The President speaks after events in the DP Berisha on the Constitution: The opposition is to blame “They want early elections” “I was surprised by Selami’s statement. The Council of Europe is not a Masonic lodge” “The vote for Selami? That is what the Extraordinary Conference decided” TIRANA - Berisha spoke to the press after the major changes that have taken place in the leadership of his party. The Constitution, the position of the Socialists, Selami’s statement and the tense situation in the Balkans: these were some of the main issues on which the President focused his remarks. “I was surprised by Mr. Selami’s statement”—this was his first reaction to an issue that has occupied the front pages of newspapers in recent days. “The Council of Europe is not a Masonic lodge,” he continued. “It is the temple of European democracy... In response to the problem raised by Mr. Selami and his announced secrets, I can say that the Council of Europe has made no official presentation, and the Council of Europe is not an institution that presents the justice system of a country, but seeks the independence of a country’s justice system; it has not presented a response of its own.” Berisha then explained the entire history of the efforts to achieve the adoption of the Constitution. The opposition, particularly the Socialists, had sabotaged efforts to pass the Constitution in order to bring about early elections: that was the substance of his lengthy response on this point. Berisha once again expressed his categorical rejection of the possibility of a coalition with the Socialists. “To form a coalition with the PS would mean serving the establishment of hegemony in Albania,” Berisha said, among other things, “because Marxism and Marxist principles are what transformed primitive communism into aggressive communism.” The President also spoke at length about relations with neighboring countries. Papulias’s upcoming visit to Tirana, the situation of Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia, and the conflict in Bosnia were the international-policy issues he spoke about most. “Papulias’s visit is a good thing for us,” Berisha stressed, also welcoming the interest expressed by the Greek government on this matter. of a coalition with the Socialists. [He expressed] concern about the Croats’ decision to withdraw UNPROFOR forces. “Can they prevent a wider conflict in the north of the Balkans by confronting the demons of the worst kind of nationalism?” Berisha asked. p.re. European democracy… regarding the issues raised by Mr. Selami and his secretary, who had issued a warning, no official submission, guarantees the justice system of a country, but rather demands presented any condition concerning the Constitution… He himself mentioned the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure as requirements of the Council of Europe. But why was a secret ballot not held on Selami’s dismissal? the President was asked. The statute does not make this mandatory, and the Congress or the party conference—which have the right to approve or amend the statute—can themselves decide how voting is to be conducted in such cases; that was the substance of… President Berisha

Storms across the country TIRANA - Winter has returned once again, unusually. Bad weather has gripped most of the country; besides heavy precipitation, the defining feature has been unusually low temperatures for this start of spring. In some districts of the country—mainly the northeastern mountainous ones—there has also been heavy snowfall. Yesterday throughout the morning, several southern districts also recorded quite severe storms, accompanied by rainfall above the recorded average. There have been no reports of flooding or damage caused by the bad weather.

ARMS SCANDAL / Parliament discusses the issue Heated debate after a statement by the Minister ARMS SCANDAL / Parliament discusses the issue Zhulali and Teta: “We don’t want immunity” Heated debate after a statement by the Minister TIRANA - The issue of the enigmatic arms trade has arrived in Parliament, at Parliament’s headquarters. At yesterday’s session, it was the Minister of Defense himself, Safet Zhulali, who took the step he had long declared he would take: he publicly requested that his parliamentary immunity be lifted and that his role in the matter be investigated. Immediately after him, PD deputy Perikli Teta, one of the leaders of the Democratic Alliance and a former minister, did the same. The Prosecutor’s Office will now indeed have an easier time shedding light on one of the most talked-about scandals of recent months. Both the accuser and the accused had declared that they would submit themselves to the Prosecutor’s Office with concrete accusations against one another. Some time ago, Zhulali himself had declared that he was ready to answer to justice and clarify his position. Zhulali appeared before the deputies immediately after the conclusion of the interpellation with the Chairman of the Control Commission, Blerim Çela. In a harsh tone, Zhulali accused certain political circles of exposing state secrets, while once again explaining that he considered himself entirely in the clear regarding every action he had taken during his tenure as Minister of Defense. In particular, during his speech, an expression he used greatly angered AD deputy Ridvan Peshkëpia, who reacted harshly; the tension in the chamber suddenly rose. Insults were exchanged, and Arbënor suspended the session for a few moments. After a brief pause, the Minister finally made his statement: “I am ready to answer to anyone; I ask that, from this moment on, I no longer be considered protected by parliamentary immunity.” Teta made the same request. The deputies also pressed for an interpellation with Prime Minister Meksi. Asked by Hajdari about several issues concerning last year’s budget—which also included the 1994 budget—and the Government’s fight against corruption, Meksi spoke before the deputies during a session that ...

History TIRANA - Her brother was executed by the partisans, while she now risks no longer qualifying for the status of former political persecuted person. The Tirana Court has agreed to examine the lawsuit filed by the Association of Former Political Prisoners and Persecuted Persons, seeking to revoke the status—granted to all those who belong to this association—of citizen N. C., a resident of Tirana. The unexpected reason is that she has never accepted that she was punished because of her brother’s political beliefs. N. C.’s story, according to what is written in the lawsuit submitted to the Tirana Court, begins in 1943, when her brother Sh. B. was executed by the partisans in Libohovë, Gjirokastër. Meanwhile, she herself had gone into the mountains to fight as a partisan, specifically against her brother’s bandits. While her brother was alive, she had cut off all relations with him, even calling her brother a traitor. After her brother’s execution, she continued fighting in the mountains. And after the end of the war, N. C. married one of the very men who had taken part in her brother’s execution. This marriage gave her the possibility of balancing her future fate. But, of course, it did not give her everything[?]. The protagonist of this story, too, tried to live in a totalitarian state, regardless of whether or not she wanted that system to change. With a life marked by executions during the partisan war, but also as the wife of a former partisan, life offered her the experience of the dilemmas of a difficult existence. An existence in which the past... occupies an irreplaceable place. The advent of democracy also required the rights of all those who suffered under Enver Hoxha’s dictatorial regime to be fulfilled. Under the law approved by Parliament, the children, sisters and brothers of those who suffered sentences, internment and various forms of persecution would be entitled to receive the status of former political persecuted persons. They would also receive financial compensation for years spent in prison or internment. In 1993, this status—according to the Association’s account—was also granted to N. C. But she risks losing it in the future. Perhaps also because the past is ... but does not forget. p.re.

Assassination attempt in Pogradec POGRADEC - Dynamite attack at the home of the village head. It happened in the village of Omehze, Pogradec, at the home of the village chief, Sh. Pengu. Fortunately, the serious act caused only panic and material damage; none of Pengu’s family members was injured in the frightening explosion. Police have detained three fellow villagers of the village head, who are suspected of having had a hand in the explosion. It appears the incident was the result of an old grudge. The attackers climbed onto the roof of the village head’s house and dropped sticks of dyna... nine okha sticks of dynamite down the chimney; they exploded upon reaching the room. It was midnight, and all of Pengu’s family members were asleep at the time, perhaps a circumstance that prevented a tragedy, since none of them was near the site of the explosion. me.ki.

Site selected TIRANA - The remains of German soldiers will now be gathered so they can be laid to rest in a cemetery. More than three thousand German soldiers fell on Albanian soil during the Second World War. Finally—although the project had been drawn up some time ago—it has been decided to set aside 6 hectares of land for their graves. Three hectares are in Kashar, an area 5 kilometres from Tirana... and another 3 hectares at Ura e Beshirit. The decision has just been finalized by the District Council of the capital. Ar. Ça.

In Kuçovë after the “raid” FROM KUÇOVË EDMOND LACI It is normal, but extremely [corrupt/unclear: përshp[s]htyshme] for such a very small town. That party of alcohol, rock and perhaps a little too much intimacy—broken up after a police intervention—has prompted talk of a scandal and filled the town with astonishment. A day later, all of Kuçovë is talking, but at the same time everyone wants to forget that story. Traces of a party in the past: girls who preferred to go into the disco to dance with their acquaintances ultimately remain good girls. “We are different people,” the co-owner of the disco, Antoneta Bushi, tells Gazeta Shqiptare. “Young people need to have fun, but that certainly does not mean ... And I would say that the high-school students from grades III and IV were dancing normally.” Nevertheless, the disco’s presence just a few metres from the perimeter fence of Kuçovë High School seems not to have gone unnoticed by the school’s administrators either. “There have been cases of individual students coming near this disco during class hours,” says the high school’s principal, Vangjel Konomi. “However, we have not allowed this to become a trend. When, a month ago, an entire class abandoned its lesson, we were obliged to call their parents too.” Yesterday all the girls were at school, because school was and remains a healthy environment, thanks also to the work of the teaching staff. The police in particular continue to investigate: “This operation is part of the ongoing preventive operations against crime, as well as the trafficking of women,” they explain at the Kuçovë Police Station. This is a problem that is not limited to Kuçovë. In fact, crime always takes advantage of the ordinary dreams of emigration, which continues to entice people. And it must be monitored in order to be prevented.

TIRANA — Albania was one of the signatories to a civilizational denunciation [corrupt/unclear: civilizumonzogjëcilë-son] that identifies the Serbs as factors in the human tragedy unfolding in the territories of the former Yugoslavia. The 16-page document was approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights with 44 votes in favour, none against and seven abstentions; Russia was among those abstaining. The United States, Croatia, Bosnia and Turkey were also initiators of this denunciation.

Albanian millionaire success in Zaire VLORË — He is one of Zaire’s multimillionaires. An Albanian from Dhërmiu, Thoma Duni, has become famous in the distant African country for the millions of dollars he has managed to earn over many years of intense economic activity. Details about Duni’s quite extraordinary personal story were learned by official news agency correspondents through a dispatch from him in Vlora. Duni escaped from Albania around 1949. A year later, the young man—then only 20 years old—had arrived on the “Dark Continent.” Now, many years later, he has become one of the most powerful people in Zaire. Duni owns several cotton-processing and textile-manufacturing factories, including a very well-equipped, ultramodern factory in Lumumba, the country’s capital. He has become so influential that his portrait often appears in the country’s press. Before this period, he was one of the people who accompanied the then Prime Minister Gregor Konstantin Micotakis during his visit to Albania. But while the dream of the Albanian from Dhërmiu came true, other Albanians were not so fortunate. Three of them were forced to return to Albania, battered by an adventure that was both sad and curious. After being thoroughly checked—to create the impression that they were successful Africans—the three Albanians boarded a plane of a newly established [corrupt/unclear: porsagjejnë krey Juninmentit] in Tirana. [Corrupt/unclear: Anomika.] They had passed the Italian authorities’ checks completely safely, but it was precisely here that their Italian adventure ended, because all three were found to be travelling with false passports. A woman from Durrës [corrupt/unclear: zënë detyrën në pragun e vizitës kushin], not with an expensive manager but with the simple scheduled ferry. [Corrupt/unclear: p.re.]

On leave Sailors of “Arbëria” in conflict with the Fleet DURRES—The sailors of “Arbëria” have come into conflict with the Directorate of the Merchant Fleet after returning from an extremely long voyage across the ocean. They now face two alternatives, both almost unacceptable to them: to take the leave they are entitled to after voyages of this kind and then go on assistance, or to set off immediately on a journey just as distant as the last one, to Vietnam? The sailors have asked to begin the leave to which they are entitled under the fleet regulations—three months’ rest for every nine months of work—a request the Directorate had been willing to grant if they met its condition: that they set off for Vietnam as soon as possible, again on behalf of the same Turkish company that had paid for the previous voyage. (Gë.To.)

Who has seen our missing brother? The missing man, Kol Gjergji DURRËS — He got onto a motorboat to reach Italy, but his family has not received any word from him since December 13 last year. The family of 41-year-old Kol Gjergji from Durrës is now worried about his fate and is issuing an appeal: “Anyone who has seen him, please call these numbers: tel. 053/249462 or 0831/512162. Kola limps slightly on one leg and has grown a moustache.” His brother Doda and Nexhip Hyseni of the Cgil union’s migrant support office in Brindizi are also making great efforts to find Kol.

DURRES—The sailors of “Arbëria” have come into conflict with the Directorate of the Merchant Fleet after returning from an extremely long voyage across the ocean.

For genocide Albania denounces Serbia TIRANA - Albania was one of the signatories of a civil [civilizuemozikë?] complaint that identifies the Serbs as responsible for the human tragedy that ...

Gjirokastër, March 7 a day of mourning at the Pedagogical School This year’s March 7 became a day of mourning at the “Pandeli Sotiri” Pedagogical School in Gjirokastër. The cause was the tragic death of a student at the school—the 18-year-old Aurela—who was struck by a lightning bolt while she was celebrating March 7. Durrës, a soldier kills himself with his own weapon The death of a soldier [corrupt/unclear: fërak] who was serving in a unit in the capital remains a mystery. According to the Durrës Police Station, the victim had forcibly gotten into a car, making the driver take him south. But at the Plepa checkpoint in Durrës, the soldier shot himself with his own weapon. Tirana, two more young men arrested More people were arrested yesterday by the police forces. Ymer Maçi, 26, is the person suspected by police of having killed Ilir Hoxha on March 12, 1993, near “Partizani” High School. Agim Ruci has also been arrested; he is accused of having, over a period of six years, together with Ilir Nazari—detained two days earlier—killed Besnik Shime.

On page 3