From the People’s Assembly - PSD group motion fails to pass - - MP Imami is expelled from the session for breaching standards of civic conduct. - MP Meçe, on behalf of 20 MPs who are members of the Transnational Radical Party, proposes a motion to draw world public opinion’s attention to the dire situation in Kosovo. - Mr Arbnori «complains» that the chairman of the Journalists’ Union has never spoken with him about the Law «On the Press». On Monday, at 17:00, the People’s Assembly opened its proceedings for the coming week. According to the agenda, this session was devoted to debating the five-point motion of the PSD parliamentary group concerning the report submitted two weeks earlier by the commission tasked with drafting the draft constitution. In a letter read first by Mr Arbnori, the chairman of the commission in question, the Prime Minister, Mr Aleksandër Meksi, set out the commission’s assessments of the motion. Meanwhile, the PSD group chairman, MP Teodor Laço, read the motion once again. The session then continued with discussions and debates among the MPs. During MP Imami’s speech, he and the Chairman of the Presidium, Mr Arbnori, exchanged heated words, with Mr Imami behaving somewhat arrogantly and in breach of standards of civic conduct. This prompted Mr Arbnori to demand that MP Imami leave the chamber and, for this reason, to suspend the session for several minutes. After it resumed, the session continued with further contributions from MPs, who generally spoke in favour of the motion. It was also proposed and agreed that the draft-constitution commission should meet once a week, while specialists would work on editing the sections prepared by the commission and on other editorial work. The Assembly should be given a report on the work completed at least once a month. The motion was approved in principle. However, during the paragraph-by-paragraph discussion, only its first two of five points were approved. It was also proposed that a separate law be drafted to establish the procedure for adopting the Constitution. The motion was not approved in the final vote. Thus, in conclusion, the motion submitted by the PSD parliamentary group failed to pass. Next, MP Arben Meçe, on behalf of 20 Albanian members of the Transnational Radical Party, read dire situation caused by Serbian violence and repression against Albanians in Kosovo. The idea of such a document was also supported by the other MPs, but it was suggested that the document first be revised and then, after being considered by the relevant committees, submitted to the Assembly. At the end, several MPs suggested that, in connection with the Law «On the Press», which is expected to be discussed in the Assembly in the coming days, the serious and competent views of those concerned—namely, journalists—should first be sought. Mr Arbnori «complained» that, so far, the chairman of the Journalists’ Union had never met with him or asked to meet him about this issue. With this «complaint» on his lips, Mr Arbnori declared Monday’s session closed. «RD» correspondent

From the experience of local government in Durrës - At the «people’s reception» ... municipality ... neighbourhood councils - The Mayor of Durrës, instead of the council chairman, Mr Tomor Golemi, was holding his day for receiving citizens and hearing their concerns and problems, or, as it used to be called, the «people’s reception». He had just returned from an assignment in Tirana, and the queue at the door of his office had grown long. In fact, that would not have struck me so much as the presence of so many people inside his office... But my surprise lasted only until I learned from Mr Golemi, during the introductions, that they were the chairmen of the city’s neighbourhood councils, whom he summoned every day in place of the chairman of the relevant neighbourhood council where each citizen coming to the meeting lived. This reduces the degree of subjectivity and bias in interpretation, assessment and judgment. Three parties (mayor-citizen-council chairman) face one another. The possibility of abuse of power is reduced and fairness in assessment is enhanced: Three are always more than two... This is a way of ensuring that the officeholder alone does not have «too many pumpkins under his arm». In this way, other levels of government are also given work, and problems ... my surprise lasted only until I was able to learn chairmen of the city’s neighbourhood councils, whom he calls in every day for the citizens’ reception. To be honest, I thought this method of receiving people was a successful way to confront citizens’ concerns and problems—a truly original solution, but above all an effective one. This arrangement ensures a full face-to-face encounter between people in need and those legally entrusted with the power to resolve their problems. For each citizen’s concern, Mr Golemi faced the issue and received an answer to... In fact, what would have impressed me was not so much the possibility of abusing power as the ... given work, and citizens’ problems are resolved more quickly. Add to this effective practice the weekly round-table meeting with government bodies, the public order authorities, the court, the prosecutor’s office, the financial police and the various district directorates, and I would describe this experience of the Mayor of Durrës as one worth being adopted by other local officials in Albania as well.

- Publish the names of Fatos’s volunteers. - Dokle envies Millosh, Millosh announced one million Enver volunteers; Dokle came up with 700,000 Fatos volunteers. Apparently, Dokle learned nothing from the anecdotes people made up about Millosh and decided to proclaim himself his successor. So Fatos is Enver’s successor, and Dokle is Millosh’s. Some «malicious tongues» say Dokle had it in for Mr Millosh because, in a short time, he stirred up people’s imagination and inspired all the verse-makers in Albania; that is why he decided not only to succeed him but also to surpass him. Those same «malicious tongues» say that at the meeting of the Socialist Party leadership, where the number of signatures collected was to be decided—the number that would be announced—Dokle had a serious argument with some of the other members. Dokle insisted they announce that more than a million had signed, at least one million and one, just to edge past Millosh, but some others did not agree. So they decided to ask their chairman, Fatos, for his opinion. Fatos, who, as he says in interviews, exercises his brain and does not allow himself to make blunders like Dokle’s, decided to lower the figure somewhat. «I can’t outdo Baba,» he said. «Let my volunteers number 700,000.» That is what he said, and so it was. Some of the «moderates» in the Socialist Party objected again: «The Albanians won’t believe us,» they said. But Dokle, who had meanwhile sent a telegram to Islami as well, said that these signatures were not intended for domestic use but for abroad. They say that Kaqi, who failed to understand from the brief telegram that this was a numbers game, meanwhile started packing the old women’s things for their return to Albania. He surely thought that 700,000 could break the helmets of democracy not only in Albania but throughout the West, all the way to the USA. The only problem Dokle still has to solve in Albania is persuading the Socialist Party members themselves that the 700,000 signatures are genuine. To help Dokle, I would advise him to publish the names a few at a time in «ZP», so that those Socialist Party members who have doubts can be reassured. I would also advise Dokle to be careful and, if he takes my first piece of advice, not to list the names of people who died more than 20 years ago, but only those who died within the past 10 years. Likewise, among the refugees’ names, he should not use those of political exiles, but only those of the roughly 400,000 economic refugees who have left in the past three years. Finally, if he tries to invent names, he should make sure they are as unusual as possible, because, heaven forbid, one of them might turn out to be a real person, and then try publishing the accountability in «RD»! E. PALOKA

From 24 to 26 September, the mayor of the municipality of Nikëlino, a district of Turin in Italy, Mr Anxhelo Rixhi, and his economic adviser, Karlo Kolombo, visited the city of Laç. The purpose of the visit was to take further steps in the process of twinning the towns of Nikëlino and Laç, which began with the visit of the mayor of Laç, Zef Gjonaj, to Nikëlino in May this year. The mayor of Nikëlino, Anxhelo Rixhi, said he had come from Turin, the home of FIAT, whose vehicles fill the city of Laç. He promised exchanges in the fields of education and transport. Entrepreneurs from Turin will soon come to Laç to learn about its economic problems, investment opportunities, etc.

An Albanian Center for Humanitarian Aid to Albania was established in Amsterdam, Holland, in recent days. The Prime Minister’s adviser and chairman of the Government Aid Commission, Mr. Zekeria Pera-lushi, who took part in the inauguration of the center, told ATSH that the association includes Holland’s best-known businesspeople. The president of the center is Mr. Ernest Stucko. At the meeting, several of Holland’s best-known businesspeople also pledged to invest in Albania, in addition to the humanitarian aid they will collect. For some time, the Dutch humanitarian association “God Loves Albania,” whose president is Gezina Blaun, has been operating in Albania. Aid from Holland has arrived through it and has been distributed throughout the country.

- The meeting of the DP district branch in Mirdita was held - An expanded meeting of the Mirdita district branch of the DP was held in one of the halls of the cultural palace in the town of Rrëshen on Friday, September 24. Deputy Minister Leza Tota and Afrim Hagi were invited and attended, as did the area’s MP Ndue Gjika, Pashk Biba, and others. Mr. Zef Bardhi, chairman of the DP branch, made the opening remarks, and Mr. Pashk Gjoka analyzed the chairman’s speech and delivered ... The report analyzed the implementation of the reform in the Mirdita district. • “All our work and activities,” said Mr. Gjoka, “were carried out during this period, when we took power from the social-communists, amid a series of problems, especially ... where resources, water, and electricity were lacking ... Throughout all these ...” Despite the many difficulties we have faced with land issues, we have distributed around 97 percent of it, without social problems. The land distribution commissions need to do a better job, as there are villages that have not received their title deeds. At the end of his speech, Mr. Gjoka suggested that the district’s inspection office review the issuance of bank loans, as they had been given to red businessmen and corrupt people. Mr. Gaspër Topallaj, chairman of the DP Youth Forum, stressed in his speech that the relevant agencies need to conduct an accurate and detailed study of the movement of families from our district to the lowland districts. He also said that the privatization of small and medium-sized enterprises should be carried out as soon as possible to put a stop to corruption. Mr. Ndue Gjika, the area’s MP, said that he had followed the concerns of ... As a key point for the chairman, he ... said that administrative reforms were needed to improve the situation, with people ... put in charge of the work. In these ... committed. In these ... there have been many complaints about local government, which is why our assistance must be more concrete. There are major administrative shortcomings in our district’s communes where the Socialists have won. The administration needs to be more work-oriented, and people should not have to wait for the district and municipal mayors alone to resolve their problems. Mr. Gjergj Marku, head of the employment and emigration office, cited specific figures. Of the approximately 13,000 residents of the Rrëshen municipality, around 4,000 are unemployed and receive assistance. Around 1,000 people have found work in the private sector. Since January this year, the government has provided 142 million new lekë in aid and ... the social budget for the district, an extremely large sum, which Mirdita did not receive over several years in the past ... (Continued on page ... )

Opinions Whoever Signs the Socialist Petition Must Be a Democrat! The headline of the lead article in Sunday’s «ZP» is intriguing: «700 thousand people under a message of Freedom are calling for democracy». The poor reader is left wondering, especially since the subheadings also say: 700 thousand people calling for a free Europe and not isolation; - 700 thousand people aspiring to their dream, a better life like all their compatriots. (!?) At once, a question comes to mind: as a reader, where do I fit in—among these seven hundred thousand calling for democracy, or among the two million five hundred thousand left over who, according to «ZP», are calling for isolation? Reading the first paragraph of the lead article tells you nothing, nor do the second and third paragraphs. There they repeat some truths as old as time, such as «appreciation, like democracy, implies freedom»; «you can never imprison the mind, [unclear] ... the opposition and an indispensable element ...?» Let us see democracy, etc., etc. This from a newspaper which, for a whole century, has taught us other truths: [unclear], and the [unclear]? But anyway, also... – This is «ZP»’s conclusion. This newspaper may evolve, like many others, despite an ancient saying that claims the opposite: I don’t mind dying, but I won’t change my clothes! Only at the very end of this pretentious lead article does the reader find out who these 700 thousand are. As «ZP» claims, these 700 thousand are those who said “stop” to violence and welcomed the agreement for freedom and democracy. And, so that the other millions left outside the seven hundred thousand are not confused, in short, these turn out to be the army [armata] that signed the petition to release Fatos Nano. The distinguishing feature of this army, according to «ZP», is that it dreams of Europe and aspires to freedom and democracy. So the matter is very simple: anyone who does not rise up for the release of the Socialist leader and sign the petition offered by the Socialist Party is not for freedom and democracy, is not for Europe and, naturally, is left with Asia or Africa. «Fine, the snow, fine, the frost, but ‘the leg is asking for a kick’...» That’s what they call fear. But what about those who did not want to sign it, if, after all, we accept that they would rather go toward Asia than Europe? And what about us, the poor ones, who were not lucky enough to be offered a petition—what have we done to deserve being excluded from Europe, or some part of it? On the one hand, I am glad I ended up with those two million and some who did not sign the Socialist petition. Because I am with the majority, since these years have denied me, ever since puberty, the collectivism of earlier times, and the reading of «ZP» in those years. Without prejudging the arrest of the Socialist leader, I stand with the rule of law. The Socialist Party and its newspaper have also declared their support for this rule-of-law state. The state has competent bodies that decide whether to initiate criminal proceedings and impose detentions, just as it has courts that judge the legality of these decisions. The same procedure will be followed for the Socialist leader. So, when we speak of the rule of law, let us leave it to the competent authorities to have their say. People cannot be imprisoned or [unclear] by collecting petitions, but only on the basis of the law. Why doesn’t the Socialist Party wait until the trial of its leader has been [unclear], and then collect signatures?

NATIONAL LIBRARY TIRANA Speech at the editorial office On Tuesday, 28 September, a friendly working meeting took place at the editorial office of the newspaper «RD» between Prof. Paul Lendvai, director of Radio Austria International, and the editor-in-chief of «RD», Mr Bashkim Trenova. Mr Lendvai asked about the history of «RD» and how it was faring, as well as about various issues in Albania’s political life. Prof. Lendvai, as a friend and a good expert on our country, spoke sympathetically about democratic developments in Albania, thanked them for the conversation, and undertook to help resolve some of the problems currently facing the newspaper «RD».