TROPOJE: In addition to the 140 members admitted during January, a further 72 members were admitted by 20 February. LAÇ: In the Laç district, 176 new members have joined the DP since the Conference. Fifty-two are intellectuals, mainly engineers, economists and agronomists.

A week before the trial of the social-communist leader: —From the meetings of Mr. Tritan Shehu, Mrs. Flutura Hasko, and Ministers Musaraj and Xhaja in the Kuçova district— There was no way not to be impressed by the reality we encountered on Friday, during the meetings held in the Kuçova district by the DP Secretary General, Tritan Shehu, the chairwoman of the FGD, Flutura Hasko, the Minister of Public Order, Agron Musaraj, and the Minister of Mineral and Energy Resources, Abdyl Xhaja. Communist propaganda, in its demagogic efforts to gain ground, portrays this reality to us as that of a people who “cannot live without the image of their ‘persecuted’ deputy, cannot sleep and keep his portraits under their pillows.” But no: In Grege, in Kozare: “Down with Fatos Nano!” The public meeting in the village of Gege, in the municipality of Kozare, happened to take place during a spell of clouds and rain. Nevertheless, people paid no heed to the bad weather: “Even if stones fall from the sky, we will be here.” The discussion remained open and continued right to the end. This is one of those villages where, two years ago, Fatos Nano came to distribute tractors, and where the state farm and new facilities are countless... It is the village where people have grown up with resentment: “Down with Fatos Nano!” they shouted, and chanted, “Freedom! Democracy!” “Sali Berisha!” “Sali Berisha!” At the meetings, the villagers also described the problems, difficulties and injustices they face, especially at the hands of those in power. It is the latter who complain about a lack of authority, even though they have used the authority they did have for their own benefit. It is the privileged former communists who have continued along the path of injustice, especially in the distribution of land, etc. After learning about the villagers’ concerns, Mr. Shehu and the ministers pledged to address both the problem of paving the road in this area and several other issues. DEMOCRACY WINS WHEN NEW PEOPLE JOIN THE DP In his address, Mr. Shehu expressed his gratitude for the hospitality, the high level of democratic culture and the broad participation of Kuçova’s citizens in the meeting. He went on to set his remarks against the backdrop of democratic developments and a retrospective look at the condition in which E. Hoxha’s dictatorial system left Albania. The results of democratic governance, he stressed, are evident. The world now recognizes its effects, as shown most recently by the assessments made by Mr. Kamdesy on behalf of the International Monetary Fund. Those who never wanted Albania to integrate into the civilized world, and those who lost their privileges, are the ones who refuse to see these results in Albania today. Mr. Shehu stressed that the DP is not a party of biographies or class warfare. It remains open to everyone who supports its program and is not implicated in the crimes of the past. It is no coincidence, and no small matter, that so many citizens, intellectuals and people who want Albania to progress have gathered in this hall today in Kuçova, considered a “stronghold of communism.” This is a significant indication not only of the ground the DP has gained, but, above all, of the victory of democracy in general. —The DP is a (Continued on page 2) It was a cloudy, rainy day at the popular Kozare. The conversation remained open until years ago, Fatos Nano would campaign by terrorizing the villagers with the “bogeyman of bread.” And now it is precisely these villagers who have come to “miss” cornbread, because they have become “tired” of wheat bread. Or, as someone at the meeting said, “For New Year’s I wore myself out trying to find a bowl of cornmeal for the traditional kulaç, but I couldn’t find any...” These are precisely the villagers who today have managed to buy even

All necessary actions in the Nano case have been carried out in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure The spokesperson of the Tirana District Court, prompted by some misinformation and misrepresentations published in certain press outlets, clarifies that, in the criminal case file concerning the defendants Fatos Nano, Sokrat Plaka, Robert Gjini and Hasan Halko, all the necessary actions have so far been carried out in accordance with the rules of the Criminal Procedure Code currently in force, as follows: This case file was received from the prosecution service by the Tirana District Court on 17.2.1994. Judge Agim Bendo was assigned to review and advance the case. Pursuant to Article 131 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which obliges the court to conclude the trial of a criminal case no later than one month from the day it is received by the court, this judge carried out the relevant actions to study and advance the case file. Accordingly, the court officially notified the lawyers for all four defendants to appear on 21.2.1994 to acquaint themselves with the case materials. However, only the lawyers for defendants Sokrat Plaka, Robert Gjini and Hasan Halko have appeared before this court so far, while the lawyers for defendant Fatos Nano have not yet appeared, stating that they will not come because they do not agree with the regularity of the actions carried out by the prosecution service during the investigation. Furthermore, on 23.2.1994, the judge in the case, in accordance with the legal rules set out in Article 128/1 and paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, issued the decision to send the case to trial, setting 5 March 1994 as the trial date. The following day, 24 February, at 13:00, lawyer Perparim Sanxhaku, who defended defendant Fatos Nano during the investigation phase, personally submitted a request to the court to return the case to the Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation, setting out his and the defendant’s claims and objections. A lawyer must submit these only at the court hearing, as required by Article 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, since the court had issued the decision to send the case to trial the day before this request was submitted. More specifically, we clarify that, under the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure, any request submitted by participants in the proceedings—whether by the defendant and their defense or by the prosecution—after the decision to send the case to trial has been issued may be presented and considered only at the court hearing. Finally, the defense of defendant Fatos Nano is advised to show strict respect for the court, as an independent judicial power, in the course of the criminal trial in question, and at the same time to fulfill precisely its obligations under Chapter Two, “On Trial at First Instance,” of the Code of Criminal Procedure, so that this case can be tried promptly and objectively, as the law requires, concludes the notice from the spokesperson of the Tirana District Court.

A reminder to Nano’s lawyers We understand their predicament well. Their duty and very generous fee “compel” and commit them to defending a case that, according to the logic of the facts and the law, is lost. They are fatefully bound to present and defend their clients as innocent angels, even though they themselves are convinced that they are, in reality, guilty. But as people who know the law well and ought to be the first to comply with and uphold it, they cannot be forgiven or allowed to resort to replacing it with speculation and manipulation; it is immoral. By failing to respond to the court’s lawful and proper request, you show that you are afraid to appear before justice alongside your client. And your fear is entirely understandable. After deceiving the country and the world for more than six months in your newspaper, the mouthpiece of ZFN, portraying the boy F. Nano as an angel and becoming his disgusting parrots, relaying his orders from his cell, now you are terrified of the hour of reckoning with justice as if it were the night of the grave, and you are desperately trying, like wretched charlatans, to hide him from it. But it is in vain. No sophistry, alibi or machination can save your client from the established and deserved punishment, or from complete moral and political discredit, nor can it save you from a disgraceful public defeat. OBSERVER 55.8 069.4 100.1 56.2 188.9 1570 ... and its legal side is lost. They are fatally condemned to advertise themselves are convinced that, in reality, they are sinners. But as people who know the law well and who ought to be the first to observe and enforce it correctly, they cannot be forgiven or allowed to act this way. It is immoral for them to become blind servants of those who pay them, obeying them to such an extent that they discredit their professional and civic conscience by calling even something that fully complies with the law “anthological.” Democracy has perhaps made people By acting consciously and impartially in this way, they remind us of the Enverist party commissars and judges, who cared nothing for law or morality, and neither blushed nor turned pale while trampling innocent people under the iron boots of dictatorial laws. In this way they side with, or act under the orders of, nationalist leaders who want to replace the rule of law with the monstrous machine of red justice, and who want to

Others. WHEN NEW PEOPLE JOIN THE DP, DEMOCRACY WINS —Kuçova will be given priority in the Government’s program— At 14:00, the program of meetings continued with a meeting with the leadership of the DP branch in Kuçova. The meeting served to discuss finding the best ways forward and fostering a new spirit in the running of this branch. At 16:00, a ... was scheduled

—Today at 11, the prosecutor will read the closing argument. Yesterday morning, at around 10, the second hearing in the trial of the two journalists from the newspaper “Koha jone,” Aleksander Frangaj and Martin leka, and the two military officers Romeo Lici and Bashkim Feta, accused of disclosing state secrets, began in the Tirana Court, in open session. Martin leka also faces a separate charge of defamation. At the hearing, the presiding judge, Mr. Arben Ristani, first called the director of the newspaper “Koha jone,” Mr. Nikoll Lesi, to testify. He stated: “I ordered the publication of the news that the Minister of Defense had ordered, and then reprimanded my colleagues for not publishing it in full.” He went on to explain that, because of a family tragedy, editor-in-chief Aleksander Frangaj had not been present on the day the article was published, and deputy editor-in-chief A. Shkullaku had likewise left on an assignment abroad. Asked by the judge who was responsible for publishing the article, he replied that, in the absence of the two managers, he should bear responsibility for the material appearing in print. Regarding journalist Leka’s article, he clarified that the journalist was responsible only for the article published on page two, and not for the sensational headlines published on page two, which are quite humorous on the front page and continue with the sentence of the articles on the following page. “I,” Mr. Lesi concluded, “have instructed my journalists not to publish only such secrets as the number of weapons, tanks, etc., in the newspaper.” Afterwards, both journalists, Frangaj and Leka, said they considered their manager’s defense unnecessary and declared that their arrest had been made for reasons unrelated to the charges. Journalist Frangaj called the expert assessment carried out by experts from the Ministry of Defense unfair and requested that it be conducted by a third party. Similarly, the defense lawyers requested that the witnesses who had been absent from the hearing be summoned to the courtroom. The prosecutor in the case called their request unfounded, saying that their written statements given during questioning in the investigation were sufficient. Regarding the separate charge against journalist M. leka, his lawyer asked whether the Minister of Defense had filed a complaint for defamation. Prosecutor Adrian Leka said that they had only received a complaint from this minister concerning disclosure of a state secret. The presiding judge then declared the judicial proceedings concluded, as there was sufficient evidence to reach a final decision. after which the judicial panel will retire to deliver its verdict on the defendants’ sentences. ZEF LLESHI

-At the trial of the “KJ” journalists, there were at least 6 “ZP” journalists, 4 from “KJ” and 3 Greeks- Having sunk into its own and “ZP’s” mire, “KJ” continues to invent and exaggerate facts in order to convince public opinion how terrible the “dictatorship” that is “operating” in Albania today is, and how freedoms and rights are being violated. So much so that if you read what was written in various newspapers about Enver Hoxha’s regime and then read what “ZP” and “KJ” write about present-day Albania, you will surely get the impression that the country has returned to the early hours of the morning. But this is not a “dictatorship,” nor is it much of a dictatorship; indeed, it would not be surprising if one day it even turned out to be humane. Thus, sunk in this mire, “KJ” also writes about the moment when newspapers and other interested parties entered the courtroom where the trial of the “KJ” journalists was being held. According to “KJ,” a real clash took place in court, where “the police charged at the journalists,” and only “those from the opposition,” to stop them from writing the truth. But “KJ” itself, in the same article, refutes the sentence above when it writes that the police charged at “KJ” journalists “as if they had it written on their foreheads that they belonged to that newspaper.” In any case, the truth has nothing to do with what “KJ” wrote. The truth is that many people had gathered in court, more than the courtroom could hold, and yet at least 6 journalists from “ZP” (+24 ore), 4 from “KJ” and 3 Greeks were there. In fact, from “ZP” the editor-in-chief Th.Gellçi, deputy editor-in-chief L.Rama, journalists E. Braca, D.Kola, L.Qota and A.Bisha of “24 ore” were in the room. Also present from “KJ” were N.Lesi, who, despite being “under police violence,” calmly recorded with a camera, deputy editor-in-chief A.Shkullaku, A.Marku and the “uncommitted” F.Qupi. In addition to them, there were journalists from other publications and a foreign agency, and—“what is more important”—there were also 3 Greek “observers.” Meanwhile, “R” had only one journalist, while the deputy editor-in-chief of “RD” was not allowed in by the police, even though the hearing had started and, under the rules, this was not permitted. So how can it be written that opposition journalists were struggling to get in so they could avoid writing the truth? It seems that, just as “KJ” cannot recognize its own “partisanship,” it also cannot recognize the “dependence” of law-enforcement and judicial bodies on “KJ.” I do not know how credible a newspaper can be when it takes facts such as this one, from Sunday, and paints them only black.

Koha Jone A witness to the byes [?] is killed Pirates Interpellation in the committee about the presiden... [?] A police officer kills his friend Three dead from one family... [?] The President Government Cartoon showing people holding the newspaper “Koha Jone”. G7994

Read on page 3 “SPARTAK NGJELA SETS OUT THE CONDITIONS FOR REMAINING IN AD” Memorandum addressed to the presidency of the PAD.

On Monday at 5:00 p.m., the new FRPD leadership, consisting of the following members, will meet at the PD headquarters: Afrim Krasniqi, chair; Aleksander Haxhia, Ilirian Peco, Ada Hysa, Lulzim Shenaj, Bujar Hoti, Arta Sakja, Adrian Laka, Nora Prozhmi, Ilirian Abolli, Arben Pepa, Niko Kacirotti, Lin Kuri, Nesti Kiri, P. Serreqi, Arben Gabraj, Mehli Geci, Petrit Legisi, Lulgi Vllami, Mujo Bupapaj, Lorenc Ligori and Edi Paloka.