Nevertheless, the first reactions have not been lacking. “It is also a problem that must be discussed,” says Eduard Selami, Socialist Party deputy and vice-chairman of the temporary Constitutional Commission, to Gazeta Shqiptare. “For the moment, in view of the final constitutional solution, there is no need for it to be approved by Parliament and then passed to a referendum, although — as long as it is a democratic idea — the people have no more right than that.” Regarding the law on the referendum, there are opinions under discussion which, according to parliamentary sources, may be the one that goes to the People’s Assembly Council. Armand Mero

Appeal after the complaint filed by five members of the minority The prosecutor asks that the 7 September 1994 ruling be upheld TIRANE — This time it was the “five” themselves who appealed. Because since 7 September of this year — when the members of “Omonia” were found guilty and sentenced to 35 years in prison — their case had already been taken up by the Greek press. On Monday Behxhani, Papakari, Matos, Siimos and Qirjakos had the exhausting task, as well as the April 1994 arrest, of appearing before the judges and defending themselves. An opportunity for them, but in its absence — according to the spokesman of the Greek Government, Vangelos — it had been called “a chance for Albania.” Tomorrow, when the Court of Appeal announces its decision, it will have to choose only one path: the request for acquittal of the five minority members or the decision of the Tirane court. But not forgetting the prosecutor’s appeal either. Petrit Duka, who requested “that the decision of the First Instance be upheld.” Also on appeal — as in the Tirane court — the five minority members of “Omonia” did not accept being called guilty of “treason against the homeland in the form of creating foreign agencies” or of “illegal possession of weapons.” How could that be shown by the forces of the freedoms of the three years of the Greek minority in Albania? One of the things they claimed to have tried to do has nothing to do with espionage activity. Such a defense did not come from the lawyers, but neither did it, once again, at least from the prosecutor on appeal. But although Duka ultimately asked that the 7 September '94 ruling be upheld, this time — unlike in the Tirane court — some changes were requested. Thus it was requested that for Kosta Qirjakos the charge of “illegal possession of weapons” be dropped, since this accusation had been brought after the search of only one house. This was the only mitigating request from the prosecution, because in the other two episodes Duka also legally challenged the Tirane court’s ruling. According to him, “the cooperation that the defendants had among themselves was not assessed as an aggravating circumstance,” while regarding Irakli Simron — whose sentence for “illegal possession of weapons” had been reduced — he said that such a decision “has no basis in law.” But all this will wait until tomorrow, when the Court of Appeal will decide definitively. (t. b)

TIRANE — The Post Office seems to have established a very close and rather strange correlation between two fields that in fact are far apart from each other. We are talking about diplomacy on the one hand and the television commercial advertisement for “Kronemburg” beer on the other. The commercial spots in two variants have made it easier to understand: in one, the official American beer is shown in Paris, Athens and Rome, and in the other, its success is shown in Paris, Madrid and Rome. And it is precisely here that its miraculous coincidence has lain. The substitution of Madrid in the Paris-Athens-Rome version with Paris-Madrid-Rome — without removing Athens from the screen — has almost always coincided with moments of worsening diplomatic relations between Albania and Greece. And conversely, when diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries have warmed, the “Kronemburg with Athens” version has returned again. Thus the desire to advertise beer in as many variants as possible has, in a way that is both accidental and unclear, corresponded to the tides and ebbs of diplomacy, so much so that the beer advertisement has almost become an accurate barometer of diplomatic relations. Television viewers now, especially those who liked the famous emigrant in Greece — have learned to value the diplomatic message conveyed by the beer barometer: “When it has Athens,” they say, “things are going well, but when it is ‘without Athens,’ there is a risk that the cursed broom will be felt again.” A. Ste.

Appeal: «No to the language of hatred» “The language of hatred should be excluded from the political vocabulary,” was the appeal made on Monday at the meeting of the Albanian Helsinki Committee. According to this Committee, the “war of hatred” is seen as a real danger that, in the name of formal and moral pluralism, could replace pluralist democracy. This is because “not infrequently Parliament itself has turned into an arena of confrontation with insults and slurs and has lowered and killed as if the life of the units were being played out.” In the future it is feared that Albanian Albanians will be excluded,” it says — according to the Declaration — “and one of the inspirations of indoctrination.” For a safer winter in the North 800 tons of flour are currently secured by the Shkodra District Council in cooperation with the Grain Collection-Processing Enterprise — flour to be taken and blocked during the winter, as in Shalë, Shosh, Pult and Shllak. But if everything seems secure, 40 quantities of goods, livestock and money are still not moving. This distinction, and even inheritance and 5.2 million lekë in obligations from the copper boom. At this time, the Water Supply Directorate has considered taking 12.70 percent of the funds of support for economic assistance to be used for the care of the highlands withdrawn by the commune for the winter

The Municipal Council also steps in VLORE — The police operation against the illegal trafficking of clandestine migrants has also reached Vlorë. On Monday, the police forces of Vlorë carried out strict checks on the “Adriatic taxis” moored in various parts of the Vlorë coast. Only a few days earlier a similar operation had been carried out a few kilometers further north, in Durrës. According to announcements from the city police station, the only measure taken against the skiff owners has been the high fines imposed on them. Among those fined are also obligations to pay an additional 1,000 dollars for irregularities in documentation. Meanwhile, those who still manage to land on the Apulian shores — despite the strict measures or complaints on both sides of the Adriatic — pay the same sums to their transporters. The issue has also been discussed by local government bodies. A few days earlier, the Vlorë Municipal Council had decided that all motorboats must be collected in a designated area of the port. The measure aimed to keep under control the more than 100 motor skiffs that already exist in Vlorë. Until now they had been used for rides and had polluted a good part of the coastline. The latest police operation also aimed, among other things, at enforcing this measure. However, Italian reports inform almost daily about the capture of Albanian clandestine migrants in various areas of Italy. One signal is that the traffic will probably continue to exist for some time, as long as the “dream of the Italian Eldorado” exists. (St. Ma.)

KRUJE — Mystery at the Krujë Poligje Combine. A famous bell, that of the church of Shna Ndoj — the well-known pilgrimage site — which had been seized some time ago in a thieves’ den and stored in the police warehouses, has disappeared without leaving a trace. The police immediately began investigations. The first person to suffer from this story is the warehouseman of the police station himself. T. V. — who had been detained for several days — was arrested on Saturday. The details of the police suspicions are still not known, but the motive that seems to emerge is this: a price whose value is many times higher than the preventive measure taken in some respect. The disappearance of the bell of the Church of Shna Ndoj is one of the oldest existing in Albania. Even though it is stored in the premises, its value on the foreign antique market is estimated by specialists at tens of thousands of dollars. (M.A.)

TIRANE — “Our home is not here, but we live, we suffer because we are afraid they will kill father.” With these words the child of the couple who were seeking to save one of the family members addressed the charity unit in the family section. Mrs. Ganimete, who has lost her husband for complicated social reasons, is forced to take on the hardship of trying to rescue the man who killed him and the consequences he brought upon them. Her husband, named Muhamet Mehmeti, was seriously wounded in Germany, where he had gone to help his son. According to fellow emigrants, he became the victim of a conflict that has still not been clarified. Meanwhile his family in Albania is in a difficult economic situation and is appealing to public opinion for solidarity. Vlorë (t.b.) Vlora

SARANDE — At last the killer of the 16-year-old boy I.B. has been found; he was beaten to death about two weeks ago — following a quarrel between peers — near the Monument of Independence in Vlorë. A. V., suspected of murder, has been arrested at his home in Sarandë. Immediately after the killing — he had stabbed his peer — he had fled without leaving a trace. But in any case, cornered in a neighborhood, he fell into the hands of the police. A. Ste.

PERMET — The 35-year-old journalist from Kolonja in Përmet, Ll. T. i Triob, has not been able to escape death’s twists. His body was damaged in an accident some days ago and he died in the hospital in Janina, where he had been admitted with the help of deputy 12 November. The journalist’s funeral ceremony was held on Saturday with the participation of many people from Përmet; Trillo had collaborated with several newspapers and with Radio Gjirokastra. Gazeta Shqiptare expresses to Ll.’s family its deepest condolences for the loss of our colleague. (R.K.)

DURRES — Serious suspicions weigh on the back of a young man from Shijak. A woman — for her 11-year-old daughter — denounced him for attempted rape against her daughter; the 22-year-old young man, SH.G., was detained yesterday, only a few days after the woman’s complaint. For several days the parents had been worried about the disturbed state of their daughter. Finally — after the mother’s insistence — the child told what had happened to her and the name of her aggressor. The story is still rather unclear. According to local sources, just one day before the serious act against the child occurred, the victim’s father had had a serious quarrel with the young man. Now, the hypothesis is being examined that the vandal act may have been attempted in revenge against the father. A terrifying idea that could have been fully confirmed. Meanwhile, only investigations of this kind are being carried out at a fast pace and will dispel any kind of doubt. (U. T.)

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