“Here are my secret clashes with him” INTERVIEW / Allies, mistakes, relations with the President... Successors ready? Conference today: will Selami leave? TIRANA - For several days now, names of people who could replace Selami as party chairman have been discussed within the PD. Unofficial sources in the PD have mentioned a list of names headed by Genc Pollo, President Berisha's current political adviser, followed by Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni, and even Ylli Vejsiu and others. Although the extraordinary conference, which will begin today at 10:00, does not have discussion of Chairman Selami on its agenda, today's debates are expected inevitably to lead to heated discussion about the future position of Eduard Selami, the man whose recent proposals on the Constitution caused a “storm” within the governing party. CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA - Yes, disagreements with the President had begun some time ago, although most of the episodes were not known. This continued until the clashes of recent days. On the eve of the PD's extraordinary conference, which begins today in Tirana and could decide his position at the head of the party, Eduard Selami talks about his relations with his new political opponents inside the party. And he names them: “Today there are two groups in the PD, divided according to the system for adopting the Constitution,” Selami explains. “On one side is President Berisha, supported by Prime Minister Meksi, Tiran Shehu, Ali Spahia and Tomor Dosti. On the other side, there is me, supported by Malaj, Shehi and Hajdari, and I have seen that my idea has also remained aligned with that expressed by Genci Ruli, a person I greatly respect.” When did the disagreements begin, and what caused a split? “I personally was in favor of a referendum, but even then I said that the draft should subsequently go through Parliament. My position has always been moderate, but now I saw myself forced to speak out publicly, in the party's interest.” Be honest: did you foresee losing the referendum? “From the beginning I knew it would be a difficult battle, but seeing people's participation in our vote, I began to be more optimistic. In the last three or four days I had the impression that we were making a serious mistake by appearing so much on television. But generally speaking, we thought we had won. The defeat was truly a cold failure for me. I believe that this defeat was a defeat for the PD and for the President: it greatly damaged the party; it did not help, because it struck people's confidence in the party and has ... Shehu: “But we are the future of the party...” TIRANA—So, Mr. Shehu, will Selami be removed or remain chairman? Only the party's extraordinary conference has the power to decide, but it must add the matter to the agenda ... ... if you place Selami in a political area, it is clear that ... we remain the party's right wing”. Selami has said that cooperation must be strengthened ... You speak of mistakes that were made: what did you get wrong, and what do you think the President lost in this ...? “As party chairman, I say I was wrong not to reach out more to the right. We must reconsider our stance toward the right, because only in this way can we hope to win the 1996 elections. The Prime Minister has many merits, but I believe his mistake was in choosing his priorities: he favored macroeconomics, such as the fight against inflation or the often-mentioned legislative reform, and did not think about people's vital needs: water, electricity, infrastructure.” And President Berisha? “The President's mistake? I believe it is his tendency to concentrate too many powers in his hands.” Selami and Hajdari after the latest press conference (photo: H. Pustina)

The Reds crush the reigning champions Laç fans celebrate TIRANA - Laçi copies Shkumbini and hands Tirana its second defeat, this time with Tirana playing without its regular starters. The people of Laç have now left Tomori behind and have as many points as Dinamo, Apolonia and Shqiponja. This week also belonged to Vllaznia, which climbs three places in the standings. The trio of goals scored by Bizhia and, once again, Gru-da-luan for the first time, show that tradition in Shkodër still prevails. The Reds feel like “champions” after beating Teuta, which seems to be finding it difficult to justify its status as reigning champion. Three goals and a good performance are enough to forget Peqin. But not Shkumbini. The latter's players have not lost for eight weeks. Indeed, it was Pelari of Albpetrol who also ended Shkumbini's unbeaten run at home ... Kateshi's goal sends the Patos players down to fourth place. This is also because of Vllaznia, who are not only capable of winning and losing a match, but also of drawing at home. They are also able to score everywhere, a kind of play from days gone by. In Elbasan, the match selected at the last minute was played: the usual one? Muca continues to be decisive in the team's victories. Dinamo has forgotten how to earn points away from home. It is different when playing with their minds on Durrës, where on Wednesday they will fight for a place in the cup final. The ground for the series falls to the bottom of football: 2.44 million lekë. gje.pi. Here are the results of week XX Albpetrol-Shkumb. 1-1 Besa-Dinamo 1-0 Besëlidhja-Iliria 2-0 Elbasani-Tomori 1-0 Flamurt.-Shqiponja 1-1 Laçi-Tirana 2-1 Partizani-Teuta 3-0 Vllaznia-Apolonia 5-0

Discovery by Greek border guards. The unidentified driver manages to escape Kakavijë, on a truck GJIROKASTER - Another 17 kilograms of narcotic plants have been caught in the “net” at Kakavijë, the border crossing between Albania and Greece. This time, the Greek authorities, acting as the protagonists of the latest discovery, also notified their Albanian colleagues of what had happened on Thursday, a few meters inside their national border. The trained dog managed to sniff out the forbidden plant right under the driver's bunk in the truck coming from Albania. Although 17 kilograms of hashish were seized, it was not possible to detain the truck's owner as well; according to the Greek border authorities, he managed to escape by immediately turning back toward his own country. This adds to the cases in 1995 in which Albanian and Greek citizens have been caught trying to take narcotic plants into Greece. The first operation of the year was carried out on 12 January, when a large quantity of hashish leaves, about 34 kilograms, was discovered. Meanwhile, only the week before last, the Greek authorities had reported the detention of four other citizens—one of them from Saranda—who had tried to transport a quantity of narcotic plants across the border. Although measures against the drug “transit” have been significantly increased on both sides of the border, the traffickers' activity has become a truly serious problem. (p.re.)

Threatening the rare ancient city SARANDË - “Butrint belongs only to ancient constructions.” With this as its guiding principle, and with a promise to demolish anything illegal, an urgent meeting of Sarandë's local authorities, in cooperation with specialists in archaeology, has concluded. The Construction Police have therefore been ordered to intervene against more than 30 illegal structures already in the ancient area of Butrint. Very strict measures were also adopted for any new construction, with the requirement—introduced for the first time—that a planning permit must necessarily be accompanied by certification from an archaeological specialist. In addition to the remarkable area of Butrint, the alarm was also raised this time over other ancient settlements, such as Xara and Finiqi. (Ra.Ko.)

TIRANA—So, Mr. Shehu, will Selami be removed or remain chairman? ...of supported by Prime Minister Meksi, Tiran Shahu, is me, supported by Malasi, also conflicts with the one expressed by Genc with President Berisha begin? “Our positions have often been different, although the disagreements did not come to light. Staying with the subject of the Constitution, for example, I disagreed with the way the referendum was conducted, as well as with many other things. I would have preferred to allow more time for debate and not have President Berisha so heavily involved in the television propaganda campaign.” Who chose that strategy? “It was the President himself, who also asked for my support in not backing the party structure, and I think that was another fundamental mistake. The PD parliamentary group had also voted against the referendum, although later in Parliament it was decided to support the party's decision. We could not begin the propaganda campaign ... placing Selami in a political area; it is clear that it is a weak position for us to remain the party's right wing.” but it must specify the matter; this issue is not on the agenda. Tomorrow we must first decide to appoint the Presidium and then address the referendum, or—as Selami has proposed—through Parliament.” Selami says the party majority is more supportive of his opponents. Are they trying to lead it? “We will see, but I know that in Tirana there was only one vote in favor out of 17, in Shkodër 2 votes out of 19 and, even in those cities where the debate was fiercest—such as Korçë or Fier—in the end the majority confirmed the line of the National Council, not Selami's.” Selami supports the view that President Berisha, and you too, represent the left wing of the PD... “Of course, it is not for me to party's right wing.” Selami has said that cooperation with the Right League must be strengthened in order to win the elections. “The PD Presidium said this earlier, although, at least in our view, the election results should be seen before talking about a coalition.” Is the split with Selami only over the Constitution? “There is no split in the party, only an internal debate, which is a sign of democracy. But a few days ago Selami also began criticizing the decision on verification documents for people receiving pensions on property of former farm employees. According to him, this is a left-wing political choice. I have the completely opposite view: it is much more specific and private than the State's, and all the more so because it comes from the right.” What are the future objectives? “Regarding the President? I believe it is his tendency to expand too many powers in his hands.” You proposed not only voting on the Constitution in Parliament, but also combining the roles of party chairman and Prime Minister. Is this an attack on Meksi's role? “I expressed only a political concept, because I think there is too much distance between the Government and the party. My proposal then received more support than I had expected: it is true that dissatisfaction with Meksi has grown somewhat.” In your view, is the political conflict within your party destined to grow or diminish? “I am convinced that with the extraordinary conference the situation will calm down and the party will manage to avoid an internal split. And whatever happens, I will never leave the Democratic Party.” c.bo.

KAVAJË - “Private” television in Kavajë. Although only for a few hours, the television screens in Kavajë have, for one night in a row, experienced broadcasts transmitted for the first time by their own city. A group of four people—an engineer, two cameramen and a presenter—managed to broadcast the Bayram celebration for about 90 minutes, in place of the “Euro Sport” channel. The celebration was held in the evening in Kavajë’s “Kubelie” Square. This broadcast was repeated yesterday evening, except that it took the place of the “Sat 1” television channel. Meanwhile, the group installing the satellite network for the city of Kavajë—which has been working on it since November ’94—has promised fellow townspeople that tomorrow it will also broadcast the carnival celebration, which is due to begin this morning. Kavajë’s initiative—even if only for a few hours—joins that of Korçë, where last year programs broadcast specifically from that city were shown. (Qe.Ca.)

FIER - The State Audit Commission has proposed removing the Chairman of the Fier District Council from office. - The State Audit Commission has proposed removing the Chairman of the Fier District Council from office—who is also the chairman of the district’s KRT—as well as the two employees of the urban-planning office, following an inspection they have just carried out focusing on the state of illegal construction and the way the council’s assets are administered. According to a report distributed by the Audit Commission, irregularities were found in Fier in the approval of plots for kiosks and other constructions, and appropriate measures have been taken to eliminate the 900 illegal structures identified there. p.re.

The signals of a Turkish station have been added to those already available on the small screens in the homes of Gjirokastër residents. A repeater, which arrived as a gift from Turkey, has been operating for several days. Installed at what locals call Kodra e Kecullës, the repeater has a power of 25 watts. It is the fifth to be installed in this city and arrived here thanks to the good relations between the municipality and the private Turkish station “TGRT”.

A completely ordinary act of carelessness, but apparently also her husband’s profession as a veterinarian, has seriously endangered the life of a woman from a village near Elbasan. The woman confused the dose of antibiotics and immediately injected herself with a shot normally given to cattle to increase fertility. She suffered severe bodily complications, but fortunately the doctors managed to save her.

May 10 will be the deadline set by the municipality for every enterprise responsible for maintaining and cleaning the city to remove the waste and rubbish which, lately, had become a troubling problem for the citizens of Korçë. This was decided at a recent meeting of the Municipal Council.

TIRANA - Work to rehabilitate Tirana’s water-supply system began yesterday morning. The investments—which Italy has undertaken—amount to 13 billion lire, and the work is expected to be completed by May 20. The Deputy Prime Minister Shehi, who cut the ribbon, was present at the inauguration ceremony, alongside President Salih Berisha, who, after his speech, greeted those present and described infrastructure problems as “emergency problems”. In his speech, the Italian Ambassador to Tirana, Foresti, said that Italy would continue to help improve Albanian infrastructure, adding that it would also assist in completing the Tirana-Durrës railway, improving roads and the telephone network. The firm implementing this project is the Italian company “Falcone Costruzione”, which is working with the design firm “Tecnosud”.

Today: Gazeta TV Films and television programs for the whole week On pages 3–6 Import duty also on machinery and equipment The law in Parliament On page 7