FATOS LUBONJA Mrs. Von Kohl was compelled to remind President Berisha that one of Enver Hoxha’s most serious crimes was precisely that he punished an entire family for the actions of one person, and that she had often misunderstood the President, believing that he (President Berisha) would not follow the same principles as the dictator. Mr. Novicki and Mrs. Von Kohl found Mr. Berisha’s interference in the judicial bodies extremely undemocratic. Even cynical slander has been used, as when it is said (this refers to RD) that President Berisha told her that if she was so concerned about the former communist leaders, she could come to court in the capacity of a lawyer. Such distortions can be found only in the kitchens that once prepared Hoxha’s works. — READ ON PAGE 2 —

NERITAN CEKA December 1991 was fatal for Albanian democracy, with the Bolshevik triumph of the mass line. Instead of economic reasoning and the gradual introduction of modern regulators of political life, such as the rates of inflation, unemployment, opportunity, integration into the European economy, etc., the former Bolshevik principle was reinstated, but in pluralist form: that is, the number of parties above all else. This crisis means that in the coming years the economic scene will be dominated by speculators, friends of the parties, while the political scene will be dominated by careerists, the incompetent, and cowardly idealists. We are left to console ourselves with Ali Asllani’s axiom: Albanians.” — READ IN THE NEXT ISSUE —

“The General Prosecutor’s Office has submitted a request to lift the immunity of a criminal such as Deputy Prosecutor General VASIL PLAKU, who is being protected by the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Mr. Pjetër Arbnori. The latter has sent a letter to the Tirana District Investigative Office saying that we cannot lift Mr. Vasil Plaku’s immunity because the People’s Assembly is not in session.” Let us clarify: Mr. Vasil Plaku was the judge in the case concerning the restitution of Mr. Pjetër Arbnori’s property, in which the latter, at the conclusion of the case, took the sum of 88,932 lekë (old lekë), as well as 39 gold napoleons, denomination “20”.

In issue 39 of “Koha jonë”, dated 11 September 1992, you published a court ruling concerning the return of the property confiscated from Mr. Pjetër Arbnori. Having read it (as the former judge in the case), I note that a printing error was allowed in the second column: specifically, the phrase “the court considers this claim to be well-founded” should read “the court considers this claim to be unfounded.” This did not happen because of an error on your part; rather, the typed-up ruling issued by the court secretary and signed by me does not correspond to the original written by me. On this basis, your note, which relies on the words “well-founded,” is correct. Nevertheless, in the interests of the truth and so that the public may be properly informed, I ask you to check the case file, specifically the original ruling, because the above irregularity has led to incorrect conclusions. Appreciating your accuracy, which has always been accompanied by professional integrity, I am convinced that this necessary correction will be made. After that, please publish a public clarification. Respectfully, Deputy Prosecutor General VASIL PLAKU

— READ ON PAGE 2 — Berin Çela firmly demands the arrest of Nikoll Lesi Since April of this year, the Chairman of the State Audit has been insistently calling for the arrest of the director of the newspaper “Koha Jonë”, Mr. Nikollë Lesi. In all the interviews he has given to the newspapers “RD”, “Sindikalisti”, “Zëri i Rinisë”, Radio Tirana, and on TV, he protests against the General Prosecutor’s Office, which is not ordering the initiation of criminal proceedings. In the newspaper “Balli i Kombit”, the organ of the Albanian Balli Party, in an interview given to journalist Rinus Idrizi, Mr. Çela declares: “... Among so many cases of corruption, especially in Albania, the most abusive one remains Nikollë Lesi. ...” Further on, he continues: “I think that those who cover up and drag out these cases should be held criminally responsible; otherwise, there is no reason for this Ministry, called the State Audit, to continue to exist—which would also mean that I have no reason to stay in this post (read: resign).” Meanwhile, in an interview dated 10 August in “Sindikalisti”, he openly explains why he has clashed with the Prosecutor General, Mr. Maksim Haxhia: “... I personally stand by the position that Nikolla Lesi has deceived, and that is why I continue to insist that this case be reopened and pursued. This is the main reason why I have clashed with the Prosecutor General. ...” But isn’t Mr. Çela contradicting himself when, on the one hand, he insists on criminal proceedings, while on the other, on TV, he has declared that “the State Audit has no right to inspect associations and private individuals”?! It seems he has forgotten that “Koha Jonë” has been a private newspaper since 10 March of this year. Likewise, it seems he will not forget the “Lesi” case, since in interviews he may give both to auditors and to journalists ...

During the parliamentary session discussing the motion concerning the Republic’s Prosecutor General, Mr. Maksim Haxhia, MP Dritëro Agolli declared: “This motion seems enigmatic to me. Even the little bit of brains we had here is slipping away. I don’t understand at all what I’m supposed to speak about. We are not being honest here either. We are extremely deceitful. We are not stating the purpose behind the motion we have made. And so this is not a European Parliament; this is THE PARLIAMENT OF A GANG.”

As the newspaper «Bashkimi» reports, these days the sister of the Chairman of the State Audit and member of the PD Steering Committee, Mr. Blerim Çela, has been assigned the position of secretary to the Minister of Defence, Mr. Safet Zhulali.

In an article by Mr. A. K. published in RD, it is said that I am employed by the newspaper «Koha jonë». It seems to be an ironic remark, but I have an intellectual duty to make RD a concrete proposal: — Let us sign a contract under which the newspaper RD will publish all my writings. It will be easier for me, and for the newspaper it will be a concrete step toward my «rehabilitation». I just do not know whether the person hiding behind the initials A. K. has the proper authority.

Monopoli: The Albanian court rejected the appeal against the seizure of the Italian fishing boat «Occhio di falco». The second level of court proceedings also upheld this decision. The interventions of Italian diplomacy were of no avail; it had intervened in the matter at the request of Monopoli’s mayor, Franco Paciello. The boat will remain in Albania, the Albanian authorities declared, appearing unyielding. But the Italian crew, now made up of five people, has absolutely no intention of leaving the fishing boat. «We haven’t had any news of them for days,» says Lucrezia Sabatelli, the boat’s owner and the wife of its captain, Cosimo Tarantino. «Before, someone would call us, but now we can no longer get in touch.»

In the previous issue of our newspaper, under the headline «The return of confiscated property has begun», we published the decision of the Tirana court concerning the return to Mr. Pjetër Arbnori of 39 gold napoleons and 88932 old lek, property that had been confiscated in 1962. As we are informed, the panel of judges that issued this decision was not unanimous on the return of this property, since one of the three members of the panel opposed the decision and noted at the conclusion of the trial that such a decision was unlawful. Nevertheless, the decision was made and carried out.

(Search... WE ARE ON DISK...)

«... you are welcome! THE EDITORIAL OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER «KOHA JONË»