NATIONAL LIBRARY se shpëgu in Librazhd The first significant investments In recent days, the Territorial Planning Council at the Tirana municipality approved the application by the «ROGNER» company to build a large hotel worth around 20 million dollars. According to a statement by this powerful Austrian company itself, work on the project will begin during September of this year and will be carried out by the company itself. The hotel project also includes a shopping and business center. The hotel will have 110 rooms and will be built in the area between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Palace of Congresses. In addition to this important project, the Territorial Planning Council approved the start of work on the tourist hotel «AL KHA-RAF», which will be built near the National Stadium «Qemal Stafa». The company will begin work during August. The start of construction is guaranteed by the delivery of some of the construction equipment and machinery, part of which has already arrived.

Sources at the Ministry of Education report that the needs of preschool education for implementing the national project for 1993 to 1995, based on the three-year strategy outlined at the latest consultation on assistance for education in Albania, are estimated at 12 million dollars. Of this amount, 3 million have already been secured by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF. The Albanian government is expected to provide 3.38 million dollars in funding for this purpose. The remaining 8.62 million dollars are expected to come from various international organizations. ATA

Like all other countries in the world, Albania has its symbols: the Coat of Arms of the Republic, the National Flag, the National Anthem, and national holidays. These symbols are sacred. Every state has several kinds of flags. Our country, too, as an integral part of the civilized and democratic world, uses the flags of armed forces units, associations, sports clubs, etc. In every case, they are symbols. The National Flag Among flags, it is the symbol of the Albanian nation and state. It is the symbol of the centuries-long struggles of Albanians for freedom and independence, and for the preservation of national identity. In his fight against the great invaders, Gjergj Kastrioti flew from a pole the red flag with the black double-headed eagle. This flag was kept and preserved within the Albanian trunk by the Arbëreshë of Italy and in every other place where Albanians settled in the diaspora. The national flag was kept alongside the most precious belongings that were preser- The President The highest-ranking state figure in our country is undoubtedly the President of the Republic, who, as head of state, represents the unity of the people within and beyond Albania’s borders. As such, the president is often also the protector of the legitimate interests of the entire Albanian people. Thus, the president is the president of all Albanian citizens, regardless of age, political beliefs, or social position. He is elected by the majority, but also represents the minority. As a symbol of the unity of our people and of their determination to follow the path of preserving and strengthening the democratic order, freedom, and independence, the President should always occupy the place of honor among other state figures. In this context, the President’s portrait should be displayed in all state administration offices and educational and cultural institutions. Naturally, such a measure should be regulated by law, since it concerns the office of the President and not particular individuals. Regarding the treatment of the President’s image and the display of his portrait, there should be no speculation or insinuations about reminiscences, since the presidential term is defined by the Constitution; nothing should prevent the President’s portrait from being displayed in the Prime Minister’s office or in the hall where a government meeting is held, or in the offices of ministers and other state officials. It should be displayed in all our embassies, as is done in the democratic world. It is not too soon; we have entered the second year of governance in the democratic state. This law would also serve in the future. With regard to the President’s image, his activities, and those of the institutions, the mass media should formulate specific regulations and rules. I am not referring here to prescribing how the President’s image is to be portrayed in criticism, but to the ethics of criticism directed at him, which, I believe, should be exercised with care. After all, the President represents the unity of the people today and in the times to come, ZEF BUSHATI ...his national banner, and waving it against the Ottomans, Gjergji Kastrioti flew from the pole the red flag with the double-headed black eagle. This flag was kept and preserved on Albanian soil among the Arbëreshë of Italy and everywhere else to which Albanians emigrated. The national flag was therefore preserved among the most precious objects an Albanian kept in his home. During the National Renaissance, too, the National Flag was used and, as such, was preserved by patriotic bands. The raising of the National Flag in Vlorë was a symbolic expression of the proclamation of independence. With the National Flag unfurled at the front, the fight was waged against the Nazi-fascist occupiers. Since the existence of our nation and of the Albanian Republic—a free, democratic and sovereign state—is symbolically expressed through the National Flag, there is a need to affirm this existence every day as an act of respect for the nation and Albania. One expression of this respect is the need to keep the national flag flying on a pole. Another expression of this respect is the daily raising of the National Flag in the main square of the capital, and particularly its display on the buildings of the Republic’s highest state institutions, such as the Presidency, Parliament and Government. I think the National Flag would be honored just as much if it were flown at all land and sea border crossings and at airports. This would undoubtedly require a government decision specifying not only where it is to be placed, but also the organization of the ceremony for raising and lowering it. On July 8, the Minister of Education, Mr. Xhezair Teliti, and Messrs. Alireza Mahallati and Jean Nicolas Marchal held a press conference for Albanian and foreign journalists. In his statement, the Minister of Education presented to journalists the results of the consultation on the system for the education sector in Albania. In particular, he reported the confirmation by the representatives of Group 1 of the 24 that donations and various international organizations would continue to support Albanian education in three forms—financial aid, material assistance and technical assistance—for both emergency issues and long-term prospects. Mr. Teliti answered journalists’ questions, which also referred to several issues concerning...

The social-democratic press, with words full of culture and elegantly arranged, anonymous and with contents as dark as the inside of the article, gives voice to nostalgia for dictatorship. The first Albanian weekend is unacceptable to the philosophers of communism. Accustomed to campaigns with concentrated strikes, the communists find it difficult, almost impossible, to accept that people exhausted by work and the many troubles of the week should enjoy the weekend and not go out on campaigns. Their dose of hatred and nostalgia is so pronounced that they do not hesitate to call all Albanians lazy and insult hundreds and thousands of citizens who work to feed their families. Perhaps the communists’ nostalgia has its source in jealousy and egotism directed against the DP, because it fulfilled one of the most widely publicized promises of March 22: the five-day workweek. The partisans of darkness and disbelief, the anonymous voices of nostalgic Enverist clubs, call the first Albanian weekend the communist Saturday. The truth is that the democratic government abolished, once and for all, Stalin’s communist Saturday and Enver’s Bolshevik Sunday, for which «Alternativa SD» cherishes fond memories and would swear on its life! For 45 years people were turned into physical wrecks; that is why such unbridled Enverist propaganda as that of «Alternativa SD» suits nobody but the devil and the former ruling elite, whom the anonymous writers of «Alternativa SD» served so zealously. THE OBSERVER

Pursuant to Council of Ministers Decision No. 46, dated 21. I. 1993, “On the treatment of housing under construction from 1992 onward,” the World Bank loan of 15 million dollars, granted to the Albanian Government and made available to the National Housing Authority, will be used to finance housing under construction under the following conditions: 1. Housing projects that are at a more advanced stage of construction and require less investment to complete will be financed, according to the criteria set out in the relevant instruction of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Territorial Planning. 2. Enterprises, institutions, or groups of citizens who, in accordance with the law, are interested in completing their housing projects must submit an official application for financing to the district branches of the National Housing Authority. 3. The branches of the National Housing Authority, in accordance with the funds made available to them and pursuant to Territorial Planning, shall determine which housing projects will be financed according to the criteria established for this purpose. 4. For the residents whose housing is selected for financing, a collective financing contract shall be concluded between the branch of the National Housing Authority in the relevant district and the interested parties. 5. The branches of the National Housing Authority, as administrators of these housing projects on behalf of the state, shall oversee the execution of the works to complete them and shall carry out all necessary actions for their sale in accordance with the legal and regulatory provisions in force. – For more detailed information, interested parties may contact the branches of the National Housing Authority in the relevant districts. National Housing Authority

For days, a new «Benz» car without a license plate has been following Mr. Bedri Myftari like a black shadow. He is the editor-in-chief of «TD» — the publication of the Tirana branch of the DP. Yesterday, at around 8, near the «Partizanit» cinema, just as this car had passed and the journalist was crossing over to the sidewalk on the other side

The exhibition of French periodicals opened on Friday afternoon in one of the halls of the National Library in Tirana, as part of the National Day of the French Republic celebrations. It is the first exhibition of its kind in our country and, with around 500 titles drawn from the most diverse fields, it creates a new, clear and informative outlook for Albanian readers. (ATSH)

“Albanian education will continue to receive support from the state bodies of the Group of 24 and various foundations, such as UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank. This was the subject of the press conference. Thus, in response to a question from a journalist at the newspaper «Bashkimi» asking, «Would it not be fairer if, in the competition for admission to the University, the children of the politically disadvantaged were not given preferential treatment over others through points?», the Minister of Education replied that «The democratic Government will continue to have obligations toward the victims of the dictatorship...» ...given that their children did not have access to educational conditions on a par with those of the children of intellectuals, diplomats and other cadres of the communist nomenklatura. If a child in this category knows a foreign language, that does not mean that they have a more developed intellect than another child who was educated in difficult circumstances. Korreп. 1 «RD»

Presenting the general strategy for environmental protection at the national level, within the framework of the Far program, was the focus of the conference that began on Friday in Tirana, organized by the Ministry of Health and Environmental Protection in cooperation with the World Bank. At the meeting, Lirim Selfo, chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee, noted that the Albanian Government had allocated 30 million dollars for this purpose over the next five years. In his remarks, he also highlighted negative phenomena affecting the environment, such as the indiscriminate cutting of forests, with more than 280,000 hectares destroyed over the past 50 years, and air, water and soil pollution caused by the use of outdated technologies in industry, etc. Mr. Selfo identified the areas most affected as Elbasan, Rubik, Laç, Vlorë, Fier and Ballsh. The national action plan for environmental protection presented at the meeting noted that, in general, all cities in Albania lack facilities for cleaning and treating wastewater; the drinking-water distribution networks are old and inadequate, resulting in 40 percent of the water being lost and, in quite a few cases, water pollution occurring. (Continued on p. 4)

In another of his now customary articles, Mr. Neshat Tozaj, this time in «KJ» (having moved on from «ZP» and «Aleanca»), continues to complain about the great injustice done to him by taking away his telephone. As is known, the telephones were taken away from all former State Security employees, and I believe few would consider this decision—whose fairness is beyond doubt—a violation of human rights. In any case, Mr. Tozaj, taking advantage of this «violation of rights» against him, analyzes all the other «violations» being committed by the democratic state. Thus he writes about class warfare, vote-rigging perpetrators, and so on. By now, even the fact that former members of the Bloc and former State Security agents complain of human-rights violations no longer makes an impression. However, although Mr. Tozaj continues to present himself as a commentator, he would do well to be consistent in what he writes, at least from one day to the next. In the article published in «Aleanca», where he urged «intellectuals» to oppose the democratic government, he reassured them, giving examples, that nothing would happen to them for doing so; whereas in yesterday’s article in «KJ» he makes it seem as though E. Hoxha’s dictatorship was nothing compared with today’s dictatorship. The aims of the former State Security employee today are «somewhat» different from those of the early days of democracy. No democratic vocabulary can conceal the far-left ideas in his writings. But Tozaj does not stop there. At the end of the article, he uses examples to advance his aims and discusses several issues concerning the Albanian state’s policy on the national question. Thus, regarding the recent events involving Albanian refugees in Greece, he adopts wholesale the language used by Greek chauvinist circles during this period. «They use against other countries the same methods of violence they use against their own citizens,» Tozaj writes, referring to the expulsion of the Greek minority from Albania. Further on, Tozaj, as a worthy servant of chauvinism, writes contemptuously about the Albanian refugees: «They (meaning the government, editor’s note) do not consider themselves at all to blame for allowing Albanians to behave like bandits in a neighboring country.» So, according to Tozaj, the Albanian refugees deserve to be sent back because they «behave like bandits»! Then Tozaj reminds us that we supposedly have a law punishing illegal border crossings. Does Mr. Tozaj perhaps think we should put up the barbed wire again or resume killings at the border, as the State Security service where he had the shame of working used to do? Further on, Mr. Tozaj once again contradicts himself. While writing about relations with Greece, he «advises» prudence and rejects the use of «violence»; when writing about the killings on the border with the former Yugoslavia, he says they are the result of the government’s «inferior policy». What would Mr. Tozaj propose in this case? War? Whom would such a thing serve? I would like to regard the above «conclusions» by Mr. Tozaj as errors caused by his poor judgment, but when dealing with a former State Security employee, one cannot avoid suspicion. All the more so when Tozaj’s pro-chauvinist ideas are published in the only newspaper that prints a certain number of copies marked «For Greece», in the same newspaper where statements by the Albanian Government find no space because it is filled with statements by the Greek government and its representatives. EDI PALOKA