Council of Europe reporters arrive in Tirana 7 parties meet with Finsberg and Kolumberg Council of Europe reporters arrive in Tirana 7 parties meet with Finsberg and Kolumberg The opposition’s storm falls on the Council of Europe last night The conditions for Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe have not been implemented SP: We will win the elections and write the constitution The decisions against Nano have been political Two reporters from the Council of Europe, Finsberg and Kolumberg, have extended the first days of the new year in Albanian politics. The meetings between the main leaders of the Albanian parties and the Council of Europe envoys were held in the form of interviews. The Socialist Party’s view is that after Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe, some of the essential elements that were supposed to be implemented have in fact been “worsened,” Dokle said after the meeting. The largest opposition party also handed the reporters a volume of observations containing 6 points. Kolumberg and Finsberg during yesterday’s meetings at the Rogner hotel photo G. SHKULLAKU page 3

Approval of this project will be followed by price increases 99 billion lek for the state of ’96

In the capital, 36 people hospitalized. One risks losing a hand, four others their eyesight 100 tons of fireworks light up the first night of the year More than 30 victims of overeating 2 million drachmas stolen on New Year’s night The Albanian capital has almost celebrated New Year’s Day in the streets. The sounds of explosions and the multicolored lights of fireworks have set the night sky of the holiday ablaze, but they have also brought the first victims of the year. page 2, 6

Dokle: Cynicism is not called forgiveness and is not thanked for After the president’s “pardon” The Socialists, while having welcomed the 17-hour “amnesty” when Fatos Nano was allowed to attend his mother’s funeral, did not do the same for the “amnesty” of more than 5,760 hours granted by President Berisha on New Year’s Day. “Berisha has definitively lost all chances to establish serious relations with the opposition,” declares Kastriot Islami, after President Berisha reduced Fatos Nano’s sentence by 8 months. page 2, 6

Trust in our readers, our strongest guarantee on the road to success This first issue of “Koha Jonë” for 1996 also marks a new era for our newspaper. From today it will appear with 24 daily pages, aiming to include within itself more information, news, comments and analyses on events in Albania and around the world. The staff of “Koha Jonë” does not claim that it is launching a revolution today, but it is convinced that it is bringing a qualitative change to the new Albanian press. We believe that this change is in line with Albania’s own development. No longer an isolated country, it has long seen growing interest in everything happening in the world, especially in neighboring countries. The war in the former Yugoslavia, elections in several former communist countries, and economic data from countries with which we have the main trade activity, etc., have also been linked to the interests of many Albanians. For this reason, and believing that the time has come, the newspaper “Koha Jonë” will further publish pages with foreign news, and will also add another type of page with economic information from abroad, necessary for Albanian traders. Another change will be the addition of a political page. 1996 is the year of elections and, naturally, the main political activity will move from the center to the districts. Every major city in Albania, through our correspondents, will find a daily place in the pages of the newspaper, from political events to cultural chronicle, for which another additional page has been set aside. All this work by the journalists of “KJ” has as its motive: as much as possible and as well as possible for the newspaper’s readers. Two years ago, precisely on 4 January 1994, the newspaper “Koha Jonë” began its daily publication and within 6 months managed to double its pages. Today it will move toward a more complete, more consolidated form for readers, while at the same time trying to be more accessible and more in demand. Throughout its nearly five-year history, the newspaper “Koha Jonë”, both in good times and in difficult ones, has always known how to rely on its thousands of readers throughout Albania. Communication with them has been through the pages of the newspaper alone, yet both sides have understood each other very well. And naturally this understanding has been the basis on which every step of the newspaper rests in order to begin publishing the newspaper with 24 pages. In this difficult undertaking, the readers’ trust is our strongest guarantee of success. By making the newspaper fuller, we believe we will find more room and closeness with readers, who are at the same time the source and the energy of our work. With the increase in pages, “Koha Jonë” will always promise substance while preserving the freshness and truthfulness of its writing. The newspaper will always uphold its principles, as a consolidated paper, considering free publishing as sacred, along with independence, truth and justice. Our thoughts and ideas are tied to the spirit of the newspaper and we want “KJ” to always be a tribune where people who love freedom and justice are heard. A. SHKULLAKU

New Year 1996 newspaper Today readers, together with the newspaper “Koha Jonë”, will also receive a free 1996 calendar. The Albanian section of German radio Deutsche Welle wishes its listeners a happy new year with a calendar given through the newspaper “Koha Jonë”