TOGETHER WITH THE OSCE, NATO AND THE UN As countries of the European region facing common challenges and risks, we should make much greater efforts to organize ourselves with a view to establishing coordinated security systems which, without burdening market competition and while developing the joint implementation of our rational values, can speak and strive with the same voice and the same strength to block any threat to peace and stability in the region. Albania, as one of the countries currently facing delicate problems in terms of the security it requires, seeks and persistently calls for cooperation with international collective-security structures, especially the OSCE, NATO and the EU, with the aim of deepening integration and cooperation with these structures for preserving freedoms and protecting peace in the region. I can state with satisfaction that, while the process of Albania’s cooperation and rapprochement with various international political and financial organizations has experienced shocks and interruptions in recent years, this has not happened in the effort to strengthen cooperation with NATO, which has always been solid and has not undergone significant fluctuations or ones motivated by the interests of Albanian domestic politics. Continuing this tradition, which has now been established, we want rational cooperation to grow and intensify, especially at a time when the main threat

CULTURE DEBATE / What should be done with the old building This news does not arouse any enthusiasm in me, quite the contrary. Indeed, it is the very last thing that comes to mind when one thinks about the affairs of artists and writers. One imagines an association or a union of writers and artists as an independent cultural, but also moral, institution: one that not only helps writers and artists, but also serves as an ideal point of reference for society and citizens when it acts in the name of these ideals. A writer should be the “conscience of the nation”; imagine the consequences of a writers’ union. When I say this, I have in mind many instances around the world during this century when writers, acting alone or as a group, have helped change the very course of a society’s history. Meanwhile, I think of our own Writers’ Union. During the communist period it was simply an instrument of the dictatorial state, which (de)formed writers and artists according to the demands of communist propaganda and persecuted and censored them, always in the service of its inhuman objectives in that propaganda. Through this union, the state also granted creative leave, and provided warmth or rewards and prizes. Without doubt, all that work and effort also produced others, but I think that, on the whole, the Union’s record is extremely negative. The Albanian world is in this condition also because of the work done by writers and artists aligned with the Union of Writers and Artists. For the most part, the literature and art they created proved to be in keeping with the creative demands of those who set its values and scenarios. In Berisha’s time, the Union shrank and managed to survive only thanks to the compromises and services its chairman at the time rendered to the neo-dictatorship. It could not sustain even a cultural review or a newspaper of its own. As for its impact on Albanian society, it is enough to recall that it could not even stop the construction of that monstrous building at its side, one of the greatest architectural blunders in Tirana. This history cannot make that building an especially useful place in which to gather future Albanian writers and artists, even though there are people who may feel that way about it because they have lived there all their lives. I think that building belongs to history, as the place where the Union of Writers and Artists of socialist reconstruction was housed. Indeed, if it were given a different purpose, becoming a cultural institute—such as the German cultural institute (Goethe) or the French one—it would be better. Therefore, although I appreciate Xhevahir Spahiu’s love of poetry and the Albanian language, I see his request for privatization as folly. He has the right to preserve the association he leads, but I think its management should be entrusted to a few capable people with a more modern outlook, who would know how to raise money to pay the rent on the building where the association’s management staff would work.

Most list only their homes as assets. The Prime Minister does not even have that Meidani, Nano, Berisha, Fino... What they have declared Chairman Shahollari: We have suspicions; we will investigate ELECTIONS / Meetings begin in the districts Most list only their homes as assets. The Prime Minister does not even have that Politicians are hiding their money Meidani, Nano, Berisha, Fino... What they have declared Chairman Shahollari: We have suspicions; we will investigate ELECTIONS / Meetings begin in the districts The leaders of the Albanian state are poor. President Meidani, Prime Minister Nano, Speaker of Parliament Gjinushi and others have declared nothing about their money. According to sources from the State Commission, the state leaders are reported to have declared only their homes, implying that they have less than one million new lekë, the amount above which the law requires them to make a declaration. Meanwhile, opposition leader Sali Berisha has not declared his assets for this year. Former President Berisha himself was the first to declare his assets, worth 360 thousand old lekë, in 1996.

Controversy over Ngjela The local elections are bringing the March unrest back into the spotlight. The Ngjela Commission is preparing its report on the causes and origins of this unrest after a long period in which its work was suspended. Accusations and counteraccusations among Commission members have now been replaced by attacks between opposing political camps, using the backdrop of the completion of the investigations, precisely now on the eve of the election campaign. On page 2

At the outset, I think it appropriate to stress that I see the problem in its implementation. And I think few people today can address it with an easy mind and a light hand. Nevertheless, an answer is needed, and that answer must not be delayed. The time has come to take stock and reorganize anew. It is no coincidence that the collapse of the pyramid schemes served as the signal for the outbreak of the great crisis and the collapse of the state, with the catastrophic consequences we all know. Naturally, responsibilities must also be established. This is a shattering accounting of events that called our very existence into question. Never in its history have the Albanian state and our society been so close to the brink as they were a year ago. Nevertheless, I think these events cannot be considered within the narrow timeframe of a few months. Everything must be viewed in the context of the previous year, which exposed the accumulated deficit of all the democratic processes in Albania. On the one hand, the incapacity and immaturity of the Albanian political class and, on the other, the lack of preparation and naivety of the general public in the face of the problems and dilemmas brought about by the radical changes in political and social life. The political consequences became intertwined and escalated; the spaces opened up by democratic change were gravely distorted in the interests of the One or of a narrow circle. One evident aspect of this distortion was the manipulated elections of May ’96, driven by the mentality of winning at any cost. In addition, the relationship of the individual to public power changed: from a subjugated subject, confined within a framework imposed by force from above, the individual became a citizen who found unprecedented and unexpected opportunities for self-affirmation and advancement. But this is also the critical point at which that citizen confronts the new reality. A great mass of people was left hanging by a thread. And it shows its backwardness, its ignorance, by falling into the radical trap of the pyramid schemes, which are the economic distortion of the new system. schemes triggered the chain reaction that brought about the catastrophic consequences we all know. Naturally, we must return to those events; indeed, this country and this people will never refuse to revisit them. But this is a moment of immense responsibility, concerning not only the past but also the future. It is a moment that calls not only for analysis, but also for reflection. Assessments and analyses have begun to be made, and, unexpectedly, official results have emerged. Newspapers from both sides are filling their pages with them. Both sides have drawn and raised their swords, as if another great calamity were upon us. It seems reasonable to me, in the interest of truth but also of our immediate and broader long-term interests, that the whole issue not be considered in isolation from today’s events and the context of the times that shape it, but be addressed in all its complexity. This does not rule out determining responsibilities. But let these responsibilities be dealt with on the political plane, and let the people, the electorate, draw the appropriate conclusions through a free vote. This extremely delicate moment calls for restraint and wisdom. We must avoid any formula that could have even a partial consequence beyond the immediate friction, but would open a deep rift in political life and lead to unforeseeable consequences. Let us make way for National Reconciliation; we have never needed it more.

TIRANA - A purge in the SP; 37 district leaders are wavering. At a meeting of district leaders with the senior Socialist officials, it was decided to begin the party’s election campaign, as provided for in the SP statute. On the other hand, however, this new Socialist move is being interpreted behind the scenes as a continuation of Nano’s demand to change completely the domains and plans that many local leaders may have built up during their several years at the head of the party in their respective districts. In any case, the central leadership has tried to soften some of its positions on this issue. On page 3

June 30, package of measures TIRANA - The Ministry of Finance is strengthening its powers. A new draft law on the drafting of the state budget will soon be submitted to the Government, defining the powers of the Ministry of Finance more clearly. “This draft law strengthens the position of the Ministry of Finance, given the important role it plays in the Government,” says Gjergj Buxhuku, Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance. Unlike existing laws, in which the powers of the Ministry of Finance are defined within the framework of the powers of the Council of Ministers, they are now clarified and further strengthened. On page 9

Invitation from the USA Vaçe Zela TIRANA - The “gold record” for Vaçe Zela comes from America. Thursday evening brought the biggest surprise for the icon of Albanian song. The artist has thus experienced one of the greatest events of her career, On page 10

GAZETA e Durrësit DURRES - Disarming the population in Durrës? We can do it. The atimëne association has its project ready. It can make the collection of weapons that have long been in the hands of the population a reality. This is an idea prompted by a grassroots initiative, which seeks to put the many government associations operating in different cities across Albania in competition. The first anti-mine efforts are being launched in the city of Durrës. On page 8

GAZETA e Shkodrës SHKODER - “There are inaccuracies and fraud in the documents received by the Economic Assistance office” — this is not the first time that officials of this office have accused their colleagues in this way of failing to implement the decision of the Council of Ministers. On page 6

GAZETA e Vlorës VLORE - The PS has made its final choice of the candidate who will represent it in the elections for the Municipality. Pediatrician Neki Dredha will face the opposition on behalf of the coalition. After lengthy discussions, attended also by delegates from Tirana, Majko and Dokle, it was decided that Dredha, the current director of the Vlora hospital, would represent them in this contest. On page 6