The West boycotts the Congress; Butka is the appointed candidate …ollo resigns from all his positions. Demi and Xhaferri join him page 3

What was expected to be the congress of renewal, of moderniz- …

What was expected to be the congress for the renewal and modernization of the opposition, bringing it back to the ideals of 1991, has turned into nothing but a stillborn child following the unforeseen developments of the last two days in the DP. The completely unexpected withdrawal of Berisha’s sole challenger for the post of chairman has blown apart all of Berisha’s efforts and plans to restore himself to his former status, especially in the eyes of the foreign community, which, to tell the truth, has reacted without enthusiasm to some positive moves undertaken by the man on whom the functioning of every cell of the DP depends. One need only mention last night’s decision by the Council of Ambassadors accredited in Tirana, and by the DP’s friend, Ms Doris Pack, not to attend Berisha’s congress to conclude that he has failed in this undertaking. Caught off guard by this unforeseeable move—beginning with the courage of the person who announced [it], Vejsiu, to oppose him and even threaten him, and ending with Polli’s decision yesterday to withdraw his candidacy—Berisha finds himself in an extremely critical position, comparable to that of the first days of March two years ago. For example, yesterday he faced the dilemma of choosing between holding the contest with an emergency opponent or not allowing anyone the gesture of taking on that role. At least, in such a case it would have been impossible to avoid procedural violations. The late-evening appointment of Uran Butka as a stand-in to carry out the mission of a formal candidate of the “Dokle” type, whom Berisha has also stigmatized in recent days, shows that he is now concerned only with making forced moves. More important, however, is the fact that today’s congress, given the circumstances in which it is being held, will have no value even for a considerable part of the DP electorate, let alone for those who will see it as the end of their own agony. Consequently, before long, Albania’s main opposition party will be reduced to nothing but a band of Berisha fanatics. And on such a path it would be ridiculous for it to talk about reforms, democratization, let alone a party of the next century. Ultimately, today’s Berisha congress represents a futile effort, a move more likely to harm him than bring him any benefit.

Farudin Arapi, chief administrator of the pyramid schemes, at a press conference Page 8

Berat, the PS conference Yesterday, the editor-in-chief of “ZP”, Socialist MP Erion Brace, who had stood for election as a delegate to the PS Congress, was not elected by the conference delegates. The editor-in-chief of “ZP” is known as a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Majko; thus yesterday’s defeat of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “ZP”, a paper that has fiercely attacked former leader Nano, is also a kind of barometer for Majko’s fortunes at the Congress. Nevertheless, reliable sources said that Majko’s people in the PS would try at the Tirana conference to nominate him again as a delegate, although propriety demands that an editor-in-chief in such a position resign. Sources at the Berat conference told “KJ” that in Berat, too, the candidates most loyal to Nano won, as they did at 70% of PS conferences. Perhaps the Socialist reaction in Berat was also a consequence of the Socialist newspaper “ZP”’s stance toward the man who kept the PS together while it was in opposition, since it is known that Nano’s imprisonment brought the PS to power. “ZP” is now Majko’s monopoly and is critical of Nano.

Last night, the Council of Foreign Ambassadors in Tirana decided, following Genc Pollo’s withdrawal from the race, not to attend the DP Congress. The DP Congress’s chief delegate, Doris Pack, arrived in Tirana tonight, but last night she declared that she would not attend the Congress following Genc Pollo’s withdrawal. She will meet only with the DP’s moderate group.