. Public opinion has by now been substantially stirred by Mr. Cela’s interpellation on the one hand, and by the defenses put forward by the representative of the accused party, Mr. Nano, on the other. It is evident that the techniques, style, and all the efforts at defense are based on misinterpretations and arguments, articles and speeches with cosmological, pathetic overtones. The State Audit Service carried out its audit of Italian emergency aid in accordance with Law 7597 of 31.8.1993, On the State Audit Service, Articles 3 and 5 of which authorize the body to conduct economic and financial audits throughout the entire administrative hierarchy of the Albanian state, from the People’s Assembly to the Presidency, the Council of Ministers, the ministries, the Bank of Albania, and all other central and local institutions, as well as state-owned and joint enterprises. The heads of these institutions have been, and will always be, senior state officials, deputies and ministers. Meanwhile, under Article 10 of the aforementioned law, the State Audit Service is required to make the findings public, and at the same time it has the power and energy to bring itself closer to the truth, make it known, and uphold the law. And all of this is completely different from all that logomania—different from all that logomania of words and theatrical interpretations, with comic results, by Mr. Nano. It would be half the trouble if we thought that the gentlemen seeking to protect themselves from the onslaught of facts brought forward by the State Audit Service about their activities did not know the laws, or did not know the laws under which the State Audit Service operates. But they voted for the very laws that the corrupt are now playing games with in their defense; they also voted for Law and Constitutional Supplement No. 7491 of 29.4.1991, which states: “The State Audit Service is independent; it is subject only to the Constitution and the law.” The so-called competence to speak is not a real ability, but a shameless combination of impudence and demagoguery that can be learned only at the most demagogic institution anyone could imagine: the Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies. If you take a look at the defense put forward so far by Mr. Nano, as well as by many authors who voluntarily [unclear] to the communist camp, it takes you back to the mother party. The red corrupt, trained in the privileges of demagoguery and theft, cannot prevail by abusing the privileges of democracy, freedom of speech, and the excessive opportunity they were given to express themselves. Days have gone by in press conferences, discussions, articles and counter-articles, and in the television program, yet Mr. Nano has not been able to prove or submit even one fact; he has only [unclear] practical advice and theoretical arguments in the style of someone who is never at a loss for words. All of this has been a very good opportunity to see his character and one of the latest images of the reformist economist who had accepted—and still accepts—that a peasant may keep livestock. As for Mr. Cani’s zeal in plunging into a defense that had nothing to do with him, he should be reminded that the reasons for his appointment as deputy minister were not related to his banking abilities, but to reasons and connections of the familiar kind: regionalism and, why not, family ties. His appearance in defense not of himself but of “the issue” reveals strong traces of his early communist education and, why not, of the democratic movement in Albania, with literary figures from Hashek. It is you, Mr. Nano, who are closer to Don Quixote, because you worked at the most quixotic institution, the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, and it was precisely you, [unclear] Sejdia, who granted him the license and baptism of honesty. For these reasons, your defense is a defense of the grotesque figure Hajdin Sejdia; your defense is the continuation of a deception once carried out with a ball and now without a ball, using the authority of the socialists. Your attempts to attack the friendly Italian people because Kardili’s name was used in the interpellation remind us of your master’s attempts to attack imperialism with arrows. Kardili is neither the Italian embassy nor the Italian government and people. As for him and the [unclear], the relevant courts will determine guilt or innocence. It is precisely the Government and the Democratic Albanian State that brought Italy back to its natural border with Albania, because you, Mr. Nano, with “Comrade Enver at the helm,” would not even let an Italian television antenna through; and, to tell the truth, you and your henchmen got very good reception from Belgrade. That is also why you wanted “Levante Co” to be Yugoslav, too. But you cannot act otherwise: the path from which you entered politics is inseparable from those techniques and that residence where your father excelled, and which involve the vector of anti-Albanian alliances. There are many secrets, and they are numerous, but the democrats, pure as crystal, will publish these too one day in other interpellations—though you will not be there. The deputy minister’s appointment is not connected to his abilities in banking, but to reasons and ties of the common type, such as regionalism and, why not, family connections. His public display in defense not of himself but of “the matter” points to strong traces of early communist indoctrination and, why not, to an infection more serious than the public can imagine. Slanders, accusations, insults, and psychological pressure play no part whatsoever in the democratic commitment of the State Audit and its employees, whose motto is the defense of the law. The acrobatics of schoolboy rhetoric and the compositions assigning blame only call on State Audit employees to delve more deeply into higher-quality work. Neither insults nor the comparison of personalities come to Mr. Nano’s aid…

“THE MARTYRS— THE IMMORTAL FUND OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY” —The Day of the Martyrs of the Albanian Nation is commemorated. The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, takes part— On the occasion of the Day of the Martyrs of the Nation, President of the Republic Sali Berisha laid a wreath at the Martyrs of the Nation cemetery in Tirana, beside the memorial monument “Mother Albania,” bearing the inscription “Honor to the Fallen of the Nation.” In remembrance of this day, he also said: “I wish to express on this sacred and significant day the profound respect of all Albanians and of the families of those who fell for national freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought. The Day of the Martyrs of the Nation is one of the most notable days; it is the day of the resurrection of those upon whose blood free Albania stands. The martyrs are the immortal fund of the nation’s collective memory. The fallen of the nation are undoubtedly its most precious part; the nation is distinguished by honoring them, and there is no one greater than those who die for freedom. The martyrs are a powerful factor in bringing together and uniting all those who believe in freedom. Regardless of their political beliefs, the martyrs belong to no party; their party is freedom. They were of different ages, but now they have only the age of immortality. As a whole, they were ordinary people, but in death they were all great, and therefore they will always be honored.” A wreath of flowers in a sign of honor and respect for the fallen of the nation

will always be honored.” Wreaths of flowers in honor and respect for the fallen of the nation were also laid on behalf of the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Ibrahim Rugova, by the Speaker of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Pjeter Arbnori; Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi; representatives of political parties, the local authorities of Tirana, various associations and organizations, etc. PRESIDENT BERISHA VISITED THE FAMILIES OF MARTYRS. The first visit in honor of the martyrs of the nation was made by the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, to the family of Halim Hysit, a well-known lawyer who was executed by the communist regime in February 1948. As the dearest, most honored and most sorrowful part of (Continued on page 2)

In a long, analytical article on current affairs, Mr. Neshat Tozaj writes in “ZP” on 5 May: “The mountain majority wanted Nano to be given the floor for only two minutes, and from his seat. I do not believe history has ever witnessed such a violation of the right to defense.” From the above, it follows that Tosi has suffered the greatest injustice ever witnessed by history in the field in question. It is difficult to see such categorical judgments as objective. Moreover, it is difficult to claim that you know every case that has occurred in our history or in the history of the world in the field of violations of the right to defense. No encyclopedia could take on such a burden, as Tozaj does with a particular brother. But what attracts the most attention is Mr. Tozaj’s assessment of former dictator Hoxha. Here we have a sensation, or a genuine revelation. Enver Hoxha turns out to have been a democratic, wise, patient man. The conclusion is that, had he been alive and in power, that [unclear] Hoxha would never have tolerated or reconciled himself to such brutal behavior by democracy. No further comment is needed here. Tozaj, deliberately or not, with his “dictatorship” is increasingly revealing only But it is a union of shamelessness If you take a look at the defenses made so far by Mr. Nano, as well as by some volunteer author in the struggle to save Nano, who has been stripped branch by branch, you can see that there is no attempt to save him, but rather a writhing—and this is connected with the very high degree of objectivity in the findings of the State Audit. It is entirely natural for Mr. Nano to rally his entourage in the party and in journalism. “Neron arme” have been summoned: all those whom the secret order and faithful act of allegiance to the dictatorship and its leaders brought into and bent to the democratic movement as dissidents, and whom kola brought back again into…

There is a coincidence in timing between the start of the State Audit Service’s audit of the first Italian aid and the outbreak of the social-communist headquarters’ campaign for the resignation of the Meksi Government and early elections. This is not a coincidence at all, but, on the contrary, a premeditated act in a hastily prepared scenario, which has caused the author, directors and actors to overlook certain details or circumstances that expose and unmask them. The news that the State Audit Service was beginning a focused and meticulous audit of the files concerning Italian aid brought through “Iliria Holding” and “Levante Co,” before the “mice” in the files had yet eaten the documents that needed to be destroyed, caused great alarm and panic for Fatos Nano and his headquarters. The calamity hanging over Nano and the PS had to be presented at any cost, price and sacrifice. Salvation lay in bringing down the Meksi Government as soon as possible through a parliamentary crisis and early elections. This directive was immediately relayed to the entire party and its allies, who declared [unclear] or illegal. The veteran “ZP” and its puppies, born to it in old age, began barking with all their might for early elections. On the ground, social-communist commissioners and captains, convinced and blind Enverists, strongly supported by former Sigurimi agents put out to pension or disability assistance for old and new crimes, and financed by red businessmen, began their campaign with powerful strikes to ignite political and social fires in places where they believed and were sure they could continue deceiving and manipulating people as they had for over 50 years. Naturally, Comrade Fatos Nano, as a great new Marxist-Leninist theoretician, added original value to the Enverist and Ramizist treasure-house of hypocrisy, demagoguery and manipulation. The strikes organized in Polican, Bulqize and Ballsh gave Fatos wings, emboldened and encouraged him, and strengthened his hope and belief that the great day of returning to power and being freed from the tormenting anxiety and terror of legal punishment and the complete destruction of his career was near. The overthrow of the Democratic Government was the saving alternative not only for him as a person and political careerist, but also served other distant aims and objectives: to strengthen internal and external [unclear] and remove them from the domestic and foreign political scene. The interruption and blocking of democratic processes, the political crisis and the destabilization of Albania would postpone indefinitely the learning and implementation of the property law, and the trial of Nexhmije Hoxha and the other members of the bloc. They also greatly served the old allies in Belgrade, who were extremely interested in prolonging Albania’s destabilization and failure to recover indefinitely. For their part, these allies had the internationalist duty to support the Albanian social-communists by manipulating the tense regional situation for as long as possible, while also increasing direct anti-Albanian and provocative acts on the border between the two countries to frighten and drive away those foreign investors who were considering and wanted to invest in Albania. Another powerful ally was Hashullatovi and his comrades in Russia, who, by undermining Yeltsin, strengthened the positions of Milosheviç in Belgrade and Fatos Nano in Tirana. As pressure on the President and the Government as a whole increased from within and abroad, the propaganda campaign to denigrate the image and work of Mr. Blerim Çela and the department he heads was also intensified, in order to force him to remain silent or withdraw. But they failed on this front too. The State Audit Service peeled away every layer of the disgusting “pie” that Fatos Nano cooked up with his close comrades in ideals and backstage dealings. Thus, the arena for the final battle to topple Fatos’s [unclear] was immediately closed off and confined within the walls of Parliament. The socialist troop received the categorical order to throw themselves into a shoulder-to-shoulder counterattack, tightly packed together, defending their leader with their chests, fists, kicks, and every other means and method—the leader who will go down in history also for his exploits in the theory and practice of corruption. The interpellation, Fatos Nano’s obstinacy and swagger in unsheathing his sword over the [unclear] situation on the podium were to be exploited to fan the flames of the parliamentary crisis with every possible bellows, while also being clever enough to leave the baby on the doorstep of the PD deputies’ group. In this battle they were also guided by the principle “the end justifies the means.” Having escaped by a hair’s breadth, surprisingly or unjustly, from the Shkoder trial, Fatos Nano wants, hopes and fights to escape the deserved and legally justified punishment for corruption as well. Will he succeed this time too? increased from within and abroad, and as well. Will he succeed this time too? are, Audit Service is required to make the findings of its audits public. Also, under Article 4, paragraph 10, of the same law: “It cooperates with the supreme state audit bodies of other countries and with international audit organizations, and concludes agreements with them in the field of economic and financial auditing.” This legal duty is also the basis for cooperation between the State Audit Service and its counterpart body, the “Corte dei Conti” of the Italian state, to clarify the matter of the emergency aid so generously granted by the friendly Italian people. As can be seen, the legal basis for the activities of the State Audit Service ...

ALL OF ALBANIA HONORED WITH RESPECT AND DEEP GRATITUDE THE MARTYRS OF FREEDOM OF ALL GENERATIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME, PEOPLE REMEMBERED AND HONORED THE FALLEN FREELY, WITHOUT PROPAGANDISTIC AND POMPOUS CEREMONIES