TIRANA - Another accusation weighs on the shoulders of Ramiz Alia, former President of the Republic, former—serving his sentence in prison. “He misappropriated state funds,” was the official wording that the State Audit Office sent back to the General Prosecutor’s Office after the latter requested that the investigation be supplemented. The Chairman of the State Audit Commission, Blerim Çela, announces another scandal “Alia, $4 million in misappropriations” Another accusation filed with the Prosecutor’s Office over the Solidarity Fund TIRANA - Another accusation weighs on the shoulders of Ramiz Alia, former President of the Republic, former—serving his sentence in prison. “He misappropriated state funds”: this was the official wording that the State Audit Office sent back to the General Prosecutor’s Office, following the latter’s request for the investigation to be supplemented. The State Audit Commission’s Chairman, Blerim Çela, announced it yesterday himself during an interview given to Radio Tirana. “Alia must answer directly for the misappropriation of 3 million 990 thousand dollars from the Solidarity Fund,” was Çela’s statement yesterday. The story of the sensational accusation against Alia appears to have begun in the first half of the [year?]. “As early as 27 September 1993, we filed a criminal complaint against Ramiz Alia concerning this matter,” said the Chairman of the State Audit Office, “but the file was returned to us for further investigative work.” Why has the file come back into the limelight now, precisely when criminal proceedings have begun over another matter linked to the Solidarity Fund—that of the 400 thousand dollars for “Zëri i Popullit”? That was the radio journalist’s question. “This is not connected to the election campaign,” Çela replied, “because it was done in order to talk about it. This is simply part of the work being carried out by the State Audit Office to ensure justice and establish where the Albanian people’s money has been misappropriated. The issue is not only the 400 thousand dollars,” Çela continued, “but also the abuses involving the Solidarity Fund.” “3 million 990 thousand dollars”: this is the amount misappropriated which, according to Çela, must now be charged to Alia. “The decisions to liquidate the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PPSH, which specified the allocation of the funds, were signed in part by Enver Hoxha, in part by Hysni Kapo, and in part by Ramiz Alia”; according to Çela, these concern the misappropriation of the property of the Albanian state. According to him, from 1985 onward—the period when Alia was at the head of the Labour Party—the loss inflicted on the state is what Alia must now answer for. Çela repeated the accusation that the money had gone to finance terrorist and Marxist groups in many countries around the world. Thus, the story of the Solidarity Fund has resurfaced once again: the PPSH had allocated it to finance “proletarian internationalism” in many countries in Europe and the Third World since the distant year of 1961. State Audit Office experts had begun checking these funds, but [as?] the PPSH archive had been transferred to the State Archives. The PD prepares its new list of future MPs A first document with thousands of candidacies has been drawn up TIRANA - The election atmosphere has reached the governing party as well. The Democratic Party has now begun serious preparations for the upcoming elections, which it insists on holding within the legally prescribed timeframe set earlier, namely in April 1996. A lengthy list has been compiled from the party’s grassroots information network. On its basis, it will select those who will represent it in the next parliament and in the newly elected local government bodies. Meetings of a special commission dealing with the party’s preparations for the coming election campaign have also been intensified. Almost every Tuesday, under the chairmanship of the party’s Secretary-General, Tritan Shehu, who is also chairman of this commission, the members of the election commission review the week’s work in preparation for the elections. It is precisely this commission that has drawn up the long list of possible candidates for parliament and for local government representatives. It is a long list running to dozens of pages and thousands of names, but the commission now has a broad enough base from which to make possible selections. Only a few party representatives are from the electoral base. Concrete steps have now been taken, and the first names—including not only members of this party—have begun to fill the pages of the list. PD headquarters Fatos Basha Shkupi: “He entered without permission” Catholic celebration Easter Day [?] …party organization to the farthest reaches of the country and the way the election propaganda is carried out. …to consider a [?] that is justified, in a request that is justified by them, at the time it was justified. [?] members have asked us to change the party at the next Congress.” “It is being insistently claimed that your party is divided internally, above all between the young and the old. Are there factions or not?” “Within our party there is a democracy, and different opinions are respected. Yes, it is true, the Eurosocialists—that is, the young people—have their own ideas, but everyone continues to identify with the Party. There are no separate factions, but even if there were, I would not consider that a disaster. One thing is important: everyone, absolutely everyone, sees the leader in Fatos Nano.” “Who are your possible allies in the future?” “Theoretically, all the parties have been in opposition: the left, the centre and the right; naturally, this also depends on the election results. And then things change: perhaps today it is difficult to foresee a coalition with [?] …there is no scandal, no corruption, no abuse. This is only political revenge. Nano was the first to denounce the Arsidi scandal, and for that too he ended up in prison. Dokle was the first to denounce corruption in Parliament and the government, to raise the Arsidi scandal again, and now they want to make him guilty. It all seems connected to me… “But what happened to the 400 thousand dollars?” “The first 150 thousand dollars were paid to the Canadian company that was supposed to supply the printing press for printing ‘Zëri i Popullit’. This happened in 1991. Then what happened in Albania happened: the Labour Party was dissolved, the newly born Socialist Party ended up in the sights of the new government, the workers went on strike, and we did not have the opportunity—and it was not appropriate at that time—to complete the purchase. So the other 250 thousand dollars are in the bank, available to ‘Zëri i Popullit’, but no one has touched a single penny to this day. Now they are accusing Dokle, but Namiku has [?]” ,

The Socialist Party’s Deputy Chairman speaks Pëllumbi: “Nano is the only leader” INTERVIEW The Socialist Party’s Deputy Chairman speaks “In June we’ll change the dates on the PS membership cards” Pëllumbi: “Nano is the only leader” The story of the Dokle case: “The money is still in the bank” - The PD’s achievements, future allies, discussions within the party, and then the philosophy of Karl Marx ... CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA - The weight of the past has returned to bear down on the Socialist Party. The funding of 400 thousand dollars for “Zëri i Popullit”, arranged while Ramiz Alia was still in power, risks turning into a scandal today, when the Labour Party has long since ended and been buried. These are the games of history and the times of justice. How are the Socialists reacting to the Prosecutor’s Office decision to open criminal proceedings over the so-called “Dokle file”? “We are calm,” replies Servet Pëllumbi, Deputy Chairman of the Party. “Believe me, and to bring the scandal back up; the editor-in-chief of ‘ZP’ [served?] for only seven months.” Let us talk politics: Is Fatos Nano the past or the future of the Socialist Party? “Fatos Nano is certainly the future and the present. I believe the past in Albania is the same for all parties.” Many Socialist Party members have membership cards dated to the time of the regime. Don’t you think the time has come for a clear break with the past? “The request to have the old date removed from some membership cards came to us in 1991 from some members; it was a request that was justified at the time. Those same members have asked us to change the date at the upcoming June Congress.” It is between the young and the old. Are there different factions or not? “The right-wing alliance or the Democratic Party, but who knows what the future holds: in politics, one should never say ‘never’.” In your opinion, what are the successes of the Democratic Party, and what are your mistakes? “The PD certainly has many merits, first and foremost creating and offering a historic contribution to the overthrow of the old system. It deserves credit for economic reforms, the liberalization of the economy, the fight against inflation, the liberalization of prices, and the creation of a tax system. But it has also made very serious mistakes: it created a monetary platform that has blocked and destroyed the country’s economy. Today all the production in Albania is outside [the country?], and that is a good thing, but there is no Albanian expropriation, and that is a disaster. Our mistakes? That we began acting as an opposition without proposing alternatives...”

Easter Day: Berisha extends his wishes to the faithful TIRANA - Celebrations for Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, have begun throughout the country. Last night and today it is the turn of Albanian Catholics, while in a week the ceremonies and celebrations will pass to the Orthodox. On this occasion, Sali Berisha, President of the Republic, also sent his greetings to all the faithful yesterday. The President of the Republic. In his remarks, Berisha described “the Easter feast as the feast of resurrection, hope and mutual understanding.” In his greeting, the President once again emphasized the good relations that exist in Albania among all religious faiths: “By celebrating together and wishing one another happy holidays,” Berisha said, “we bear witness before ourselves and the world to our harmony, culture and ancient, preserved traditions.” Last night and today, all Albanian Catholics have taken part in the many traditional Easter ceremonies. The churches have filled with worshippers who, lighting candles of various kinds, have once again commemorated the Resurrection of Christ. The well-known religious rite is being celebrated in Albania for the fourth year in a row, following the many-year barrier imposed on religion in Albania. That barrier was accompanied by martyrs who never stopped defending their religious ideals. For this very reason, Berisha also linked his greeting to the dozens of Albanians who have been [persecuted?] for this ideal. “Let us celebrate tonight, on the night of Christ’s resurrection, and revive the life [of?] 3-4 years and the traditions of the martyrs of the faith…”, it says [?].