Albanian delegation makes a promise to the Council of Europe STRASBOURG/ The meeting on accession begins today at 8:00 a.m. TIRANA - There will be another trial for Nano, the socialist leader imprisoned in Bënça prison. The news comes directly from foreign diplomatic sources in Strasbourg, where Albania’s accession to the Council of Europe is being discussed. The problems that had previously stood in the way seem now to have been overcome. And the hope shared throughout the country that Albania will soon become a full member of the Council of Europe is now joined by the Socialists’ hope for their leader. His fate will be linked to the entry into force of the New Criminal Code. According to all sources within the Council of Europe’s structures—who did not wish to be identified—the issue of the imprisoned socialist leader was discussed at separate meetings in recent days by members of the Albanian delegation. The delegation is chaired by Eduart Selami, with Ali Spahia of the Democratic Party and Namik Dokle of the Socialist Party as members; they have not yet commented on this point. It was during these meetings that Nano’s imprisonment was raised. “The Nano case will be dealt with according to the procedures set out in the New Code of Criminal Procedure, just like those of many other prisoners.” With this response, the Albanian delegation, and above all the representatives of the party in power, dispelled any suspicion that might have led to an eventual obstacle in the procedures for admission to the Council of Europe over this sensitive issue. At the Socialist Party headquarters, as of yesterday, they still knew nothing definite about this story. “We haven’t been able to get in touch with Dokle these days,” Bashkim Zeneli told Gazeta Shqiptare, “but I think it is quite possible that something like this has happened. Let’s wait to see what news the Albanian delegation brings back from Strasbourg.” June 1 of this year will apparently bring new developments. Nano will be retried under the new procedures provided for in the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Criminal Procedure. This was the latest promise made to Europe by the Albanian side. Just a few hours earlier, Ali Spahia had stated the same position at a meeting of the International Union. “Nano has the right to be retried under the new rules, just like many other prisoners,” Ali Spahia, the Democrats’ representative in the Albanian delegation to the parliamentary organization, said shortly after returning from the Spanish capital. The same position, now apparently established as a constant, seems to have prevailed in the Strasbourg talks as well. fa.bax. Eduard Selami speaks from the Council’s headquarters “I also thank Dokle” FATOS BAXHAKU TIRANA - “We are just one step away from being admitted to the Council of Europe. I believe there will be no problems at the meeting of the Political Committee. The preliminary meetings with the Greeks have also been very positive; they promised us that not only would they not oppose us, but they would vote in our favor.” These were the words of Eduart Selami, Chairman of the Albanian Delegation to the Council of Europe. The same scenes and the same excitement can be seen in Strasbourg as in Tirana, where today’s meeting decision is awaited with anxiety and hope. From the luxury “Continental” Hotel, Selami offers reassurance: “There is no fear among us; everything will be decided today at the 8:00 meeting.” What will be decided at the Political Committee meeting? “It will be judged on the basis of the draft resolution prepared by the Council of Europe’s rapporteurs on Albania. From the document distributed to the members of this committee yesterday, we are very optimistic, especially because of its conclusions.” Is there any question related to Albania’s membership in the Islamic League? “That point was not mentioned at all in the report distributed yesterday. In any case, this has never been an obstacle in our relations with the Council of Europe.” What was the delegation’s position? Did party affiliations affect the discussions? “It seems to me that we set party affiliation aside and took a unanimous position on an issue such as our country’s admission to the Council of Europe. The opposition representative, Mr. Dokle, expressed the same view. I thank him for this position.” And the Greek side’s position? “I had a separate meeting with the Greek representative on the Political Committee, and my impression is that the problems between us have now been overcome. They told us that not only would they not vote against Albania’s admission, but that, on the contrary, they would help us.” So, at the end of the meeting, will Albania be admitted to the Council of Europe? “Practically, yes, because after the vote in the Political Committee there are a number of other steps, but they are mostly formal. At least, it has never happened that after passing this committee, the other steps have reversed the decision.”

TIRANA - Today, another old panorama of Albania’s largest city is offered as a gift to readers. This time it is a rare view of Fier in the 1930s. The city’s central street, with the characteristic cars of those years—a view that we believe will interest not only the people of Fier. The panorama will be given free to anyone who decides to buy today’s issue of Gazeta Shqiptare, while the newspaper’s price remains unchanged, at 15 lekë. Let us continue our journey through the history of our cities for a few more weeks under the slogan “What were we like?” View of Fier’s central street, the city in the 1930s.

TIRANA - The long-awaited spring has been spoiled by bad weather. The recent warm spell has suddenly turned into winter cold. Within two days, temperatures have fallen by 13 degrees. Yesterday the temperature recorded in the capital was 14 degrees, while just two days earlier temperatures had been higher. The highest rainfall was recorded in the city of Shkodër, where 44 millimeters of rain were measured. The city of Kukës also received 34 millimeters. A slightly smaller amount was recorded by meteorologists in Shkodër on Tuesday as well, when, unexpectedly, the city’s [?] was replaced by rain; it was 27. According to employees of the meteorological service, this entire change in temperatures was caused by the cold rain that has fallen over the past two days and affected almost the entire territory of the Republic. The heaviest rainfall was were recorded yesterday. when unexpectedly a heavy, cold downpour began. There was also heavy rainfall in Tirana, exceeding 30 millimeters yesterday. Smaller amounts were recorded in some southern districts, such as Kuçova, with three millimeters. There have been no reports of material damage.

KORÇË - He died from the punches and kicks of some youths after his bicycle collided with their motorcycle. - He died from the punches and kicks of some youths after his bicycle collided with their motorcycle. Yllson Mullaj, 50, from the village of Dërsnik in Korçë, was taken to the city hospital and died yesterday. Medical examiners stated that his death resulted from mistreatment by other people. Mullaj was riding his bicycle on the road to Dvoran (near Korçë), when he suddenly collided with the motorcycle of two young men who were coming toward him at speed. The two sides then began insulting each other, and according to one account, the two young men punched Mullaj and knocked him to the ground. As a result, he appears to have also sustained a severe blow to the head. The police immediately launched a search for the two young men. In the city of Korçë, 25 motorcycles were stopped and checked, while yesterday police carried out major operations in the villages in the area near the site of the incident. However, the individuals have not yet been identified. EL.Ko.

Accountants begin the investigation TIRANA - The accounting audit has begun into the case involving the printing house of the newspaper Zëri i Popullit. The decision was made by the Prosecutor’s Office and communicated to the defendants in the case: Përparim Xhixha, the newspaper’s former editor-in-chief, and Drita Sheshi, chief accountant. The experts will now examine the documents through which all payments in the accounts of Zëri i Popullit were made. According to the indictment, the newspaper’s managers misused funds of 400,000 dollars that the then Central Committee of the PPSH had allocated to Zëri i Popullit. Meanwhile, payment for the printing press was made in two installments, but—again, according to the accusation—not a single drop of ink was supplied by the Canadian company that received the payment. The experts will now have their say.

The PS takes the electorate’s pulse Survey in 10 districts of the country TIRANA — The Socialists are conducting their first tests among the electorate. The data from a special survey they carried out in ten districts of Albania are now being processed in Tirana, pending the results, which will be made public after the initial conclusions. Gramoz Ruçi, one of the leaders of the Socialist Party (PS), spoke to Gazeta Shqiptare about the PS survey. “The aim of this study is to understand better and as objectively as possible what the real trends are among today’s Albanian electorate, so that we can shape our policy appropriately for the next parliamentary elections.” Tirana, Shkodra, Kukësi, Mirdita, Laçi, Korça, Përmeti, Vlora, Gjirokastra and Lushnja are the cities where the PS’s local electoral sections, directed by the Central Electoral Commission, conducted their study. Aren’t the data collected subjective, given that it was PS structures themselves that carried out the study? “We have tried to minimize the survey’s subjectivity as much as possible,” Ruçi replied, “by using the statistical and demographic criteria normally applied in such cases. For precisely this reason, all 1,278 people who took part in the survey were questioned over a ten-day period, while respecting the anonymity of the respondents and the random selection of those questioned.” The collected data have now arrived in Tirana. “The results will be processed by specialized experts,” Ruçi concluded. fa.bax. TIRANA — “The APS has never been against Albania’s membership in NATO, as our political opponents claim.” Bashkim Zëneli, the Socialist Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, speaking from an important meeting in Lisbon, once again confirmed to Gazeta Shqiptare—as he had previously stated in an interview—PS’s position on one of the most important issues in Albania’s current foreign policy.

Tirana appeals to Belgrade: Find the killers “Explain the incident.” This was the essence of the urgent telegram that Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to the diplomatic headquarters in Belgrade regarding the latest incident on the Montenegrin border. Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has protested to the authorities in Belgrade over the incident of April 23, when the Yugoslav border guards killed the Albanian citizen Kole Ivanaj, aged 27. Yesterday, Albania’s chargé d’affaires in Belgrade, Vili Minarolli, delivered the protest note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The Yugoslav side is being asked to explain the killing of the Albanian citizen, to hold those responsible to account, and to take measures to prevent the recurrence of such acts that cause loss of life. s.b.

He swindled artists: 3 months in prison TIRANA — He had swindled artists and has now ended up in prison. The Tirana court sentenced R. Kullën, the brother of the well-known Fier director Pëllumb Kulla, to one year, of which three and a half months are to be served in prison and the remainder conditionally over two years. Kulla’s story began years ago. He had taken money from many people, including well-known artists Vladimir Prifti, Robert Ndrenika and Esat Mysliu, promising to make payments under a film contract, but later failed to keep his promises and deceived them. The evidence presented brought him before the court.

A harsh reality MIRDITE — “The spring was on my land, so there is no reason to rebuild the water system. The village has somewhere else to get water.” It sounds like a modern version of some old legend, but it is only the protest of a craftsman from Fierzë. Gjonaj does not agree to the village families being connected to water flowing from land that he owns. In a letter sent to the municipal authorities, “indrit shëtia” insisted: “I am the one opposing the reconstruction of the water system in my village, because the water source is on my land.” According to the teacher, his reason for opposing this reconstruction is simple. “In the days of the cooperative, in 1967, and after it was dismantled in 1991, the spring was my property. Its water irrigated two or three dynym of land.” But that is not the only reason Gjonaj is protesting such a water system. “There is no need to build a water system. The village has three or four natural springs. Ever since this water system was built, it has served only a few families, and now the village may even have plenty of water this summer—but what about the land?” Gjonaj insists. For the owner of the spring, for the village to bring water to the 40–50 families living here, it would be better to…

On membership “Zemeli: ‘We have always supported NATO’”

How Berisha will spy On page 3

The national team hangs its head On page 3 Lezhë: “Those who arrive leave” On page 3 Albanian general in Russia On page 3 Berut, police protect schools On page 3