On 19 November, a delegation from the Albanian Democratic League of Montenegro visited the headquarters of the Democratic Party. The delegation included Messrs. Mehmet Bardhi, chairman of the ADL of Montenegro; Lekë Juguraj, deputy chairman of the League; and Gjergj Gjakaj, ADL deputy in the Parliament of Montenegro. The delegation was received by DP chairman Mr. Eduard Selami and other gentlemen. During the discussion, the guests informed the DP chairman about the struggle and efforts of Albanians for their rights in Montenegro, and also suggested the need to coordinate the efforts of all Albanians to resolve the national question. For his part, Mr. Selami, after thanking them for their visit, expressed his confidence that following the victory of the democratic forces in Albania, real conditions existed for a just resolution of the Albanian question in the former Yugoslav federation. We maintain our view that Albanians living in their own lands have the right to determine their own fate. A primary objective of the DP program is a just resolution of the Albanian question. It is important, Mr. Selami stressed, to understand the necessity of establishing links and cooperation among Albanian political parties at home and abroad in order to coordinate their positions and assessments in this important situation. ★★★ Also on Thursday, the distinguished Albanian figure, Doctor Mentor Çoku, was received at the DP headquarters by the DP chairman, Mr. Eduard Selami, the DP secretary, Mr. Tomor Dosti, the party’s Deputy Chairman and the chairman of the parliamentary group of… (Continued on page 4)

FROM THE AREAS DAMAGED BY FLOODS According to the many reports arriving from time to time at the Shkodra District Council from teams monitoring and normalizing conditions in all areas, the severe situation caused by the heavy rainfall in this district is now returning to normal. From the visit of the Turkish military delegation «Albania and Turkey ARE TWO BROTHERLY COUNTRIES» President BERISHA received the Turkish Minister of Defence, Mr. AJAZ Albania and Turkey are two brotherly countries, with historical and blood ties, especially now that democracy has been established here, said the President of the Republic of Albania, Sali Berisha, at Thursday’s meeting with the Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Nevzat Ajaz. «I am very confident,» Mr. Berisha told his guest from Turkey, «that your visit will contribute to strengthening these ties». For his part, Mr. Ajaz thanked President Berisha for the reception given to him and the other members of the delegation he leads. «I have brought you,» he said, «the good wishes and greetings of our President and Prime Minister. As you also said,» Mr. Ajaz continued, «relations between Albania and Turkey have deep roots in history. Today there are many citizens of Albanian origin in Turkey, and their number may be greater than the population of Albania today; they are a factor for friendship and cooperation». President Berisha praised the agreement between the two governments in the military field, signed in Tirana, and stressed that this military cooperation between our two countries serves peace and stability in our region and is not directed against any other country. The two interlocutors also discussed the difficult situation created by the tragic events in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Turkish minister expressed his desire to deepen the procedures for Albania’s admission to full membership in NATO. He also spoke about Turkey’s international initiatives to stop Serbian aggression. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Defence Safet Zhulali and Turkey’s ambassador in Tirana, Metin Ornekol.

CHRONICLE FROM THE AREAS DAMAGED BY FLOODS According to the many reports arriving from time to time at the Shkodra District Council from teams monitoring and normalizing conditions in all areas, the severe situation caused by the heavy rainfall in this district is now returning to normal. SHKODRA According to the many reports arriving from time to time at the Shkodra District Council from teams monitoring and normalizing conditions in all areas, the severe situation caused by the numerous landslides in this district is returning to normal. There have been no … and no people injured. Water levels in the most flooded areas, such as Kuc and Bahçallëk, have fallen, and the water is receding completely. In the Oblika area, it is reported, 80 hectares of wheat were flooded, of which 50 hectares were damaged. The bridge in the village of Velinaj has collapsed and two buildings have been damaged. According to calculations, the damage caused in the Oblika area amounts to approximately 700,000 lekë. Even today, the plain in this area… (Continued on page 2)

Legislation concerning deputies needs revision We are all witnesses to the fact that, during the elections of 22 March, the overwhelming majority of voters were guided not by the merits of one candidate for deputy or another, but by which party the candidate belonged to. That is why many distinguished public figures lost to relatively unknown candidates. This was because the people preferred the proportional system over the majority system. In this contest, the winners were the DP, and following its loss of power, the PS. This is how our Parliament was formed. Now some gentlemen who are deputies in Parliament thanks to the good name of the DP and the people’s trust and affection for it remain deputies even though they have left the party. They say, «The people elected us», forgetting that the people elected them as Democrats, not as opponents of their party. In addition to this category, there are also deputies whom the DP put on its proportional list. Thus, for them the people voted for the proportional list, but for the party; nevertheless, they were elected by name as part of a party. And yet even among them, anyone who is against the party and has left it still remains a deputy. This is completely absurd, because the people did not vote for them by name. What course should be taken to put an end to this anomaly? First, deputies elected through a party list, as soon as they leave one party or another, should be replaced by others from the list. This has nothing to do with political intrigues or party arrogance, but is simply a normal procedure, obvious to anyone of average reasoning ability. But what about deputies for whom the people voted by name? The issue cannot be so simple for them, since the people themselves voted directly for them, for… They represented them. For this category, it would be better not to hold administrative elections by removing them and replacing them with someone from the list. In such cases, new elections could quite properly be organized in those constituencies, pitting the deputy in question against another candidate from the same party that the deputy has left. This would be normal, not at all illegal, and entirely democratic. But the question arises: Why are these replacement measures not being taken? Because the rules or the law do not provide for them? Of course, when we had no experience of pluralism, we could not foresee things that might happen, because we could not be prophets. That does not mean that now, when faced with such situations, the law or regulations should not be corrected or supplemented. What is more, some deputies, having left the DP, seek to present themselves as deputies of a new party, created after the elections and legally not entitled to be represented in Parliament, because the people could not have voted on 22 March for the «Democratic Alliance», which would be established as a separate party in November. The presence of these people as deputies, even if they join together as independents, is unacceptable, because they now belong to another party. There can be no independence when one represents a party’s program and becomes a member of that party. Necessarily, one will defend its program and interests. Regarding this type of parliamentarian, Mr. Migjen Martanes, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who visited Albania, also said at a press conference that they have no right and cannot form a parliamentary group. The times demand, and it is in Albania’s best interests, that our Parliament address this issue and draft the corresponding rules or an amendment to the electoral law. I know the socialists will shriek and shout that human rights are being violated, and that the deputy’s immunity is also being trampled on, as if they were being taken away… (Continued on page 3)

Regarding the publication of an article in the newspaper «Corriere della sera» on 16 November 1992 by Luigi Ippolito, entitled «Albanian leader Berisha provokes the West», with the subtitle «You must strike Belgrade», which discusses the positions presented in Munich during the proceedings of the Franz Josef Strauss Symposium, it is announced that President Berisha neither in his speech nor in the meetings he held requested, requests, or has ever even contemplated the bombing of the city of Belgrade or any other Serbian center. In Munich he stated verbatim that «the only way to prevent the national confrontation in the Balkans, the consequences of which are already being felt in Bosnia, is the rapid reduction of Serbia’s military potential, the lifting of the arms embargo on Bosnia, a just resolution of the problem of the Albanians in Kosovo, and recognition of other national and human rights». President Berisha has always emphasized that any possible intervention must avoid striking the civilian population and civilian facilities. As both the speech and the interview published in «Corriere della sera» demonstrate, the headlines used by the journalist are distorted and intended to create a sensation, while their republication by «Zëri i Popullit» can serve only Milošević’s propaganda interests. Tirana, 20.11.1992

These days, democratic Albania found itself facing a natural disaster that affected the country’s northern districts. Reports from Lezha, Mirdita, Laçi, Shkodra, Tropoja and Mati shook every Albanian heart and put the entire state administration and the strength of the democratic state to the test. To the innocent victims of the floods were added hundreds of damaged homes, flooded land and lost livestock; emergency and survival problems were added as well. When thousands of residents in these areas were in danger, the government launched a survival operation with immediate action: lives were saved; medicines and rescue equipment were brought to isolated people, and the necessary provisions were made for food, lighting and accommodation. Army forces were urgently dispatched near the most endangered areas, while the day after the disaster the President of the Republic himself and the highest state officials went there. Parliament suspended its work and the deputies set out for their electoral constituencies, in both the legal and moral sense. In record time the situation improved, while in Shkodra the citizens bid their final farewell to the young men Iusuf Shalbi and Gjergj Martinoviç, who died at their posts. Tribute in Shkodra, and in Lezhë, Mirditë, Mat and Tropojë. Everyone thanked the government for the immediate measures it took to stabilize the situation. The democratic government and the President of Albania, until now accused by the communist and ex-communist press of being revanchists and dictators, became the main supporters of thousands of citizens affected by natural disasters. People expressed their profound gratitude for the government’s role, clearly demonstrating the great trust and hope they have in it. While agricultural losses in Lezhë and other districts amounted to millions of lekë, in Tirana the G-24 approved aid of 100 million US dollars for Albanian agriculture, clearly underlining Europe’s confidence in and support for democracy and our democratic government. After the G-24 press conference, one of the World Bank representatives said that the natural disaster in northern Albania was truly severe, but international organizations would help with everything. He said, «Your government carried out an excellent operation, one that anyone would envy». The epilogue to all this is gratitude to everyone who took part in coping with this natural disaster, especially the democratic government, Parliament and the Presi- … keeps the executive legally and morally accountable. At a time when the situation had improved beyond precedent, the citizens of Shkodër bade their final farewells to the fallen, Lufti Shtalbi and Gjergj Martinoviç, who died at their posts. Mourning in Shkodër, mourning in Lezhë, Mirditë, Mat and Tropojë. The RTV trade unions, the Youth Federation, the PD Youth Forum, and private and state-owned companies expressed their condolences and made their modest contributions to the families of the victims and those who had suffered economic losses! Alongside this declaration of… … states that “your government carried out an excellent operation, so that everything would be left…” [?] The epilogue for everyone is an expression of gratitude to all those the democratic government, parliament and the President of the Republic. Gratitude to everyone (!) and tribute to those who did not live to enjoy the full fruits of the democracy we are building. AFRIM KRASNIQI ZEF LLESHI