The deliberate failure of the two opposition members to appear before the relevant committee for verifying the mandate of the PDBNJ deputy has led to the final decision on this mandate being postponed until Monday’s session. As is known, with the approval of the PDBNJ deputy’s mandate, the number of opposition deputies in Parliament rises to 12. Thus the opposition secures the formation of its own parliamentary group, with full rights and duties. It is not the first time that the opposition, through such actions, has shown that for narrow party interests it is ready to delay serious efforts to democratize the country and restore the institution of a pluralist parliament. Under these circumstances, only one fair solution remains: a vote in Parliament on the PDBNJ deputy’s mandate. This must be done without delay at Monday’s session, so as not to give the opposition parties grounds to use, and misuse, it deliberately as an unfair precedent. Failure to vote in Parliament and the artificial dragging out of this issue would give the opposition the opportunity to create a false pretext to postpone indefinitely the formation of the left-wing parliamentary group, thereby making the future work of parliament more difficult. Approval of the PDBNJ deputy’s mandate would remove this unjustified reason and would give the opposition the opportunity to present its position on the election of the parliamentary presidencies and committees. This would be a completely normal and democratic solution, in the interest of the opposition parties but also of Albania’s own pluralist parliament. It is not hard to understand that this unjustified obstruction by the opposition deputies aims to seriously hinder the work of parliament, taking the entire political debate outside the institutional framework and creating the false impression that the opposition is being prevented from exercising its role as a participant and leading actor in the country’s political life. No one is preventing the opposition in this respect; no one is seeking to minimize its role or weight. But in order to behave as a serious and constructive political force, it must once and for all abandon the demagogic style of militancy and boycott. An emancipated and modern opposition argues its views, defends the interests of the electorate it represents, and debates with the political opponent on the terrain of laws and institutions. The present Albanian opposition, through its behavior, is showing that it has not yet reached this stage of political development and that it suffers from outdated and obsolete forms of primitive political conflict. In such conditions, the opposition today finds it difficult to play its full role in a pluralist state governed by law. Meanwhile, it is known that the highest organs of the Albanian state, the President, Parliament and Government, are very interested in creating all constitutional and legal possibilities for the opposition to properly exercise its function in parliament. In this framework, the arbitrary refusal by the two opposition deputies to take part in the mandate verification committee represents not only a violation of parliamentary procedure, but also a serious illustration of the lack of desire for an active, positive, and constructive parliamentary opposition. Their non-participation in the above committee shows that they still think with the primitive psychology of pressure and political imposition. The final decision on the PDBNJ deputy’s mandate still belongs to parliament, and we believe that on Monday it will receive a normal and democratic solution. In this way, the opposition parties will have every opportunity to organize their parliamentary group and to prepare in a civilized manner their parliamentary activity and the formation of the committees and presidencies. The leaders of the opposition parties should abandon expressing their demands through the press or other means. The state and parliament will not close the door to anyone. The only condition is respect for constitutional and legal rules. Only on this ground can there be a political debate useful to the whole country. Parliament will not tolerate any departure from this course. GAVROSH LEVONJA

Latest news reports say that the socialist press of the official organ is expected to publish a series of planned articles aimed at creating a heated political climate around the "Nano-Shkodra" case. According to various sources, media close to the opposition have begun a new propaganda offensive in an effort to present Fatos Nano as a political victim and to denigrate the Albanian justice institutions. These articles are accompanied by numerous accusations against the government and parliament, while at the same time avoiding the core legal issue. Some commentators link this campaign to the opposition’s failure to gain political ground in parliament and to the need to mobilize its base through political emotion. Analysts note that this kind of propaganda damages the climate of dialogue and harms the process of consolidating the rule of law. They call for the debate to be shifted from personal attacks to institutional arguments and to respect for judicial procedures. If this trend continues, political tensions are expected to increase further. EDI PLAKA

Yesterday’s decision by the criminal panel of the Court of Cassation to reject the PSSH appeal against the decision to release Fatos Nano is a cynical act by a justice system that is trying to keep the "Nano-Shkodra" case alive. The criminal panel of the Court of Cassation continues to defend a scandalous unconstitutional move by bringing Deputy Fatos Nano before the court on the basis of a parliamentary decision which, from the very moment of its adoption, is null and unenforceable. The decision of the Court of Cassation confirms a wholly political process against the chairman of the PSSH, Mr. Fatos Nano. For this reason, the PSSH calls on the Albanian people and the entire international democratic public to put a stop to this blatant challenge to democracy, and to express firmly its protest against the legal absurdity being inflicted on Fatos Nano, who, even after more than 18 months in pre-trial detention, still has not been tried and is being flagrantly denied the most elementary rights that belong to him. At a time when the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and legal provisions recognize Mr. Nano’s right to prepare his defense and appear before the court with the defense lawyer of his own choosing, the Court of Cassation is depriving him even of that right. The PSSH considers the decision of the Court of Cassation to be a warning bell for every honest Albanian and international citizen, for every political force and international organization interested in the fate of democracy in Albania. Despite the propaganda noise about the rule of law, the ruling caste has created a police state in the country in which not only the opposition is excluded by law, but also the defendant’s lawyer. While even ordinary prisoners are legally allowed to meet freely with their lawyer, for Fatos Nano the absurd order remains in force that even this human communication with his defense be denied to him. The PSSH declares to public opinion that the case against Mr. Fatos Nano is a fabricated case, forcibly engineered by the same organs, officials, and political figures who staged the first case against him. The PSSH informs the wider public that a series of pamphlets and slanders spread by anti-Albanian circles is being cooked up with the aim of discrediting its chairman. In the conditions of the total failure of the official propaganda campaign to discredit Mr. Nano, the slander-and-manipulation wing is now being activated. The PSSH calls on all political, social, and humanitarian organizations to take the "Nano-Shkodra" case seriously, as it is bringing all structures of the Albanian state to account and is turning into a test case for Albanian democracy. The PSSH declares that it will not cease denouncing as widely as possible this absurd process, which proves what can happen to representatives of the opposition in Albania when they are arrested and held for more than 18 months without trial.

The accession of the Christians of Macedonia - Kërçova - ARTICLE The leader of the Albanians of Macedonia, Nezval Haldon, in an interview with an American daily, gives this interview about the current situation of the Albanians in this country. These articles say that the Albanians helped save 150,000 people during the Nazi occupation by sheltering Jews, Greeks and Serbs. The interview also underlines that the Albanians of Macedonia are the only ones in Europe who have not had xenophobic movements. He recalls that if he had acted according to certain nationalist circles, today there would be concentration camps for 500,000 Albanians in Macedonia. The interview also speaks about efforts to open an Albanian-language university in Tetova, about education in the mother tongue and about the constitutional position of the Albanians. According to him, Albanians in Macedonia have been treated as second-class citizens. The article emphasizes that if the Albanian population had not protected others, the consequences would have been much worse. It also criticizes Serbian and Macedonian propaganda for stirring up interethnic tensions. (ATSH)

"KJ" in yesterday’s edition, usually, perhaps with its firebombs, fires or strong winds, (with a calibre size of 2P?) for illegality always appears dark, agitated, spiteful and unrestrained. As always with vicious zeal. It lets loose its Cassandra, its lawyer (opasan), blab, its female lawyer (?) instantly bewildered. In yesterday’s issue of the so-called newspaper, which has the guise of a daily, "KJ" keeps such a tone, murky after this and all day long, which is not a matter for that chatterbox lawyer, but rather another kind of confusion. With the means of a so-called "opinion" piece, it stirs up public opinion. The next leading article, with its invented title, speaks of the opposition’s murky political games. All this linguistic and emotional jumble remains unsupported by facts, concocting an atmosphere of tiring over-elaboration. In place of argument, insult is used; in place of thought, insinuation; in place of analysis, hysteria. Thus the reader receives no information, only another dose of noise. At a time when the press should help clarify public life, it dirties it with mud and spite. Xhonkonda PS inside and outside the frame

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