Parliament Speaker Gjinushi: “An unnecessary decision” Pages 2–3

BY ENKEL DEMI Albanian Television will have a new director of information. This director will be temporary, even though he will not be on probation. His name is Ardian Klosi. In a statement yesterday, signed by the Director General of RTVSH, Mr Ardian Klosi appointed Sokol Balla director of information. Since the journalist in question is attending a course at B.B.C. radio, Mr Ardian Klosi is assigned as acting director of information. The Director General of RTVSH appoints himself. Such a joke really does cause laughter, while at the same time casting doubt on the general director of RTVSH’s state of mind—not just his emotional state. The Director General of RTVSH is known for his sudden decisions and, above all, for a certain fondness for the absurd. The latest decision he made yesterday concerning himself has turned the head of Albania’s largest media institution into someone with a great sense of humour, who does not spare even himself so that others can laugh. A sacrifice of this kind only enhances the reputation of the RTVSH director, about whom there are rumours that, after Sokol Balla returns, he will appoint himself host of the traditional New Year’s programme. The first thing Klosi will do as acting director of Television will be to give lesson number 2: “What is news?” On this occasion, it is thought that he will also be helped by many other videotapes of German television channels, which the director has pirated and recorded at home while watching them. Yesterday’s document shows that RTVSH has serious problems, which are no longer merely organisational. The people currently at the head of this institution are desperate in the way they operate. This could very quickly become a dangerous precedent for Albanians. Thus, it would not be at all surprising if one day we saw just anyone on the official channel, even someone who is not a journalist. It would not be surprising if the news were censored by the head of the institution, as in the old days—a move that could silence even the little voice RTVSH still has. Yesterday’s statement may be followed by others, and no one will be surprised any more to see Klosi assigned to a post, since with that statement yesterday Eduard Mazi is effectively dismissed from his post at TV, while Ardian Klosi is appointed director, acting director, chief engineer and head of news all at once. It is not only laughable, but also lamentable, given the calibre of the leaders we have in these powerful institutions, ...

In this respect it is foreseen • to organise a visit of ARE-experts to Albania before end of July 1998, • to install a permanent project office of ARE at HSH-premises in Durres late August 1998, • to submit from the Austrian side a list material and telecom Rehabilitation of the Durres-Rogozhine-Pogradec railway section Rehabilitation of the Vore-Shkoder-Hani i Hotit railway section Rehabilitation of the Rogozhine-Vlore railway section *Free provision of 80 used railcars for second-class services *Free provision of 10–15 railcars The first session of the joint ... about the progress of the cooperation according to the bilateral agreement signed on July 9th, 1998. Done in Vienna, July 9th, 1998 for the Albanian side Leonard BURNACI Director General of HSH for the Austrian side Friedrich PICHLER General Manager of ARE The document on Austria’s donation of railcars to the Albanian government, in Albanian and English, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta

(Can the process really be stopped?!) The three paths and the Constitution’s only possibility BY ARBEN IMAMI The President of the Republic, having obtained the Assembly’s approval, announced the referendum on the new Constitution of the Republic of Albania. Before this act expressing the will of the people, and following the Constitution’s approval in parliament, legal and political reflection leads one to consider the relationship between these two moments. The first path is that, after being approved by the Assembly, the Constitution also receives the full support of the Albanian people. Every indication leads one to think that this will indeed be the future of this Constitution, because Albanian citizens have been broadly motivated for years; because there is a clear will across the Albanian political spectrum; because representatives of civil society were co-authors of the draft; and because the draft is of a high standard in terms of technical parameters, as has also been acknowledged by distinguished constitutional experts from around the world. (Continued on page 8)

Minister Koci opposes new Deputy Minister Yzeiri The first, but fierce, problem for Interior Minister Petro Koci. Last night, at the meeting of the Council of Ministers, Deputy Interior Minister Bajram Yzeiri was appointed; he had previously also been a minister in 1991–92 and later held important posts during the time of the PD, in the days when the former Albanian opposition grew. Minister Koci, according to highly reliable sources, opposed this appointment for “political and moral reasons”, but his initiative remained isolated, since Majko and Meta had already decided the matter. Thus the new minister, who was the Socialists’ last hope for restoring public order, will today be left alone in the fight against crime, since ... ... something about which no one will ask the minister. In any case, things are being arranged here to proceed as at the state KTV, but in a different sense: the “strongman” of Majko-Meta will not be the minister, but Deputy Minister Yzeiri. Thus Koci’s wish to fight crime and for a clean monarchy through the police apparently remains ... As for the rest. ...

Communist Party Congress Milloshi with 200 Communists Enver’s followers will appear today in “Skënderbej” Square page 8