- Talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Berreqi, Croatia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Zdenko Shkraballo arrived in Tirana. In the afternoon, talks were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between the Albanian delegation and the Croatian delegation. At the beginning, Serreqi expressed his pleasure at meeting his neighboring counterpart and added that “our professional past as doctors, I believe, will be an element that will serve the spirit of understanding in our talks.” He noted that this visit would benefit peace in the region and the strengthening of relations between Albania and Croatia. Among the main topics of the dialogue was the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. In this regard, Serreqi emphasized the Albanian government’s position in favor of resolving it definitively by peaceful means, in a way acceptable to all the parties and peoples of the former Yugoslavia. He reaffirmed that Albania opposes any immediate change of borders by force and will not cease its efforts to resolve the Kosovo issue by political means and to meet the legitimate demands of its representatives. The Croatian minister gave an extensive overview of the situation in the former Yugoslavia and of conditions in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Speaking about the Kosovo issue, he said, “We support genuine autonomy for Kosovo. For peace in the region and the strengthening of relations in the struggle, we need cooperation with Albania.” The two sides also exchanged views on the status of Albanians living and working in Croatia. “Albanians in Croatia,” Shkraballo said, “are honest citizens and we respect them.” The talks included extensive discussion of cooperation between Albania and Croatia in the economic sphere, in the energy industry, oil, transport, and other areas of mutual interest. (ATSH)

The protection and respect of human rights -A PERMANENT CONCERN FOR EVERYONE - Message from President SALI BERISHA addressed to the People’s Assembly - Honorable deputies, I have been regularly informed about the work of the People’s Assembly, and I am pleased to note that all deputies are concerned with adopting laws of the kind that form the basis of our democratic institutions. These days you restructured the Committees of the People’s Assembly, and I am convinced that the new structure of these Committees will make it possible for the People’s Assembly and its deputies to carry out their noble duty successfully. On this occasion, however, through this message, and after also consulting with the chairmen of the parliamentary groups, allow me to propose that a committee or group for the protection of human rights be established within the Assembly, composed of deputies from the various parliamentary groups. We are all aware that when we began the struggle for democracy, our principal aim was to realize individual freedoms in a free and democratic society. Naturally, great results have been achieved in this field. Albanian citizens today enjoy all the fundamental freedoms and rights of the individual, such as freedom of thought and expression, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of belief and the right to property. Likewise, government at all levels operates in accordance with constitutional law; the independence of the judiciary and the rights of national minorities are guaranteed in Albania, and these are all highly valued by Albanian citizens. These achievements have also been welcomed by the democratic public throughout the international community. However, I believe that the protection and respect of human rights, not only in post-dictatorial societies, where democracy must develop and be learned at the same time, but also in countries with democratic traditions, is and must remain a permanent concern of citizens, parliament, government, the President, and so on. For my part, I assure you that now and in the future I will use all my powers to ensure that international documents in this field, such as the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris, the Copenhagen Document, etc., remain at the center of the activities of the new democratic Albanian state, so that Albanian citizens and members of minorities enjoy all the rights and freedoms to which they are entitled under these important documents. Hoping that my suggestion will be taken into consideration, I wish you success in carrying out your noble duty. Respectfully, SALI BERISHA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

WIDE-RANGING DISCUSSION ON ARMY REFORM

These days, the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Tirana, Ahmed Nabavi Isa, handed over a quantity of medicines to Albania’s Minister of Health and Environmental Protection, Tritan Shehu.

It has often been discussed, in the parliamentary premises and outside them, what position the chairman of the PS parliamentary group occupies in parliament. They say that “the PS is lucky to have found someone like Dokle, whom it puts out front for every problem.” It is true that he takes the lead on every issue. Dokle jumps up as if stung at every word spoken by PD deputies and responds even to the clatter of chairs coming from one side. In contrast to Dokle, Nano’s demeanor seemed somewhat strange. He is always silent and rarely raises his hand to ask for the floor. But the “secret” was uncovered. During Tuesday afternoon’s session, while PD deputy Çepeli was making a statement, Dokle, despite his haste, raised and lowered his hand repeatedly. But wait a moment: someone behind Dokle whispered, while Dokle simply repeated aloud, word for word, what was being told to him. During that session, the Speaker of Parliament also pointed this out to Dokle, telling him that “until yesterday you hadn’t needed a prompter.” Dokle, who cannot keep from responding, shot back immediately. But he said the only words he could: “The prompter stands in front, not behind.” And he was entirely right. Mr. Arbnori did not use the right name when he called him a prompter, because a prompter really does stand in front of the actor and is insignificant in comparison with him. So Dokle is not a prompter; he is Nano’s herald, and this is not the first time he has played that role. From the herald of the Party In contrast to Dokle, Nano’s [mi?] seemed somewhat odd. ask for the floor. But the «secret» was revealed. During Tuesday afternoon’s session, while a statement was being made by PD deputy Çepeli, Dokle kept raising and lowering his hand impatiently, waiting for the statement to end. As soon as deputy Çepeli finished, Dokle was [prodded?] and immediately delivered a counterstatement, which he then began to embellish with his own words. ... stands in front and also behind. And that is entirely right. Mr. Ar- is quite strange; Arbnor did not give him the appropriate name, just as he called him [sër?], because indeed the [suller?] stands in front of the actors and is insignificant in comparison with them. Dokle, then, is not a [sullfer?]; he is Nano’s town crier, this role. From being the Party’s town crier as editor-in-chief of «ZP», Dokle took on the role of Nano’s town crier as chairman of the PS parliamentary group. E. P.

- The President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sali Berisha, takes part. - To discuss further deepening the reform of the army, the Ministry of Defense organized a meeting with senior officers of army units and other military departments. Those present included the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi, Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali, other government officials, and guests from the country’s political parties. Also present were NATO’s representative in Albania, Colonel R. E. Abaz, the Turkish military attaché, Colonel Denis Jashilmak, and other military representatives who had come especially for the occasion. In his speech, Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali said that «army reform is a continuation of the implementation of the democratic government’s program for a radical transformation of the country’s entire life. This reform, he said, is not a matter for a group of people or particular individuals, but is also in the interest of the nation and the homeland. This step aims to overcome the backwardness inherited from the past and accelerate the integration of the Albanian army into the ranks of modern European armies.» Continuing, Mr. Zhulali emphasized that «defense policy will be based on a consensus among the political forces, because the army is not the force of a single party, but belongs to the entire country. The President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, Mr. Sali Berisha, said: «I think this discussion is a further continuation of the ideas of distinguished military officers, who dominate another impetus. They have expressed their views, but the sacrifices they made have not been in vain. It is true that, among the overwhelming majority of Albania’s military personnel, the arrival of pluralism brought more advanced concepts of the army. This is also why the army refused to remain on the side of the dictatorship and instead supported the democratic processes. The military, although not at all privileged, welcomed democracy exceptionally well. They had the great wisdom, at the very beginning of pluralism, to choose Albania above all the parties. The idea of another army, of a new army, is a great idea; it concerns its historical role and duties in a democratic system. This is the idea of moving from a closed army to an open army, an army of cooperation, an army of discipline. Reflect on what dictatorship is: a military state. From this comes the tendency to reform the army in order to establish the rule of law. The army will serve Albania’s foreign policy and, in this way, will be an institution of law and of the democratic state in Albania. Our foreign policy is a policy of peace and stability. In our efforts, we should be confident that all the contradictions characterizing the situation in the region today will be resolved through dialogue and understanding. It is an undeniable truth that today we are living through an extremely tense situation in the Balkans, but Albania will endeavor, through its policy, to avert conflict. At the same time, it will never allow the achievements of democracy in Albania to be touched or the country’s integrity to be violated. It is essential that we deepen the reform in order to create a modern army based on the scientific art of warfare and other democratic principles, drawing on the Helsinki Charter and other international legal instruments. In this regard, the establishment of links and cooperation between our army and the armies of neighboring countries and NATO bodies is an encouraging fact, and will help deepen the reform that has begun. Establishing ties with NATO, a pact that has been and remains a guarantee of peace and democracy, is an important event for our army. We are striving to integrate as quickly as possible into this powerful organization, as we deserve to do, because Albanians have never considered NATO a threat to the freedom of peoples, and Albania was the first, among the other countries of Eastern Europe, to leave the Warsaw Pact. While the procedures for joining NATO continue, we for our part will not sever our ties and cooperation with it. Given the conditions in which we are living, it is understandable that we will reduce military spending, but this does not mean that we will diminish the country’s defensive capability. On the contrary, this entire reform is aimed at increasing defensive capability and modernizing the army as rapidly as possible. A strong army cannot exist in a poor country with a weak economy; therefore, we must stabilize our economy. In the army reform we are carrying out, it is very important that officers now learn the true art of warfare, free of ideological distortion, and that the knowledge taught at the military academy be of a high standard. I fully agree that the military academy should be on a par with the University in general academic terms, in addition to military art, which will be a basic criterion for admitting and assessing young officers. Army reform is progressing successfully within the framework of the overall reform in Albania. After the victory of March 22, a great victory for democracy, the seedbed being created by reform in each of its engines is growing continuously, thereby consolidating the foundations of democracy in Albania. Army reform guarantees, above all, the advancement of democracy and its modernization and progress. ATSH

In recent Tirana, Aħ-med Nabavi Isa, handed Albania’s Minister of Health and Environmental Protection, Tritan Shehu, a quantity of medicines, mainly antibiotics, donated by the Egyptian government to the Albanian people during this difficult period of transition. (ATSH)

A commemorative session dedicated to the Shkodër intellectual Qemal Dracini, who died 45 years ago in the cells of the State Security service, was held at the «Luigj Gurakuqi» University of Shkodër. The event was also attended by the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori, and others. (ATSH)

It seems paradoxical that the state has made imported potatoes available to citizens at 8 lek per kilogram, yet many of them continue to buy them on the free market for 25 lek per kilogram. This happens because, although the cold store is well stocked with this product, the retail outlets are not going to collect their supplies (!) An inspection carried out in Tirana’s outlets in recent days clearly reveals the sellers’ negligence and the lack of oversight by local government officials. At outlet no. 309 near the railway station, even though many citizens were waiting for potatoes, the shop had none in stock. The same situation can be seen at outlet no. 1. Of the 700 kg allocated in its plan, outlet no. 322 has collected only 200; outlet no. 13 has collected only 392 of its 788 kg, and so on. The situation is even worse in the canteens of hospitals, kindergartens, and nurseries. If citizens cannot find potatoes at the designated outlet, they buy them themselves at a higher price; in hospitals, kindergartens, and nurseries, however, the patients and children have to sit and wait for the administration to bring them something. Thus, the Canteens Enterprise, which supplies these institutions, has collected only 40 tons of potatoes out of the 200 tons allocated in its plan. Likewise, Canteens Directorate No. 1, which supplies students, has collected only 6 quintals despite having 60 quintals in its plan. But it gets worse: Canteens Directorate No. 3 has not collected a single gram of the 40 quintals allocated in its plan! While it is said that shopkeepers have no interest in supplying the retail outlets because potatoes have a price ceiling, no explanation is offered for the canteen enterprises other than negligence on the part of their managers. The relevant ministry is not blameless either. It has drawn up a plan to supply the population with potatoes, but how is it following up on it? The cold store in Tirana has around 800 quintals of potatoes in stock, which are at risk of spoiling. The state takes an interest and brings potatoes from Greece all the way to the cold store, yet the managers are unable to get them to the citizens for consumption, allowing them to spoil. This is inexcusable. ZEF LESH[I?]

Invited by the mayor of the city of Korçë, Gjergji Glinko, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, Mr. Kudo De Marko, and the other people accompanying him paid a visit to this city. Mr. De Marko met with students and lecturers of the University of Korçë, and also visited the lower construction school, which next year, funded by Malta, will become an English-language secondary school. (ATSH)

The Insurance Institute (INSIG) needs employees with the following qualifications: 1. Lawyers and economists, with an average grade above 8, good knowledge of English, and under 35 years of age. 2. Marketing employees, with a university degree, an average grade above 7.5, and under 35 years of age. 3. Linguists who have graduated in English, are under 35 years of age, and know a second Western language. 4. Auditors, with a financial specialization, under 40 years of age, and more than 3 years of work experience. Due to the nature of the work, candidates for positions 1, 2, and 4 must be men. Applicants should submit documents certifying that they meet the above criteria, as well as a document from their workplace or faculty concerning their activities during this period. Documents must be submitted by November 10, 1992, to the Insurance Institute at: «Dëshmorët e Kombit» Boulevard, No. 3, Tirana. INSURANCE INSTITUTE