A barrage of statements following former Democratic Party chairman Selami’s claim Selami, Spahia, the socialists: an “incendiary triangle” Nano and the Council of Europe: controversy erupts TIRANA - The controversy surrounding Eduart Selami and his statement at Tuesday’s meeting of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has escalated further. Selami, the Council of Europe, the Nano affair and the socialists’ position were the most debated issues on yesterday’s political scene. Selami himself has tried once again to explain the substance of his sensational statement, but this has only intensified the critical stance of both sides—the leaders of the Democratic Party and those of the Socialist Party—towards him. While the latter have limited themselves, unsurprisingly, to their reactions, another heated debate on precisely this subject took place within the Democratic Party parliamentary group between Selami, who was dismissed, and the current leaders. “At yesterday’s meeting I said that the opposition is trying to make Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe conditional on the Nano affair—which in no way is a condition set by Europe,” Selami also said. “The Council of Europe’s current official conditions are the two procedural codes and the rights of minorities and religious faiths. I had not made these public earlier because I wanted to discuss them first in the Foreign Affairs Committee.” Why, then, did he bring up the argument concerning Nano? “Because I wanted to draw the opposition’s attention to the fact that it should not use the Nano affair to obstruct Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe. That is precisely what the Council of Europe’s rapporteurs had asked me to do,” he replied. Yesterday another participant in Tuesday’s meeting also spoke to Gazeta Shqiptare. The chairman of the Democratic Party, Ali Spahia, said: “Selami has said twice in a row at broad meetings that Albania is not being admitted to the Council of Europe for reasons, one of which, according to him, was the Constitution, and another which he did not want to discuss. Yesterday he was asked quite clearly by the deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Socialist Party MP Bashkim Zeneli, and, after he insisted, Selami replied that the second reason was the Nano affair.” Yesterday the socialists also responded to Selami’s statements. “The socialists are not the kind of people who play games at Albania’s expense,” Socialist Party representative Servet Pëllumbi told Gazeta Shqiptare. “We have already given our consent to Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe and have never considered the Nano affair a condition for this. Indeed, we see the country’s swift admission to the Council of Europe as an opportunity to rehabilitate Nano; therefore, Selami’s accusations do not apply to us.” Those who imprisoned Nano are the real obstacle to Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe. Photo: Ali Spahija Photo: Eduard Selami The Tirana Court begins proceedings Former escapee returned to prison They are the real obstacle [?] “Blitz” police operation against crime—recent reports have shown that the 30 detainees were aged between 15 and 25. Many [other text fragments are cut off at the upper edge]. Ali Spahija; Eduard Selami

TIRANA - Today Meksi will appear before Parliament. He will have to respond to a request for an interpellation submitted by one of the MPs in his own party’s parliamentary group, Azem Hajdari. “I have addressed two questions to the Prime Minister on two important issues,” Hajdari said yesterday. “The first concerns the budget, its implementation during the past year, what the Government’s policy was regarding it and what happened to the unspent funds. The second question concerns the Government’s measures against corruption.” Meksi’s interpellation has attracted great interest, not only within the Democratic Party parliamentary group but also among the other parties. It is the first significant parliamentary debate since the recent events in the leadership of the governing party, and perhaps the positions taken today by the two men—Meksi and Hajdari are among the party’s best-known figures—will also serve as a kind of political thermometer.

In Kuçovë, police uncover a prostitution den Scandal involving high-school students Orgies at the school: 30 detained The girls frequented the establishment, skipping classes Among the men were wanted individuals. Police: “An ugly scene” KUÇOVË - A scandal has erupted in Kuçovë. The high school in the small town is threatened by prostitution, and some of its pupils are victims of the degradation it brings. A daring operation by criminal police forces—carried out three days ago at midday, but reported only now—uncovered a den of prostitution and mass orgies in the courtyard of the town’s high school. Among the 30 people detained, aged 15–25, some of whom had long been wanted by police as traffickers in prostitution, were several girls who attended the school in whose courtyard the den of orgies was discovered. A report apparently made by the school’s own teaching staff about the frequent absences of several girls from classes raised suspicions and led to the criminal police’s “blitz” operation. At the centre of the operation was a drinks-selling establishment in a corner of the high-school courtyard, now also suspected of being a centre for organizing the prostitution trade in the area. Although curtains fitted tightly with the caretakers’ help prevented curious onlookers from observing from outside, a peephole fitted in the locked door selected the visitors. For several moments, only the sound of “rock” music answered the knocks and calls of the criminal police officers leading the operation. “Around 30 people, girls and boys,” he continued, “many of them undressed and completely drunk, were taking part in a real orgy.” Further investigations showed that all 30 detainees were between 15 and 25 years old. Many of the girls are pupils at Kuçovë High School—mostly in the first years—and preferred the establishment to their classes. Only a few of the detained men are residents of Kuçovë. The other participants in the orgy came from various districts of the country; some of them had long been wanted by police as organizers of the illegal “export” of women. Only the latter have been kept under arrest and will face criminal prosecution by the judicial authorities. All the others have been fined 1,000 lekë. A fine of—so it says—50,000 lekë was also imposed on the owner of the establishment, suspected of being one of the centres of the clandestine prostitution trade, which has now been shut down. To date, 30 cases have been confirmed in Kuçovë of women being sent abroad to engage in prostitution. [The remaining passage is garbled in the source; it says that needy girls from the city of Vlora, often without the means to make decisions about their lives, cross the Adriatic to sell their bodies in distant markets.] View of the Kuçovë Municipality building

The Tirana Court begins proceedings TIRANA - The Republican Party has been summoned to court by a former owner. The Petrela family has asked the court to resolve the dispute between it and the Republican Party over the return of the building that continues to serve as the party’s headquarters—accusing the latter of abusing the law on the restitution and compensation of property to former owners. By a decision of the property restitution commission at Tirana Municipality, the building housing the Republican Party headquarters was returned to its former owners and registered as their property in October 1993. The law itself stipulates that the building must be returned to the owner on the basis of their rights, from the moment it is registered; registration is carried out upon direct request. Their request is more recent, in 1995? [?] “The party has still not vacated the building,” one member of the Petrela family, recognized as the owner of the building in question by the Municipality and the mortgage records, told Gazeta Shqiptare, “but it has not paid rent for even one day. After waiting until March 1995,” he continued, “we turned to the court to have the first hearing scheduled.” According to the owners, their right is based on an instruction issued by the Council of Ministers in June 1993, implementing former owners. The instruction states that in all cases “where buildings returned to their owners are being used for public purposes”—meaning activities that do not impede other purposes such as education, culture, healthcare, defence and state administration—they are to be returned to former owners at their request within three months of registration with the relevant bodies. The Republican Party does not fall into any of these categories, the owners say. (a.s) JOB ANNOUNCEMENT The company “ALI CONSULTING” sh.p.k invites applications for several specialist positions at its office in Tirana, in technologically advanced premises. Interested applicants should submit the following documents by 18 March 1995 to the Institute of Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Rr. Lek Dukagjini, 3-Tirana. 1. A curriculum vitae. 2. A photocopy of an identity card. 3. A photocopy of the diploma and transcript, or a certificate of completion of secondary school. In addition, candidates must: 1. Be up to 25 years old. 2. Have a degree in informatics or a secondary-school diploma. 3. Have a diploma grade of no less than 7 (seven) (where applicable). 4. Have knowledge of foreign languages and communication. 7. Qualifications and work experience will be assessed. Candidates must submit their applications to the Institute of Informatics and Applied Mathematics. The PR headquarters

Former escapee KORÇË - Another fugitive has returned to his cell. This time, however, it is not one of the protagonists of 15 January ’95—who had escaped from Tirana Prison—but 30-year-old Vladimir Goro, a fugitive since 1991. Sentenced to 12 years in prison for “robbery,” Goro had escaped while serving his lengthy sentence, specifically while he was receiving treatment at one of the hospitals in the Albanian capital. Discovered for the first time at midday in his hometown of Korçë—even though he initially gave a false name—Goro was immediately transferred to Tirana, to its prison cells, where he must now also await another sentence: for escaping, as well as for “leaving the place where the sentence is being served.” The name of the 30-year-old fugitive had long been circulating on the list of people highly wanted by law-enforcement authorities, who managed to find him only on Monday. (Ed.L.a./El.Ko.)

It is a project of the Ministry of Health Anti-drug law arrives Aims to curb trafficking TIRANA - Albania, too, is officially saying “No” to drugs. A special law to prohibit the production and sale of drugs and their licensed plants [?] is to be approved—no, it will be sent to the Government for review. The bill in question, prepared by specialists from the Ministry of Health and Environmental Protection, aims to fight a phenomenon that is now widespread around the world and is also trying to take hold in Albania: the flourishing drug trade. The cultivation of hashish used to produce opium, the coca plant and Indian hemp for the production of cannabis sativa will be prohibited. Also prohibited will be the production and cultivation of other plants that must be processed in laboratories and may fall into these categories: extracts, [unclear], export-import and transit of all substances and plants included in international lists of narcotic substances. The bill—which has six articles—defines narcotic substances and plants in three groups: the first, plants and substances posing the highest risk and not used in medicine; the second, those posing a high risk but used in medicine; and the third, those posing a risk and used in medicine. These divisions also serve to distinguish psychotropic substances, which are essential in medicine but also delicate and liable to abuse. Their trade and production are to be carried out in specified quantities and by designated persons. A very important law aimed at preventing the use of drugs and psychotropic medicines. gje.pi.

Cursive Reality FIER - They have lived together for a long time, sharing the same husband. Now both are at their husband’s bedside in the hospital in Fier. They say they have lived happily throughout a life they wanted—hiding even from the records of years past, and enduring what they had to endure because of this unusual cohabitation, given the morality of that time—and now, as they approach old age, they do not feel the least bit regretful. FIER - They have lived together for a long time, sharing the same husband. Now both are at their husband’s bedside in the hospital in Fier. They say they have lived happily throughout a life they wanted—hiding even from the records of years past, and enduring what they had to endure because of this unusual cohabitation, given the morality of that time—and now, as they approach old age, they do not feel the least bit regretful: “We have had a long and happy life,” they say, “perhaps being together made it easier for us to cope with our troubles.” The story of the two “companion” women began many years ago, when M.T. had arrived as a bride from his first wife; she had not managed to give him children. Then another woman, 10 years younger than the first, entered their lives and brought the sound of children crying into the house. Since the first one, who had the first one, who had brought the sound of children crying into the house. In this way, the family was complete: one man, two women and two children, who were later joined by two more. Now the “co-wives” seem calm. If they did not feel pain for their shared husband, who is lying in a hospital bed, everything would be quite normal. en.ny. Women’s Day celebrated in Albania Article on page 3 Women’s Day celebrated in Albania — Article on page 3

BERAT - There are 1,200 workers at the Berat Textile Combine, 700 of them women, who have signed lists to join a hunger strike beside their machines and workplaces. - There are 1,200 workers at the Berat Textile Combine, 700 of them women, who have signed lists to join a hunger strike beside their machines and workplaces. And the last hope of stopping this action by the trade unionists is a new round of talks expected to take place today between them and government representatives. The outcome of these talks will determine things—the textile workers have requested, among other things, the resumption of work, the signing of a collective agreement and the fight… [?] ... (the final part of the text is unclear) Ha.Ta

TEPELENË - The position of the Mayor of Tepelenë is at risk. His removal from office is being sought over a series of irregularities that have arisen precisely in an institution of such importance. - The position of the Mayor of Tepelenë is at risk. His removal from office is being sought over a series of irregularities that have arisen precisely in an institution of such importance. Financial violations, their consequences for the state budget, and the unfair awarding of tenders—along with alleged irregularities in roadworks and other works involving the construction of sewage systems—“mixing interests” with the heads of companies that are currently winning contracts and with whom they also have family ties, have been among the reasons the State Audit has requested the removal from office of the Mayor of Tepelenë, Skënder Hasa.

Those responsible for the killing of the official arrested Terror on the outskirts of Tirana On page 3 Albanian Cup: Tirana and Teuta qualify On page 3