But who decides on the Constitution? Opposition MPs take no position after the controversy The late-night meeting sends Selami’s proposal back to the Party Presidency. But the Chairman insists: “Approval must take place in Parliament” TIRANE - Selami’s proposal has reached the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party, but it will once again be the PD Presidency that examines Chairman Eduart Selami’s proposal on how the Constitution should be approved. At Tuesday’s meeting, which continued late into the night, the issue spread, and the expected debates did not take place. PD MPs asked: which body should make a decision on this matter? A few hours earlier, Selami had said that if the Presidency opposed him, he would appeal to the National Council. Meanwhile, no speculation emerged from the PD camp about the future position of the party’s MPs and National Council members. Selami himself had expressed hope that the National Council would act differently from the Party Presidency, implying that there were influential figures on the Council who would support his proposal. Tuesday’s meeting would have been a good opportunity to see the reactions of Democratic Party MPs as well, but the discussion was postponed because it was very brief, and no organizational plan was set. Selami himself tried to downplay the scale of the debate that had taken place over the previous two days in the Party Presidency. “It was a normal debate, within the organizational rules and the diversity that exists within the party, and there is no reason for exaggerations that might persist,” he said. Nevertheless, such a divergence of opinion between the PD chairman and the Presidency over the issue of the acts shaping today’s Albanian politics—the Constitution—could hardly avoid creating the impression of a debate that was not so ordinary within the party in power. Democratic Party headquarters

Kerosene and gas exempt from taxes and excise duties TIRANE - Liquefied gas and kerosene now cost less for those who import them. The same applies to firewood, mazut and diesel for those who produce and sell them domestically. Yesterday Parliament approved President Berisha’s decree amending the law on turnover tax and the law on excise duties. Turnover tax will no longer be applied during the customs regime to imported kerosene and liquefied gas. In addition, firewood, mazut and diesel used in various furnaces or in particular production sectors will no longer be subject to the 25 percent excise duty. These measures are intended to make it easier to import fuels that should currently be more affordable for everyday consumption, and fuels used mainly for heating. The fiscal policy applied up to now has not encouraged this. The severe energy situation made it unavoidable for the government to change its strategy and encourage the introduction of liquefied gas and kerosene as fuels for heating the population. The government took its first step in this direction last year by abolishing excise duties on imports of kerosene and liquefied gas. Now it has also removed the turnover tax. p.re.

Report from Kosovo: rape by police More than 2,000 cases of abuse in ’94 alone PRISHTINË - The tragic figures for violence inflicted by Serbian authorities on Kosovo’s defenseless population have been joined by another case. Yesterday, almost all the major news agencies reported the sensational incident, referring to what had happened at midnight on Tuesday in Kosovo’s capital, Prishtinë. During a search of a home, a Serbian policeman abducted a 19-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her. The Kosovo Albanian Committee for Human Rights was the first to report the latest act by the Serbian police authorities. According to information already published, the Serbian policeman—named Nenad Petroviç—was also reported by the family of the abused girl. In this context, the Kosovo Albanian Committee for Human Rights has also released the tragic figures on violence and abuse inflicted by Serbian police authorities on Kosovo’s defenseless population. According to this report, 5,157 cases of serious police brutality were reported in Kosovo during 1994 alone; 28 of the victims were children and another 22 were women. The Committee also says that a new campaign of abuse has recently begun in Kosovo. Serbian policemen in Prishtinë

A mother “rented” for two little orphans GJIROKASTËR - Instead of giving them alms, he has bought them a “mother.” It was an exceptionally generous act by a businessman from the city of Gjirokastër, who has set the lives of two children—14-year-old Shkëndër and 7-year-old Blendi—on a new course after they were left orphaned and out on the streets. After their father’s sudden death, both boys were also abandoned by their mother. The instinct to survive forced them to roam the streets of the stone city, begging for food. One of those days, 7-year-old Blendi approached the car of the still-unknown charitable businessman. The modest, outstretched hand of the child deeply moved him. So, instead of giving him alms, he set out to find another, longer-term solution to the problem. He understood that what the boys were missing was precisely a “mother.” And he decided to “buy” them one. After several days of searching, he managed to find a woman willing to take the two orphans into her home. To cover the necessary expenses—the children’s food and clothing—the businessman has given her a salary of 140 thousand lekë a month. From now on Blendi and Skënderi will no longer roam the cobbled streets begging for alms. They have a home, a mother, and even two sisters. And, without a doubt, the image of their unknown benefactor will remain close to them. There are hundreds of orphans in Albania who would dream of such a “miracle,” because passersby’s alms cannot fill their stomachs. But that is not all. Begging irreparably distorts their young, innocent souls. Family homes, built and recently renovated with considerable help from foreign foundations, do not have the capacity to shelter many more orphans. They continue to remain in the clutches of the street. The compassionate businessman must have thought of all this. But people like him are very few today... Ra.Ko.

The case goes to the High Council TIRANË—A storm is gathering over the Elbasan Court. This time, the lightning bolts of criticism have come from Tirana and are aimed at the institution’s heads and many of its judges. Following an inspection and a review of the court’s activities, the Ministry of Justice has decided to refer the matter to the High Council for “disciplinary measures.” A series of shortcomings observed at the Elbasan Court prompted the Ministry of Justice to decide on these drastic measures. “The inspection carried out,” Agim Neza, spokesperson for the Ministry, told Gazeta Shqiptare, “found legal violations in the adjudication of cases. It was found that in 1991, 1992, 1993 and the year just passed—which means the year 2000—a number of cases were handled improperly, which, according to the ministry’s inspectors, ‘resulted from the judges’ failure to organize their work and to comply with the law.’ Many hearing records were also found in which the provisions of the decision had not been stated and which had not been signed by the judges and court clerks.” All these violations have now brought the names of the Elbasan court’s heads and judges before the High Council of Justice, which will review their violations at its next meeting. Ar.Me.

ELBASAN - He tried to protect his car from a gang of robbers, but was left wounded by six knife blows. - He tried to protect his car from a gang of robbers, but was left wounded by six knife blows. He is Sulejman Çekrezi, the 33-year-old who fought on Tuesday evening—in the courtyard of his home—with those who were trying to steal his car. The incident took place in the village of Gjergjan, very close to Elbasan. It appears to have involved a gang of robbers, as another gang of thieves had been seen in the area earlier. According to them, someone had met the robbers in another vehicle, allowing some of them to get away, while the others were in the Çekrezi family’s yard. The car’s owner, who paid for the attack with serious injuries, is in the intensive care unit of Elbasan Hospital. The only trace left from that night—apart from the damage to the attacked car—is the jacket of one of the robbers. It may now serve only the interests of the law-enforcement authorities, who have already begun their investigation. (Me.Ki.)

A status guaranteeing this is being prepared TIRANA—A senior public official is coming into being in Albania: precisely someone who will work as a professional in the senior public administration and be politically independent. Their job will be guaranteed, given that the limited state budget does not allow the public administration to compete with private employers on salary. A draft law on the status of senior public officials is being prepared. It aims to define the rules governing the relations of people who will work in the senior state administration, the way they will be promoted to positions of responsibility, and their rights and duties. Meanwhile, the specialists working on the draft are discussing which posts in the administration will be covered by this status. This will lay the legal foundations for building a professional public administration that is genuinely politically independent and serves the public effectively. The hiring of such an official and their promotion to positions of responsibility will be based on merit and competition. And once they have earned their status, their job will be guaranteed for life. If this official is appointed to a political post, when that appointment ends they return to the technical post they previously held. gj.pj.

Theft at the PR TIRANA—The theft from the Republican Party’s cashbox remains a mystery. Police have so far detained the two guards who served every day in two shifts at the party headquarters. One of them—the one who took over the afternoon shift—said that he found the door to the corridor leading to the party’s finance room broken open. But he did not notify anyone else about it. Meanwhile, the investigation has continued to shed light on the person who, four days ago, took 5,000 dollars and 30,000 lekë from the Republicans’ cashbox.

A major campaign by the Directorate of Hygiene in the capital Operation against counterfeit drinks A production workshop in Tirana is shut down TIRANA—A crackdown on counterfeit drinks. For several days, the Directorate of Hygiene in Tirana has been carrying out a wide-ranging operation across the capital to inspect the production of alcoholic beverages. The focus of this campaign is on identifying this kind of fraud. More specifically, regarding production: “Through extensive inspections of all the beverage production units and factories, the Directorate of Hygiene has found that there are many products in circulation...” The operation’s teams discovered a workshop near the “21 Dhjetori” district in the capital. Inspections by Hygiene inspectors found that several sanitary parameters were not being observed. Their decision was firm: “The workshop will be closed.” As part of the effort to block these products throughout the capital, the Directorate of Hygiene is also calling for the submission of the relevant records. “It would be necessary,” Zajo adds, “for those who ... to buy [/?] to request an analysis of the product before the deadline. Only in this way will we be able to establish a barrier against substandard wine blends being sold.” Adulterated drinks are not a new phenomenon in the Albanian market. There have been many cases in which they have also caused deaths. The operation under way these days is another blow aimed at stopping them. “The operation we are carrying out,” Zajo explains, “was not launched in response to the recent cases that have come to light. We had planned it as part of our annual work plan.” Ar.Me.

Statement by Omonia and PBDNJ TIRANA—“Let the ice between Albania and Greece be broken and dialogue begin.” A joint statement by activists of “Omonia” and two deputies of the Party for Human Rights calls for improved relations between Tirana and Athens. The statement, read in Parliament yesterday by Kosta Makaridhi, called on the governments of the two countries to sit down at the negotiating table to resolve the common problems concerning both sides. “In essence, there is no reason at all to divide us; on the contrary, everything unites us and should unite us, keeping us away from points of division that only the interests of third parties could desire,” the statement said. Makaridhi called for Sërreqi to invite his counterpart Papulias to visit Tirana, thereby opening the possibility of signing a treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two states. There was also an appeal to the Greek Parliament: “It would be welcome if, by the end of February, the law legalizing Albanians’ residence in Greece through residence permits and work cards were approved.”

Çështja shkon në Këshillin e Lartë Elbasan Ruan makinën Po përgatitet statusi që e garanton këtë “Nëpunës i lartë publik” Vjedhja në PR Ndalohet

This is how Albanian girls are “sold” abroad “I dreamed of becoming a model...” On page 3 40 percent of companies are going bankrupt in Tirana On page 3