The President of the Republic of Albania, Sali Berisha, departed for Turkey to attend today the funeral ceremony of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Turgut Ozal. High-ranking dignitaries from many countries around the world will attend the ceremony for this distinguished statesman. At Rinas Airport, government cabinet members, the deputy chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Tomor Malasi, and other officials had come to see President Berisha off. ATSH

—Albania’s fruitful cooperation with NATO and its serious commitment to deepen this cooperation ever further in the interests of stability and peace in the region— … the situation in the region and efforts to prevent conflict were the main issues discussed by President Berisha and General Dejvis at their meeting at the Presidential residence. Mr. Dejvis, for his part, praised Albania’s role in cooperating with NATO to strengthen peace. (Continued on page 4)

Many countries looked with sympathy upon our grave food-crisis situation and did not hesitate to provide us with humanitarian aid. We mention here, with respect, Italy in particular, which generously donated humanitarian aid worth around 40 billion lire. Humanitarian aid from Italy, in the form of foodstuffs and medicines, has partly arrived and is being distributed to the designated locations. Nevertheless, in these times of social, political and economic tension, some things are done hastily, others reluctantly; for some matters there is a lack of experience, and in circumstances such as these someone may find an opportunity for speculation. It is therefore no bad thing for these working practices to be kept under the scrutiny of the competent supervisory bodies and public opinion. With these considerations in mind, I embarked on a long and complicated path, which I do not think was in vain. I went to the Ministry of Foreign Trade. I met Mrs Aleksandra Collaku, the Director, who was most willing to clarify everything frankly in response to my questions. Mrs Aleksandra told me the following: “We received notice that the Italian Government would grant us humanitarian aid in foodstuffs worth 10 billion lire. We therefore drew up a list of the kinds of food products we urgently needed and sent it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 14.2.1991, and it forwarded it to the Italian Embassy in Tirana. After some time, PETRAQ GRAMO (a lawyer for the Iliria Holding firm) telephoned us and said that the goods comprising Italy’s humanitarian aid were ready, so we should designate ships to collect them. We said to him: ‘What have you got to do with this?’ He replied: ‘The Iliria Holding firm in Italy has been appointed to handle this matter.’ The Ministry of Foreign Trade, Mr Shane Korbeci, sent this notice to Deputy Prime Minister Mr Shkelqim Cani and Foreign Minister Mr M. Kaplani: ‘In the fax sent, the firm Levante Co S.p.A requests that the firm Iliria Holding, Prishtine, coordinate and distribute these goods, which are part of the Italian Government’s aid to our country. We believe that only Agroeksporti, a domestic enterprise specializing in the handling of these goods, should deal with this matter.’ We received the answer by telephone. I spoke,” says Mrs Aleksandra, “with the Deputy Prime Minister on a technical-commercial matter. ‘We did not appoint any specialized trade body to enter into relations with Levante Co regarding the selection of the goods required or other matters such as prices, delivery terms, etc. In this respect, this firm may also have acted in its own interests.’ A little later, the Minister of Domestic Trade, Mr Alin Ylli, addressed the Council of Ministers, MTT and MJPM in letter No. 7491, dated 8.4.91, which stated: ‘On the basis of the documents sent by the Italian Embassy regarding the supply of goods under the free aid of 10 billion lire… Under these circumstances, we did not agree to take responsibility for collecting these goods designated as humanitarian aid.’ A little earlier we spoke about the high prices of the goods. But in this case many people might say: ‘What business is it of yours what the prices are? These goods are free. Say thank you and leave it at that!’ Once again, we express our thanks and gratitude to the Italian Government and people for the humanitarian aid in foodstuffs granted to us. But if these goods are valued at two, three or even ten times their prices, then the effective value of the 10-billion-lire humanitarian aid falls to 1, 3 or 5 billion. That means our people receive fewer goods. That is all as regards the first arrangement for aid worth 10 billion lire. The Ministry of Domestic Trade, and specifically Mr Pajtim Ajazi, is responsible for the second arrangement, also worth 10 billion. During our conversation with him, he said that there were no longer any irregularities. He was optimistic, saying that he was working with the Albkoop firm and that a large quantity of goods had arrived. Nevertheless, some people inside and outside this Ministry did not share this view and continued to suspect irregularities. In our conversation with Mr Liliana Murati at the Price Directorate of the MTB, high prices came up again. She told us: “Albkoop has now imported 40 tons of powdered milk. The prices invoiced by the Italian side are: —1,714 dollars per ton for milk with 1.26 percent fat; and —2,435 dollars per ton for milk with 26 percent fat, with a purchase price of 1,000–1,400 dollars per ton. As can be seen, we obtain powdered milk with 26 percent fat from other markets at least 1,000 dollars per ton cheaper.” There were similarly large price differences for other food products as well. PETRAQ KOLEVICA

On the first anniversary of the democratic government WE ASPIRE TO WORK MORE FIRMLY GROUNDED IN THE LAWS —Interview with the Prime Minister, Mr Aleksander Meksi— Radio Tirana journalist Zamira Koleci interviewed the Prime Minister, Mr Aleksander Meksi, on Sunday, before his departure for the Holocaust commemoration in America. Below we publish the part of this interview relating to the democratic government’s first year in office and its prospects: Question: In your opinion, Mr Prime Minister, how should one assess the work of your government over its first year? One year in government is both a long time and a short time. It is a long time because it is not an insignificant period in the history of a small country. It is a short time considering the extremely bad state of the country that the government inherited. In such circumstances, one can make an assessment in many ways, but I think the best assessment would be: has Albania’s situation improved during this year, and to what extent has it improved? And, on the other hand, is there a prospect for Albania’s further development so that it can overcome the inherited situation? I say that the answer to both questions is positive. Of course, the government’s opponents may say otherwise, but I think the country’s situation has improved. This is evident to anyone who sees Albania for the first time after a year. The market shows it, the improvements show it, the start of construction shows it, and so on. Certainly, more could have been done. But many circumstances—including the situation in the region, which hindered and still hinders investment; limited experience (this too is a fact, naturally human and objective); and the difficulties involved in starting work on something that was previously unknown, such as the investment process and preparations for it—stood in the way. Perhaps we thought many things could be done very quickly, and that may be true. But in any case, this period has not gone badly, since there is a prospect… The World Bank, the European Community, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the USA, Germany—assistance that was renewed this year as well; the approval of economic programmes, the drafting and near completion of the three-year development programme (prepared with the support of FPDM and the World Bank)—I believe these provide a very clear prospect for Albania. The resumption of work in the copper and chrome mines and in the oil sector shows that the opportunities are considerable. The start of construction, the beginning of roadworks, the resumption of work at Banje (although they are accusing us of pushing ahead recklessly—which is absolutely not true), I think are no small achievements. The start of work in telecommunications and infrastructure in general, and the flourishing of trade—which will certainly undergo further changes in its structure, because for now more trade takes place in the streets than in shops—all these things speak for themselves. Question: After a year of work experience, what are the Albanian Prime Minister’s aspirations? After one year, having faced problems every day—both those that have not been solved and must be solved, and those we have solved but perhaps should have solved better—our aspirations are precisely in these areas: to work more firmly grounded in the laws, more thoroughly and better organized, and to demand more in carrying out the tasks set by the government. In other words, we aspire to a more organized public order, a more organized market economy, and a government that is better organized and more useful to the country. Question: Do you think that with the new team and the changes in government you will achieve results faster than expected? The changes do not mean a change in government policy; the government programme remains the same. We are not used to changes, but I think we will get used to them, because there will always be such changes in the future, and I too may be one of those who could be replaced; there is nothing surprising about that. It is the policy that remains; it is the teams in the cabinet and the individual ministries that do the work; it is the foundation that does the work. So changes are, you might say, a transfusion, fresh blood being given. They offer an opportunity to see things better, but that absolutely does not mean that those who were here before us did not work or should not be thanked for the work they did for the benefit of Albania and democracy.

R.D.— A newspaper has published an article taken from an Italian newspaper concerning a scandal in which communist leaders are also involved. How do you assess the claims published in this case? Blerim Çela, as was also said earlier, was Head of the State Control Commission; the issue concerns contracts mentioned in articles by the Italian journalist Stefano Mansurat. Blerim Çela: …as was also said earlier… the situation, the State Control Commission’s examination of this matter has been ongoing; after 4–5 months, it has made contact, cooperated, and coordinated documents with the relevant bodies of the Italian state. The findings of that joint work show that this is one of the major scandals in which the communist caste and class were accomplices in plots against the Albanian people. Leaders of the left are implicated in this scandal, from the top of the pyramid down, starting with Ramiz Alia, Adil Çarçani, Fatos Nano, F. Farhudin Hoxha, Pajum Ajazi, and the former Italian ambassador in Tirana, Torquato Kardilli. Through their actions, they caused millions of dollars’ worth of foodstuffs and medicines not to reach Albania, but instead to end up with the Italian-Yugoslav company Levante Co, from which the profits are suspected to have been distributed for personal or party interests. The matter described above will be presented chronologically and with supporting documents in a report to Parliament by the State Control Commission, as requested by the PD Parliamentary Group. This scandal is part of a succession of other financial scandals committed by former communist government officials who, it appears, abused their official positions, thinking only of their personal enrichment and of prolonging the life of the already failed communist regime. The fight against corruption is bearing its first fruits —According to an interview with Mr Blerim Çela, Chairman of the State Control Commission—

—The appointment of Mr. Nafiz Bezhani as a member of the Court of Cassation is approved— From the People’s Assembly At yesterday morning’s session, chaired by the Speaker of the People’s Assembly, the Assembly first approved the appointment of Mr. Nafiz Bezhani as a member of the Court of Cassation. The work continued with an amendment to the Constitutional Law “On Land,” an amendment submitted together with the draft law on compensation in value for former owners of agricultural land, a matter now taken up by this amendment with its 18 articles. After the regular session—questions and answers—and a short break, the general debate continued. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4)

In the coming days, Parliament will discuss the involvement of the firms Levante Co and Iliria Holding, etc., in the humanitarian aid given to our country by the Italian Government after the elections of 31 March 1991. At that time, since I had the honour of being a Democratic Party MP, I received some reports of irregularities in the delivery of aid. After learning something about the matter, I wrote the article below, which I did not have published in RD at the time because it might have caused problems in relations between the two countries and could have obstructed the arrival of food, which the people then desperately needed. Now that the social tensions of that time have subsided and the matter is to be examined in Parliament, I believe that this article, written in early July 1991, can today help establish the truth. (If anyone is interested in the documents mentioned in this article, I should clarify that I have photocopies of them.) Italian Embassy in Tirana. Some time later, PETRAQ GRAMO (a lawyer for Iliria Holding) called us and said that the goods from the humanitarian organization were ready, so we should arrange ships to collect them. We asked him: What business is this of yours? But he replied: Iliria Holding has been appointed to handle this aid. Concerned by this statement, we asked our representative in Rome to clarify the situation, as well as the role of the Italian company Levante Co, which was representing the Italian side. We telephoned and sent Mr. Dritan Sala regarding this matter; among other things, he said: “I spoke by phone with Mr. Berniola of Levante Co, who said: —I appreciate the important role Hajdin Sejdini is playing in helping Albania(?)! —He said that he (that is, Levante Co) is a commission-agent company and has no goods. —According to him, Hajdin Sejdini has been making representations to the Italian foreign minister to grant aid to Albania(?)! —I think (says Dritan Sala) that various companies are trying to make profits for themselves from this operation... The matter should be pursued only through official government channels, because if private parties get involved, the work could be ruined. Bari, 7391 After this, the then Minister of Mr. Shkelqim Cani, who told me: “Don’t get involved in this matter”(?!) Then the first aid consignments began arriving, and concerns began to arise among the Albanian specialists. Mr. Gavrosh Pogaçei sent a report to Prime Minister Mr. Fatos Nano, in which, among other things, he said: “We have examined these aid consignments, and alongside their progress, several problems and uncertainties have emerged. —The main concern has been the very high price of the goods delivered. In general, the goods delivered have not met our most pressing needs. Goods have also been delivered that were not even second-order necessities. —Among these shortcomings and uncertainties was the fact that, in the agreement with the Italian side, the political aspect of the aid was not coordinated with its technical and commercial aspects. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was tasked with coordinating this aid, did not manage to resolve these issues from the outset, and no documentation was prepared to specify the conditions …liters), it turns out that the invoiced prices of the goods in the first two shipments are high—at retail-price levels, and even above them.” Attached to this letter are two or three pages listing goods, but we are giving only a few examples that confirm what was said above: Invoiced price Market price Chicken meat: 11,000 dollars/ton 11,000 dollars/ton (that is, 10 times less) (in gelatin) Sunflower oil: 800 dollars/ton 400 dollars/ton (that is, half the price) Marmalade: 1,600 dollars/ton 1,500 dollars/ton (at this price we buy meat and jam) Rice: 668 dollars/ton 300 dollars/ton (that is, less than half the price) Now is the time to recall everything we have said and see where the irregularities lie. To clarify, we spoke with Mr. Shane KÇD(?) çi, ili