In its notice to ATSH, the Press and Information Office attached to the President states: The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, described as historic NATO’s action in support of the UN resolution banning military aircraft from flying over Bosnia. “This is another very important step in efforts to resolve the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The North Atlantic Alliance’s ‘Clean Skies’ action has our full support,” President Berisha declared.

On Tuesday, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, received the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia, Mr Beqir Zhuta, who came as a delegate of President Gligorov. Mr Beqir Zhuta conveyed President Gligorov’s greetings to Mr Berisha, as well as his thanks for convening the meeting of the political parties and for its decision to officially recognize the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He briefed President Berisha on the latest developments in Macedonia following its admission to the UN under a provisional name. President Berisha expressed his satisfaction at the achievement of the compromise that made it possible for this neighboring country of ours to be admitted to the UN. This compromise, the Albanian head of state emphasized, was very important for the stability not only of Macedonia but of the entire region. The assignment of the provisional designation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a verdict of the highest international authority. President Berisha reiterated Albania’s desire to strengthen its comprehensive ties with Macedonia. (ATSH)

Democrats, Republicans, Christian Democrats, Balli Kombëtar, etc.—that is, the parties of the Right-wing alternative—are opening the way for individuals and entrepreneurs who rely on free initiative and the freedom of the private sector. Entrepreneurs lead the creation of private opportunities in the capitalist state. During the election campaign, these parties spoke at length about property. The Right declared that property is sacred and protected by the state under the law. The Republicans even came out with the slogan: “Every Albanian an owner.” Indeed. We believe that anyone who wants property will have the opportunity to find it. The democratic state creates favorable conditions for you. If under the communist regime everything belonged to the state, even the individual himself, in the capitalist system the aim is for everything to be yours, private property. This is the system of real social progress. An owner! Today the word sounds somewhat astonishing to many people who are still withdrawn, indoctrinated by the communist regime, lacking the necessary initiative and courage, and also to many others who have never owned property and feel they have nothing to inherit. No, everyone inherits something. The sweat, the blood they shed, the effort and work they expended for 50 years in a row. The democratic state gave citizens apartments. The homes will be theirs; they will be their owners. They have the right to buy and sell them, to rent them out. Free in their own property, they will be protected by the state under the law. Today small entrepreneurs have emerged. You find them everywhere: on the streets, in kiosks, in shops, in wholesale and retail trade. They see themselves as small or medium-sized businesspeople; they try, take risks, win, lose—the real world of business. It is true there is unemployment and welfare assistance, but there is also another path. Jobs are created by the people themselves in a free market. What is important in this period is to broaden everyone’s opportunities to enter this new stage as workers, to carry out reforms toward prosperity by encouraging work as a guarantee of full participation in Albanian life. Today farmers have land and opportunities. They supply the market with eggs, milk, cheese, butter, meat, etc. Do not forget waking in the middle of the night to join the milk queue, the meat ration ticket, the egg ration. Do not forget the past, so that you can value the future. Today the market has everything. It is expensive, certainly, but tomorrow competition will lower prices. Businesspeople are free to invest and find new paths. This is how everyone’s prosperity will grow. They are today’s seekers, [continues outside the frame]. to They are today’s seekers, the explorers of Albania’s economic future. The democratic state must favor them, socially and economically, so that they can participate fully in the free-enterprise system. Their empowerment will open up employment opportunities. We must trust the creative energies of businesspeople and investors in the free economy; if given authority, they solve problems better and faster than some bureaucrat in government offices. Unnecessary obstacles must be broken down, including those arising from rules we have inherited from the past or from old practices. Former owners are asking for their property back. No one objects. They are asking for the sweat and sacrifice of themselves or their parents. Their demand is lawful and just. They want to become owners again and receive what was taken from them, whether a plot of land, a house, a shop, a hotel, a workshop, or who knows what else. The right to own property belongs not only to former owners but to everyone who wants property. ZEF BUSHATI

PANORAMA —Tirana still hasn’t begun(!) According to information obtained from the Housing Directorate, the housing privatization process is not progressing at the necessary pace. A good number of districts are still in the preparatory phase: drawing up site plans, categorizing housing, etc. Particularly slow progress is evident in major districts such as Tirana, Berati, Dibra, Fieri, Lezha, Vlora, etc., where not a single [actetim] has been carried out so far! By contrast, the following districts deserve mention for their good performance: Kuçova, which has privatized 625 apartments; Lushnja, 125 apartments; Korça, 120; Elbasani, 68; Peqini, 50 apartments, etc. It is surprising that in Tirana, even though it was announced that the process would begin “next week,” housing privatization has been postponed for several weeks, from one day to the next. The municipality now says that the process will begin on the 16th of this month. Let us hope there will be no further postponements! “RD” Correspondent THE FIRST SHIPMENT OF AID HAS ARRIVED

—The value of compensation is estimated at around 20 billion lekë— —Land in village yards will not be classified as building plots, but as agricultural land— —Assessing national wealth is impossible for the moment, but not in the future— —The property of former foreign companies and the king’s heirs will be dealt with later under a separate law— —For plots on which buildings have been erected, ownership —Repairing one injustice does not create new injustices!— —A draft law that, given the Albanian reality of property (its eradication) compared with that of former communist countries, constitutes an authentic solution that can be achieved— —The value of compensation is estimated at around 20 billion lekë— —Land in village yards will not be classified as building plots, but as agricultural land— —Assessing national wealth is impossible for the moment, but not in the future— —The property of former foreign companies and the king’s heirs will be dealt with later under a separate law— —For plots on which buildings have been erected, ownership [text continues outside the frame] will be settled by agreement between the parties: by lease or by repurchase of the land— —The Socialists once again vote “against.” Their arguments: “We support compensation in value... Yesterday’s injustices must not be justified by new injustices...(!) The boundaries of former properties have disappeared to such an extent that they are difficult to distinguish (!!!).. The PD is acting hastily under pressure from the extremist wing (!)...”, etc., “arguments” in the style of PP(S), and in the end: “We support a referendum.” This is what they call: “Let those who don’t have a cow vote on the cow”?!... Yesterday morning, at around 9:30, discussion began on the draft law “On the return and compensation of property to former owners.” The interest this discussion aroused was undeniable and evident in the galleries of the Assembly, which were full of guests. The team of specialists defending the draft law was headed by the Minister of Justice and Environmental Regulation, Mr Ilir Manushi. The session began with questions from members of parliament. Several MPs (not from the PD), and especially MP Arben Imami, insistently requested that the session be broadcast live on TV, because the draft law was of a more-than-constitutional nature, as it could not be amended later. MP Dokle asked when the Government would submit the draft law for registering all national property and dividing it up. MP Hajdari, meanwhile, had a ... The draft law’s cost comes to approximately 20 billion lekë. On the issue of dealing with heirs, he stated that the current inheritance provisions in the Civil Code are comprehensive. In drafting this bill, the experience of other former communist countries was used only as a faint point of reference, for the simple reason that the Albanian reality of property (eradicated) is completely different from that of the former communist countries of the East. In this sense, the proposed bill is an authentic solution that can be achieved. Indeed, those countries did not face 90 percent of our problems at all. It was emphasized that land in village yards would and would be calculated under the relevant law (the agricultural land law). As for calculating national wealth, it was emphasized that this is a very difficult task and must be left for the future, alongside the resolution of many other problems. With his generally comprehensive answers, Mr Manushi addressed the Assembly for about an hour and a half. MP G. Apostoli opened the series of general-principle speeches, essentially stressing the idea that the 50 years of dictatorship’s injustices should not be compensated by new injustices. MP Engjell Dakli, after describing this draft law as capital for the reform, emphasized that repairing one injustice does not create new injustices. Mehmet Çeliku, an MP from the PR, spoke against the principle of compensation in value, describing it as a merely administrative, subjective act. Compensation must be reciprocal: “Return in kind, compensation in kind and in value. These must be the elements of the Albanian property issue,” he emphasized. MP Pashko, on behalf of the independents’ group, pointed to the danger of failing to distinguish between property taken in good faith and property taken by force, as well as the failure to classify properly acquisition, nationalization and confiscation. He said Albania has little capacity for compensation in kind(?), while securities would be worth almost nothing after a few years. “Government officials, be careful about compensation in tourist areas!” Pashko warned. As for the criteria for valuing property, he continued, the government is letting the market dictate to it, when the opposite should happen; this will result in nobody investing after a few years(?)... At the end, Mr ... is acting hastily under pressure from the extremist wing (?!)...”, cow”?!... wing (?!)...”, cow”?!... Finally, MP Minga, on behalf of the PD group, expressed the PD’s well-known “pro” position on this draft law. His speech was a rebuttal to the speech by Socialist MP Servet Pellumbi. After this, to former owners” was approved in principle by a majority vote, precisely at 13:35. With that, the morning session concluded its work, making way for the afternoon session to discuss the bill article by article. “RD” Correspondent ...a small [unclear]: he asked about several problems that in fact belonged not to this draft law, but to the one “On compensation in value to former owners of agricultural land.” Then he asked the Presidium for some time to consult people on the draft law, so as to have as few conflicts as possible (!?). Deputy Makarajadhi, as always, raised only the concern of former properties belonging to religious communities. Meanwhile, Deputy Fehmi Abdiu, in his long series of questions, asked, among other things: “Have the social consequences of this draft law been calculated?” and “Has this draft law also been reviewed by the Government?” ...(?) There were many questions (more than 100), and they lasted about one hour. Mr. Manushi then proceeded to answer the questions that had been asked. In his answers, among other things, the Minister emphasized that the government does not have complete information about the former properties of foreign companies and the heirs of King Zog. The issue will be addressed in a separate law once this information has been obtained. The value of compensation for former properties under the draft law amounts to approximately 20 billion lek. Regarding the treatment of heirs, he said communist countries was used only as a vague point of reference, simply because... [continues outside the frame] Pashko declared that his group would vote “in favor” of the draft law. At the beginning of Deputy Memia’s discussion, Mr. Arbnori intervened to prevent the speaker from veering into politicization. In essence, Mr. Memia said that one cannot move from yesterday’s injustice to injustice without properly correcting the actions of the Stability Government. This draft law establishes a fair relationship between the owner of the land and the shop on it. Compensation in kind and by credit note is the fairest solution to Albania’s property problem. Deputy Makarajadhi, speaking on behalf of the PBDNJ group, said he had no objections in principle and declared himself “in favor.” The discussion by Deputy S. Pellumbi, on behalf of the PS group, was “interesting.” It was confirmed once again that it is difficult to make a pact with the Socialists, because, unlike all the other discussions, this one provoked protests in the chamber with its extreme, politicizing, demagogic and M-L tone. After trying to justify once again why consensus had not been achieved (the cause was the PS’s demands and pretexts), he accused the PD of acting secretly and hastily on the draft law because it was under attack from its own far-right wing. Continuing his M-L demagoguery, Mr. Pellumbi said that they supported equality of ownership, and that supposedly this draft law denied the majority (!). The Socialists support [continues outside the frame]

-Working meeting at the Academy of Order- Yesterday at 10:00, the Minister of Public Order, Mr. Agron Musaraj, held a meeting at the Tirana Academy of Order. The Minister of Education, Mr. Zhezhair Teli, was also invited. The meeting was held on the occasion of the restructuring of the Academy and the approval of its new academic program. Academy specialists delivered several presentations on these issues. Mr. Musaraj also spoke at the meeting and stressed that the current restructuring was essential for the Academy to continue. He further underlined that maintaining order requires a combination of dedication and professionalism, calling on specialists to address the school’s restructuring issues with integrity and always to value its complete depoliticization. Respecting these criteria, the Minister of Order concluded, would enable the Academy to train capable personnel able to confront the new types of criminals that have emerged recently and become conspicuous in Albania. In support of the Minister of Order, Mr. Zh. Teliti, Minister of Education, spoke and congratulated the academics on the reform they had begun. MBUÇPAPAJ

The tanker “Ocean Glory” arrived at the port of Durres, bringing the first consignment of aid from the Libyan government: 20,000 tons of fuel for our country. The Libyan ambassador, Mr. Abdul Hamid Farkad, and the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral and Energy Resources, Mr. Bujar Nepravish­ta, were at the port of Durres on this occasion. The Libyan ambassador emphasized that the Libyan government would support the Albanian people and government in getting through this difficult period, and expressed his sincere desire for the further development of relations between the two countries, noting that Libya would work to expand economic ties with Albania. Mr. Nepravish­ta thanked the Libyan government for the aid it was providing and noted the Albanian side’s readiness to advance relations between the two countries in the economic and industrial spheres. Both sides agreed that the movement of this fuel aid would be closely coordinated according to our country’s needs and its storage and distribution capacity and capabilities. The first shipment was kerosene, to be used as fuel by the population. Within two days, the entire quantity of 3,200 tons had been processed, and the ship set off again to bring around 3,000 tons of gasoil. “RD” correspondent

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ALBANIAN CONSERVATIVE COMMUNISTS ABANDONED PARLIAMENT YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. THEY LEFT THE SESSION, INVENTING THE MOST ABSURD PRETEXTS TO JUSTIFY THEIR BOLSHEVIK, COLLECTIVIST AND STATIST STANCE AGAINST THE PROPERTY OF CITIZENS AND NATIONALS, AND AGAINST THE INJUSTICES INFLICTED ON THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE BY THE DICTATORSHIP