ECONOMIC TRANSPARENCY VERSUS POLITICAL ABUSE - ANC-ANN implementers opposing the fiscal system - - Tax reform another target of socialist leaders’ portrayal as anti-reformists - - Tax reform as a response to protect gross national producers - - In 1989 the tax burden was 44.2 percent In respect for the transparency of the reform processes, as in the last three years, we are presenting this in order to make public opinion aware of the progress of the reform processes. This is because reform is undertaken to solve the acute problems of the Albanian economy. If today there are economic problems, it is essential to look at what the economy has been like, what its shortcomings have been, and where we are headed. To present such problems today, as the socialist leaders and in particular Mr. Anastas Angjeli are doing, solely to stir up discontent without saying a single word about the future, means to oppose reform, or to engage in politics instead of serving the economy. In the presentation made these days by the presenter, Mr. Angjeli, the emphasis was placed on the difficulties the Albanian economy is going through. Not only that, but according to Mr. Angjeli the situation appears to have no way out. On the contrary, this originates in the past and not in the failure of the reforms. The future depends on those ideas, that energy, that work organization and use of abilities that will affirm the courage to move economic changes forward, to break out of the inherited deadlock. Such an orientation would be taken by anyone who loves the country, not by one who aims to turn the wheel back. Regarding the tax burden we inherited in 1992, the reform policy undertook determined action to rationalize it. In 1992 the tax burden stood at 45.7 percent of gross domestic product, a heavy burden and a brake on private initiative and production. In a market economy, such a high burden places producers at a disadvantage in competition, hinders investment, and encourages fiscal evasion. Tax reform aims to create a simple, fair, and production-incentivizing system. Its purpose is not to burden the private sector, but to distribute the fiscal burden more fairly, broaden the tax base, and establish clear rules for everyone. Therefore, the attacks on it do not stem from a serious economic analysis, but from a political stance against reform. Socialist leaders who seek to portray tax reform as anti-popular conceal the fact that without reform there can be no financial stability, no investment, and no protection for domestic producers. If we want a strong economy, we must put an end to old practices and support the rules of the market economy. In 1989 the tax burden was 44.2 percent. This shows that the fiscal burden we inherited was not created by today’s reforms, but is the result of yesterday’s system. For this reason, the debate must be conducted responsibly, with figures and with honesty before the public, not with political slogans. CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

- Can you call a person human when he kills hope in order to save it? From the very start of the morning my eyes turned to some “voices,” “news,” “weather,” “facts” or “figures” that set the tone of the day. Instead of serving clarity, these tools became a cause of alarm, of obscuring the picture, and of spreading panic. When words turn into a means of increasing uncertainty, then they become messengers of misfortune. A person worn down by everyday hardships needs courage, truth, and guidance. Not gloomy prophecies, not declarations of catastrophe, and not language that feeds despair. Such people help no one; they simply kill the hope that things can change. At a time when the country needs work, responsibility, and joint efforts, someone comes along and tells people that everything is lost. This is not analysis; it is a way of making people give up before they even try to move forward. Hope is not a deception. It is the force that keeps a person standing, that makes him seek a way out, work, and believe that tomorrow can be better. Whoever kills that hope takes away part of a person’s dignity. Therefore, the messengers of misfortune must be opposed not with insults, but with clarity, with truth, and with the will to build. Only in this way does a person preserve the hope of being saved. LAZER STANI

Interview with PS deputy Mr. Pjerik Ajazi (taken from “Voice of America” on 30.1.1994) DISTANCING FROM E. HOXHA’S DICTATORSHIP - A CRITICAL POINT FOR THE PS OF ALBANIA; RECONCILIATION, NOT EARLY ELECTIONS, IS NEEDED INTERVIEW WITH PS DEPUTY MR. PJERIK AJAZI (taken from “Voice of America” on 30.1.1994) - Recently there have been various scientific and analytical articles with titles such as “Will the rain of these days be enough to avert the earthquake” and others, which lead public opinion toward the idea of a destabilization of the country, which would then require or impose early elections as a solution. Do you view the current state crisis as such? - First of all, as a scientist, if he assumes the responsibilities of a scientist, he would not, I think, if he were such, make judgments that could cause concern or echo the destabilization of the situation. Second, if there are political forces moving toward destabilization and if this destabilization is seen as a solution to the political crisis, then it is only those forces that are interested in political destabilization. What seems clear to me is that the political crisis that exists in Albania and throughout Eastern Europe is not solved by early elections. We will oppose such tendencies, politically and as an opposition, because they create destabilization of the situation. - Do you think early elections are not a solution to overcoming the crisis, or on the contrary, a means of deepening it? - Today in Albania positive phenomena are appearing in economic development. New productive means are emerging, reforms are being carried out and opportunities for private initiative are being created. The political crisis must be overcome with institutions and responsibility, not with adventures. From this point of view, early elections would be an incitement to political conflict, not a way out of it. - So do you consider it necessary to have an opposition that maintains a measured position? - The opposition has the duty to criticize, propose, and present alternatives. But it must not become an obstacle to reforms. Albania needs civil peace, dialogue, and a clear distancing from Enver Hoxha’s dictatorship. This is a moral and political condition for the left to become modern and credible. -CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 (Aq[?] 3) -describe the journey by the poet Agim Shehu- Under “HP” -Today in “RD” Nuper Gjermaani[?] -Festyribo[?] describe the journey by the poet Agim Shehu- 42-Norway with Minister Ilir Manushi on the achievements of scientists in the fields of sterilization, water supply, fuel and infrastructure or against the democratic challenge of the country’s Albanians? -Written by Dr. Ylber Çobani

Salaries of employees of budgetary institutions Reading the decision on salary increases In the previous “RD” and “TVSH” broadcast we published the text of the decision on salary increases. This issue has aroused great interest among the public. Thus, alongside interest in the time when the salary increase will enter into force, questions are also being raised about the amount of pay according to categories and professions. One of the first questions has been whether the increase includes all employees of budgetary institutions. According to the decision, the increase applies to the specified categories and is implemented in accordance with the workplace, qualifications, and institutional structure. To better clarify the reader, below we provide some of the key points of the decision and the way they affect the monthly salary. The salary increase is an important social and economic measure, aimed at easing the situation of families of employees with limited incomes and increasing motivation in the public sector. CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

On Sunday, 30 January 1994, President of the Republic, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, returned home after a visit to the capital of the People’s Assembly, Islamabad, and to the capital of Sindh Province, Karachi, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At “Rinas” airport, President Berisha was welcomed by the Chairman of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori, Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi, Deputy Prime Minister Bashkim Kopliku, Minister of Defence Safet Zhulali, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Serreqi, the President’s adviser Fehmi Abdiu, as well as other high state officials. ATSH

Today in “HP” Nuper Clemann[?] (PAGE 3) - describe the journey by the poet Agim Shehu- Under “HP” -Today in “RD” 42-Norway with Minister Ilir Manushi on the achievements of Albanians in the fields of sterilization, water supply, infrastructure or against the democratic challenge of the country? -Written by Dr. Ylber Çobani

NATIONAL LIBRARY TIRANA