Court problems and minority education harm the president State Department press statement: “What is our policy toward Albania” State Department press statement: “What is our policy toward Albania” Berisha arrives yesterday at the Pentagon. Accompanied by Perry, he passes in review the honor guard. photo REUTERS From our correspondent in Washington read on page 3 Berisha arrives yesterday at the Pentagon. Accompanied by Perry, he passes in review the honor guard. photo REUTERS

The former PD chairman will no longer be part of the Albanian parliamentary delegation to the CoE Yesterday morning a plenary session was held which was more like a meeting of the PD parliamentary group than a plenary session. This happened because, during the day, deputies from the four opposition parties — PS, PSD, PAD and PBDNJ — boycotted the parliamentary proceedings in protest against the majority’s refusal to urgently summon Prime Minister A. Meksi for an interpellation to explain the latest events at the Court of Cassation. Nevertheless, yesterday, although entirely passive, PBDNJ deputy Kosta Makridhi, independent deputy Abdi Baleta, and PR deputy Mehmet Çeliku also took part. After the smooth approval of the draft laws on the salaries of the Military Court of Appeals, on the civil guard, on the state inspection service for weights, on the ratification of the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Defense of Albania and that of Croatia, and on the treaty between the government of Albania and the USA concerning the encouragement and reciprocal protection of investments, the session moved on to approving the permanent parliamentary delegation that will represent Albania in the Council of Europe. Pjeter Arbnori has been appointed head of the Albanian delegation, while Ali Spahia from PD, Namik Dokle from PS, and Ruzhdi Pulaha from PSD have also been approved as members. In case any member of the delegation from PD is absent, they will be replaced by Rushen Golemi and Eduard Selami. The substitute candidates for PS and PSD will be designated by the deputies of those parties. Thus, Eduard Selami, former PD chairman, has once again become a “victim” of his parliamentary group, this time by being removed from the composition of the Albanian delegation to the Council of Europe immediately after Albania’s admission to this important European institution. As is known, Selami was declared a “non grata” person for Berisha’s PD precisely because of his ideas regarding the approval (continued on page 3)

In a television interview given yesterday to the American channel CNN, regarding the trial of Fatos Nano, Berisha said: “He has the right to be tried seven times and to be sentenced all seven times, evidence to refute what he has been accused of.” On CNN, Berisha mentioned that he has been accused of being an ordinary thief and a forger. “The culprit was found in the three proceedings because of the million-lek losses in Italian humanitarian aid and the falsification of documents,” he says. Yet on the other hand, by declaring that Nano has the right to be tried even three times, he has legitimized the Plenum of the Court of Cassation. The president of Cassation, Zef Brozi, having noted serious procedural violations in Nano’s trial and having learned that Italian justice does not confirm any abuse of Italian aid, asked the Plenum for two alternatives: either the theft charge against Nano, in favor of third parties, should be dismissed, or he should be released and his trial should start again from the first instance. Here it seems Berisha is relying on this as he counts Nano’s three times before the world. This matter could only be in the hands of the Plenum. But meanwhile, on the first day of Berisha’s visit to Washington, the government asks the Constitutional Court to declare the Cassation Plenum illegal, and the fate of the Plenum is left to be decided on 18 September. E.B

The Embassy building is hit with a grenade, President Clinton is informed Yesterday around 1 p.m., unidentified persons threw a grenade onto the sixth floor of the American Embassy in Moscow. The attack was carried out from a car passing along the road nearby. According to the first data from the police and the Russian secret service, this act has no connection with Russia’s harsh criticism of NATO’s current attack in Bosnia. The ITAR-TASS agency reports that near the scene of the incident a grenade igniter and a pair of gloves, believed to belong to the perpetrators, were found. A spokesperson for the embassy confirmed that the attack was carried out on the Moscow ring road when traffic was heavy, with no damage or other injuries. In Washington, White House officials say that President Clinton has also been informed of this fact. Immediately after the incident, the Russian authorities took measures to surround the embassy, evacuate personnel, and carry out further investigative actions. Yesterday the Moscow police and American guards during the investigation in front of the embassy building. photo REUTERS A Reuters correspondent, an eyewitness to the event, said that a hole could be seen in the building where the bomb had struck, as well as several broken windows and a completely damaged window ledge. Since last month, Washington had warned American citizens in San Petersburg, whether tourists, embassy employees, or passengers, to exercise extreme caution, since the American consulate in Moscow had received a “credible lead” about a powerful attack against American citizens. Formerly frozen relations between Moscow and Washington, which improved after the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, have begun to worsen again in recent weeks because Moscow is angry with the USA after the latter sidelined it from shaping policy regarding the conflict in Bosnia. The dissolution of the Soviet Union has significantly increased organized crime and mafia groups, which Washington has information show are also active in the USA. Yesterday the Moscow police and American guards during the investigation in front of the embassy building. photo REUTERS

Nano and Hoxha free International Helsinki protests again page 2 Today at the Constitutional Court Zef Brozi on trial Accused of violating the law page 4 By CoE experts in Tirana Events at the Cassation “...” The Council of Europe reacts page 2 On 18 September decision on the Plenum It will be judged only two days before the “Nano” trial page 4 Yesterday Parma arrives in Tirana Parma stars speak for “KJ” pages 12, 14