Yesterday in the People’s Assembly Revenue: 35 billion and 75 million lekë, or 2.7 times more than in ’92. Expenditure: 58 billion and 267 million lekë. Deficit: 23 billion and 192 million lekë, which will be financed by 11.637 billion lekë from domestic bank credit and 11.555 billion lekë from foreign financing. Investment expenditure: 2.3 times higher than in ’92, or 5 billion lekë. For support to economic enterprises: 4.2 billion lekë. For social support: 5.16 billion lekë, of which 4.13 billion for assistance. For social insurance: 6.838 billion lekë, etc. This is not the Socialist “happiness” Budget, but it is the Budget of steps that leave the “Socialist” darkness behind... We will discuss this in more detail in the coming issues.

“I am pleased to meet with you, representatives of the Greek people, and I want to thank you for the assistance you have given us during this difficult period.” “I am pleased to meet with you, representatives of the Greek people, and I want to thank you for the assistance you have given us during this difficult period. This will be remembered in the memory of our people,” President Berisha emphasized at a meeting he held at the Presidency with the mission of the Committee on Religious Affairs of the Greek Parliament, led by the deputy speaker of that parliament, Mr. Ksarkas. Speaking about relations between Albania and Greece, the President said that they are very good and that we are determined to develop them. The Greek minority in Albania has gained everything that Albanians gained after the overthrow of the dictatorship. Today they receive education using books in Greek, gaining genuine knowledge and not distorted, restricted knowledge as under the dictatorship. Today they are represented in parliament not only through deputies from the Human Rights Union Party, but also by minority deputies from other parties. The minority is also represented in the executive branch, both by members of government and by district or municipal heads. Albania’s laws on human rights—including those concerning minorities—will be fully in line with advanced international standards, President Berisha continued. The discussion then focused on the good relations between Albania and Greece, which play a major role in the stability of the troubled southern Balkans. Albania’s efforts in this regard are directed toward peace. “There can be no peace in the Balkans unless the problem of the Albanians in the former Yugoslavia is resolved in a manner acceptable to all sides,” the President stressed. “The Albanians of Kosovo cannot be granted less after Helsinki than they had before it.” Good relations between Greece and Macedonia also play an important role in stabilizing the region. The President expressed his conviction that, through dialogue and flexibility, reason would prevail and a solution would be found that would help ease tensions. As a country with a more consolidated democratic tradition than the other Balkan countries and stronger ties with the international community, Greece can do much to prevent the conflict in the south from dragging on, which would be tragic for the region. For his part, Mr. Ksarkas praised the importance of the meeting for advancing the good relations between the two countries. “Reality itself,” he noted, “has shown the need for efforts by both our governments to build the best possible relations. The isolated voices, on either side, that want to ‘stir things up’ have no importance; this is normal in democratic countries. What matters is that the two governments are working to fulfil the wishes of both peoples.” Mr. K. Sarkas also expressed satisfaction with what has been done and is being done for the minority, which was mistreated under the dictatorship, like the whole Albanian people. “We will do everything for peace and stability in the region, and our two countries are forces for peace.” At the conclusion, President Berisha and the head of the Greek Parliament recognized the efforts that both governments must make to bring their peoples closer to one another. (ATSH)

- During 1993, 500 million lekë will be allocated for political prisoners- -Unjustified hunger strikes lead to the destabilization of the country- The Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, political prisoners’ hunger strike. At the meeting, which was conducted in a spirit of dialogue and mutual understanding, many issues concerning political prisoners were discussed and enriched with their input. In the 1993 state budget, funds four times greater have been allocated, or 500 million lekë. All former prisoners who have a certificate of non-conviction issued by the court and documented approval from the finance departments receive directly

Inspired by its narrow party interests, inflamed by the kamist and revanchist fever of its leaders and the clans they represent and protect, the SP began a frontal, unscrupulous, often unconstitutional and anti-national struggle as early as March 23, to challenge the people’s will as soon as possible, sabotage the normal progress and success of the reform, and regain power at any cost and by any means. Of course, when I say SP, we know how to distinguish between the leaders and the blind crowds, sunk to their necks in the swamp of sins, crimes and corruption that follow them, and the honest majority of its members, with pure socialist ideals. But for some time it has been clear that the whole SP is falling victim to, and has lost much because of, the adventurist, quixotic, unconstitutional and anti-Albanian policy of its principal leader, Fatos Nano. Apparently, the caresses and unauthorized rewards from Ramiz Alia and Nexhmije Hoxha have done their work. Whether deliberately or through ignorance, these political and economic manipulations or disinformation. If two years ago he was sunk up to a certain level, now he has sunk up to his neck—or waist, now he has sunk up to ... It cannot be compared with what came before; not even all the rivers together could wash it away. In Albania, governing as prime minister or as chairman of the SP, the medieval communist-criminal hordes turned every day of 1951 into a St. Bartholomew’s Night, taking lives and plundering the national economy and wealth. And yet Fatos Nano has regrouped and is asking for power once again. It is very easy to understand why Fatos Nano wants power. “Only with the best and greatest panic and with a discreet advance payment can one complete a political figure and a term of ... reward ...” Taking advantage of the space created by democracy, of tolerance and of the balance maintained by a political force in power, he has embarked on an unprecedented rampage. His strategy and tactics are clear: denigrate and deny everything positive brought by the DP and democracy; spread endless waves of disappointment and mistrust among the people; amplify and disseminate by every means and method sporadic and rare acts of crime or legal violations, in order to scare away those foreign investors who wish to invest in Albania. He is particularly interested in uprooting or blocking democracy so that Albania never raises its head, and remains divided into two parts, responsible for Somalia or Ethiopia in the heart of ... or in Albania. ... politics in Albania, for the fate of democracy, the nation and the SP itself. In short, Fatos Nano fights only for himself and his worthy gang of friends, and not at all for democracy, Albania or genuine European socialism. He too, like his educators, Enver and Ramiz, uses the word socialism like children use a balloon, only for propaganda: to deceive and keep around him for as long as possible the largest possible group of loyalists and idealists. Although the dangers posed by his policies and activities are understood or felt, and although they are openly illegal, no limits have been set on his actions, either by the SP itself or by those in power, by enforcing the law. He has taken our tolerance or delay in telling him, “Stop, you’ve gone too far,” as a sign of weakness and cowardice. As a result, he and his friends have become even more emboldened, openly challenging and attacking us in broad daylight and on the boulevards without a hair being touched on their heads. While his ranks, filled with secret police agents and fifty-year-old wretches or younger ones, continue their illegal and destructive offensive, we, who have been burned by power, stand by as spectators, remain silent, endure, swallow slander and insults found only in the communist-socialist vocabulary. In this way, we do nothing but embolden ... But how long can this go on? How long will the law remain silent about the leaders and underlings of red corruption, about the instigators of tension and confrontation, about those who fabricate nothing but slander, lies and insults that openly defy the law, human dignity and morality, and who are prepared to sacrifice the interests of society and the nation to serve their own narrow interests? XHEVAT MUSTAFA FATOS NANO AT HIS LATEST PRESS CONFERENCE A difficult question from the RTSH journalist about Fatos Nano’s bankruptcy in Switzerland. The two PS leaders—matched!

CORRESPONDENT OF “RD” On Wednesday in Tirana, the proceedings of the First Congress of the Albanian Democratic Women’s League came to an end. By a majority vote, Mrs Flutura Hasko was elected chairwoman of the Albanian Democratic Women’s League. Resolution The Congress of the Albanian Democratic Women’s League, convened on March 10, 1993, issues this resolution: 1. We must not live in memories tied to the past, since the main thing is to look forward with optimism and, at the same time, establish justice by uncovering and punishing those who have committed crimes! 2. With courage and confidence, let us support the force and our personal survival as well. 3. Our many current problems are linked; after this Congress, we must work more seriously and devotedly to present the democratic woman with dignity before Europe, which she belongs to, and before the whole world. 4. Let us support the Meksi Government by blocking the demand of the bandit judges, the despicable people of the SP, presented by Mr Nano, for this Government to resign, since their demand is tantamount to destabilizing the country. 5. The LDGSH welcomes the Democratic Government’s proposal to ease women’s work through a six-hour, six-day work schedule or two days off per week. 6. The Albanian democratic woman must become an active member of democratic society, serving in state and social and cultural functions, being a believer, and being capable of educating generations who will save Albania. 7. The LDGSH will fight with all its strength for that part of Albanian women whom the dictatorship condemned, wounded and ... before it. 8. Those who remain and those who fight in Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro will be our support in their struggle to win legal rights. 9. From this congress, a strong protest is made against the mass rape of Albanian women, whose ultimate aim is ethnic cleansing, something the world had never seen until now. THE FIRST CONGRESS OF THE ALBANIAN DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S LEAGUE

The Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Mr Pjetër Arbnori, received the working group of the former political prisoners’ strike. The Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Mr Pjetër strike. At the meeting, which was held in a spirit of dialogue and understanding, many of the issues raised in the petition that the group had addressed several days earlier to the People’s Assembly, the President, the Government, etc., were discussed. In his remarks, Mr Arbnori highlighted the work and efforts of the democratic Government during this short period to carry out reforms, establish order and achieve results in foreign policy. Your petition also raises issues relating to the internal affairs of the association, he said, but the state does not intervene in them. We must also be clear, he said, that the state is not responsible for distributing various forms of humanitarian aid. These have been handled by associations and the Red Cross. Irresponsibly circulated claims about supposed millions donated by foreign countries to assist former political persecuted people are untrue. We have received promises from the Swiss Red Cross and the International Red Cross, but these have not yet been fulfilled. Recognizing that your concerns and requests are justified, the matter is not yet concluded. To improve the still difficult conditions of former political prisoners and persecuted people, and to compensate them for property losses, four times more funds—500 million lekë—have been allocated in the 1993 state budget. All former prisoners who have a certificate of criminal record issued by the court and an assessment documented by the finance departments are entitled to compensation directly. In addition to this fund, the 1993 state budget has allocated the necessary funds for pensions for former political prisoners and the families of those executed, with or without trial, and for paying these people their back pensions from the time they became entitled to a pension. This year, the phased payment of compensation for the time political prisoners spent in prison will also begin. A large number of the sons and daughters of political prisoners have been admitted to higher education without entrance examinations, and they make up about 50% of the students who began their studies in the 1992–1993 academic year. We are now, Mr Arbnori continued, in the process of drafting the statute for political prisoners. Among other things, this status will clearly distinguish those who truly suffered for political reasons from certain people imprisoned for major theft or robbery who use false certificates to try to present themselves as political prisoners. (Continued on page 4)

—Files disappear in Italy —Nano and his clan fear facing justice —Those who hated the Shkodër massacre are now demanding the Government’s resignation —Corruption and the corrupt will never reconcile themselves with the democratic state. In periods of great change, according to every philosophy, opposing forces change. In politics, ideas are opposed; forms, methods, objectives and people are opposed. But this opposition becomes worthwhile only when the clash produces progress. Otherwise, the clash turns into brutality and is driven by envy, jealousy, ambition, demagoguery... This is precisely the course chosen by the communist leader Fatos Nano. The former prime minister of the shortest-lived government, a 30-year-old academician in Europe and protégé of Nexhmije Hoxha, Fatos Nano, disillusioned by winter, unsupported by European socialists, intoxicated by people’s praise and refreshed by financial scandals... suddenly took off the mask of renewal and demanded the Government’s resignation! The SP, which demanded the resignation of our Foreign Minister after Milosheviç’s victory in Serbia, is now demanding the Government’s resignation. Meksi, immediately after the unrest in Moscow. But why does the SP persist in savagely attacking the democratic state, denying its achievements and prospects? The socialist offensive against the civilized world has gone downhill. The only European socialist who voted to admit the PSH to the Socialist International was member no. 3 of the PSSHQ, the Italian citizen Betino Kraksi, today the most corrupt politician in Italy. The same thing happened to the Spanish socialists, the French, and the Greek socialists... Thus, the PSSH has been left without partners, sister parties or support in the civilized world. Its only allies remain the corrupt figures of the Kraksi-De Mikelis clan—and especially those in Belgrade. The exposure and destruction of corruption among European socialists has frightened them that Fatos Nano’s clan will be exposed. The testimony of former socialist prime ministers Nano-Bufi-Ahmeti, with concealed, corrupt signatures, involving the illegal trade in tobacco and other products and our foreign debt... makes them accomplices and legally liable. The company “Levant Co”, co-headed by Nano, has now entered the investigators’ files... Quite suddenly, in Italy, the file containing the materials on this corrupt company disappears, although the other file in Tirana ... (Continued on page 2)

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MR. SALI BERISHA, ADDRESSED TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY Honourable deputies, Pursuant to Article 23 of Law No. 7491, dated 29.4.1991, “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” I am submitting to you the draft law “On an addition to which adds to the existing law a chapter on “The Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms.” I undertook this legislative initiative for the following reasons: First, I believe it is the legitimate right and wish of all Albanians who suffered under dictatorship to have guaranteed to them, just like the citizens of the civilized countries of Europe, the fundamental freedoms and rights for which they fought. These freedoms and rights are provided for in international agreements and documents, which our country has also signed. Second, for the Albanian democratic century and democratic society, the absence of a law on human rights is a major and unjustifiable gap. The development of democracy in Albania and the progress of reform make it essential to give the law a new dimension and to recognize and fully guarantee the freedoms and rights of the individual. Delay in this regard is unjustifiable, because without guaranteeing freedom of speech, freedom of belief, free initiative, procedural judicial guarantees, and privacy, as well as many other rights, the foundations of the society we are building will be fragile. Third, in the legislation of every democratic state, the fundamental dimension undoubtedly remains that of human rights and freedoms, which also constitutes the main pillar of the rule of law. Thus, without this, the functioning of the rule of law in Albania becomes more difficult. This draft law is broadly based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Helsinki Final Act, the Copenhagen and Paris Charters, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the American Convention on Human Rights. At the same time, the relevant chapters of the constitutions of a number of democratic countries have been used for this purpose. Naturally, the content of some provisions of this draft law has been framed with due regard for the specific historical conditions in which Albania is building its democratic order. Thus, unlike what is required by several important international documents, the submitted draft law still retains the death penalty. For well-known reasons, the draft law does not establish the state’s obligation to guarantee all citizens the right to work; however, drawing on Article 1 of the European Social Charter, which entered into force on 26 February 1965, it adopts the following wording: “Everyone has the right to earn a living through work freely undertaken. They are free to choose their profession, place of work, and system of training.” A group of qualified Albanian specialists worked on preparing this draft law. They submitted the draft you have before you to, and consulted it with, the Council of Europe’s “Democracy through Law” Commission in Venice. The Commission’s observations and suggestions have been extensively reflected in the draft law. In the draft law, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as fundamental freedoms, have been formulated, grouped and organized in full accordance with European legal standards. Honourable deputies, I am fully convinced that, during the discussion of this draft law, each of you will have as your fundamental objective the achievement of the highest legal standard for the rights and freedoms of Albanian citizens. Furthermore, your approval of this law in no way prevents the Constitutional Commission from considering this chapter, like all the other chapters, as part of the future Constitution. Respectfully, SALI BERISHA

-Who should be, and who is taking, defensive positions.- -We must respond to the opposition’s destructive, anti-national activity with the logic and force of democratic laws- -Let us exercise with determination and justice the power given to us on 22 March.-

Dear readers, Following the newspaper “Republika,” our editorial office also announces to Mr. Peshkepia that, like any other citizen who has materials proving that Mr. Ridvan Peshkepia was not a collaborator of the State Security and did not denounce anyone, he is welcome; we will give him space free of charge on any page of our newspaper. “RD”