ALEKSANDER MEKSI, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania LIBERALIZATION OF THE PRICES OF ENERGY AND OTHER HEATING FUELS, AN IMPETUS FOR INCREASING PRODUCTION AND INVESTMENT IN THIS FIELD Interpellation in the People’s Assembly The measures taken by the Government to raise the prices of heating fuels are: a. Electricity, from 0.8 to 4.5 lekë per kWh, irrespective of consumption. b. Kerosene, from 5.0 to 20.0 lekë/liter. c. Central heating of homes: —with steam, 40 lekë for 1 m3 of heated space —with liquefied gas (cylinders), 40 lekë/kg —with natural gas (piped): April–October, 950 lekë/month; November–March, 1600 lekë/month d. The selling prices of firewood and coal are liberalized. Family of 4 members, in which 1 person works in the budget-funded sector: 700 lekë the non-budget-funded sector: 650 lekë Family of 4 members, in which 1 is a pensioner: 700 lekë Family of 4 members, in which 1 receives unemployment benefits: 700 lekë Family of 4 members, in which 2 work in the budget-funded sector: in the non-budget-funded sector: 600 lekë Family of 4 members, in which 2 are pensioners: 700 lekë the budget-funded sector and 1 in which 2 people receive unemployment benefits: 700 lekë Family with one member who is a pensioner or is employed or is receiving unemployment benefits Family receiving full economic assistance, city: 600 lekë; village: 600 lekë Family receiving partial economic assistance, village: 350 lekë For other cases, the relevant explanations are given in Decision No. 138, dated 3.3.1994. The Government is approving [measures] in implementation of this decision and, case by case, will make the necessary modifications for those small social groups that are not included but are entitled to them. Although the Government has provided the necessary explanations regarding this decision, considerable ambiguity and inaccurate commentary make it entirely appropriate to provide fuller or additional explanations. The relevant decision, which in our view was absolutely necessary, was taken within the framework of economic reform and the medium-term economic development program approved here a few days ago. In broad terms, the program envisages increases in the prices of energy products during 1994, so that by 1996 we reach the level at which the costs of each are covered. Looking at each product individually, you will see, for example, that the new price of kerosene for the population is 45% lower than the price of kerosene for non-household entities. As regards electricity, its economic production cost is around 5.5–6 lekë/kWh. Taken as a whole, these changes have also taken into account the results of the development of the private sector in firewood production, the need to develop the private sector for the production and sale of energy fuels, and the need to prevent abuse in the use and allocation of subsidies. The problems connected with heating the population and supplying electricity have consistently been addressed by the Government with due responsibility. With the decision we have taken, we aim to safeguard the guarantee of supply to the population while also creating broad scope for the private sector to operate—the concepts and practices of a market economy being two factors linked to one another. The practice to date of direct subsidies from the state budget … for heating energy and … electricity … the country’s energy sector through budgetary funds and inputs (which are naturally temporary) for the partial rehabilitation of the transmission and distribution network not only fails to stimulate but holds back the development of these sectors and discourages investment and private business. These were subsidies that did not reach their intended destination and gave rise to considerable corruption and misuse. Through the decisions to raise prices, the Government sought to create conditions for the development of the heating sector and the electricity sector in accordance with the laws of the market economy, so that the population’s needs could be met as well as possible. These measures make it possible to create a free market in municipal energy products, encouraging private entities to take an interest and compete in line with the specific characteristics of each region or geoclimatic zone of our country, and preventing losses of budget funds through subsidies. Referring specifically to the main energy sources, electricity and kerosene, we can identify the following characteristics of each: 1. Electricity is regarded as one of the most refined forms of energy serving human development and civilization. The positive balance of electricity production and the country’s still-untapped considerable hydroelectric potential are not merely indicators of our country’s energy profile; they are truly a great national wealth, into which the sweat, toil and sacrifice of an entire people have been poured over a long period of time. Giving a traded commodity its true value, in the economic sense, is a necessity; it is the basis on which the nature of the economic activity that this product represents in the market is determined. The meaning of the value of electricity is broad and multifor... Treated as an energy source in the technical sense, and taking into account the heat released by one unit of it—1 kWh—it enters into precisely defined ratios with other heating fuels such as kerosene, liquefied gas, coal, firewood, etc. Based on technical efficiencies, the heat energy released by 1 kWh of electricity is considered equivalent to around 0.15 liters of kerosene, 0.5 kg of coal, 0.11 kg of liquefied gas, 0.16 m3 of natural gas, etc. Since the energy systems of different countries operate in an interconnected, parallel manner, and in this context energy is exchanged according to each country’s production capacity and requirements, the value of electricity is also recalibrated according to international market conditions. We are, of course, aware that another exceptional value of electricity, especially under the current conditions in our country, which distinguishes it from other forms of energy, is the convenience of its use. This value derives from the ideal ease of using it anywhere and at any time, its outstanding ability not to pollute the environment, and the extraordinary versatility of its applications for household needs through convenient, relatively low-cost appliances. This value of electricity, along with other factors, has had a powerful impact on the development of human civilization, particularly in the last decades of this century. In the paragraphs I have presented, with the assistance of well-known international institutions and their specialized missions for

-Bulgaria and Albania do not share a common border, but, as in the past, there are many things that link them today- On the second day of the official visit to Bulgaria, President Berisha and his wife, accompanied by the delegation, laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in the square in central Sofia. The honor guard and military band performed the national anthems of both countries. Then, at 9:30, the Albanian head of state was received by the Speaker of Bulgaria’s People’s Assembly, Zordanov. During this 30-minute meeting, Mr. Jordanov, after emphasizing the great importance of this visit for the course of bilateral relations, briefed the Albanian president and the delegation on the work carried out by the Bulgarian parliament. The Balkans and its problems then became the focus of the conversation, and both sides emphasized that conflict in the region could be avoided only through the contribution of every Balkan state. President Berisha then entered the assembly hall, where the Speaker of Bulgaria’s People’s Assembly introduced the Albanian president and gave a general overview of relations between the two countries. them today. As we make the difficult transition to democracy, we face similar problems. The exchange of experience in developing political and economic reforms is important, as is the utmost importance of developing these reforms,” Jordanov emphasized, along with the integration of our structures into European bodies. At the end of his speech, he expressed the Bulgarian side’s goodwill toward Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe, which Bulgaria will chair in May of this year. Then, in the presence of President Zhelev and the deputies, Mr. Berisha delivered his welcoming address before Bulgaria’s People’s Assembly, which was broadcast on Bulgarian television and radio. “Our two countries,” Mr. Berisha said, “like the countries of the East, freed themselves from the communist dictatorship and set out on the path of freedom, a market economy and the rule of law. But, alongside the many difficulties of moving from collectivization to a market economy, they encountered unexpected events and unforeseen difficulties. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain are undoubtedly great achievements for humanity in general and Western civilization in particular. But their replacement by the first wall of barriers and other psychological divisions—multiracialist, racist—is a major threat not only to our countries but to the entire continent. The fall of the Iron Curtain was therefore accompanied not only by the liberation of several states, but also of millions of people from the harshest dictatorships; yet we must acknowledge that it was accompanied by new phenomena, such as [unclear] its syndrome of Bosnia and the Zhirinovsky phenomenon, Serbian aggression, its encouragement by other nationalists, ultranationalism, xenophobic racism, and the surge of other imperialist interests and ambitions. “Our peninsula,” Mr. Berisha continued, “is immersed in a deep and extremely dangerous crisis. The war in Bosnia is the greatest Europe has experienced since the Second World War. In addition to being an act of aggression, this war was the prelude to a regional and wider war, the consequences of which would be unimaginable. We believe,” Mr. Berisha said, “that the aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina, a UN member state, and its fragmentation by force of arms, call into question the collective and individual security of the countries of our peninsula. We are very concerned about the relentless repression in Kosovo, where 2 million Albanians live in a compact territory and make up 90 percent of its population. Albania has declared that it opposes changing borders by force, but insists that if Belgrade moves the conflict to Kosovo, it will bear full responsibility for a regional war. Preventing such a war is one of the major and constant priorities of Albania, Bulgaria and the other countries interested in peace and stability.” In conclusion, President Berisha spoke forcefully in favor of developing a spirit of understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two countries. In the afternoon, President Berisha and the delegation accompanying him returned to their homeland.

It seems that the virus of lying, which entered “ZP”’s genes 52 years ago, has inevitably influenced its daughter, “KJ,” as well. You immediately get the impression that these two newspapers have become platforms for lies, slander, insults, demagoguery and destructiveness. It is as if they are competing to see which can slander, insult and lie more to the detriment of the DP, the President, the Government, democracy and Albania. In its 27 April issue, “KJ” also publishes a far-fetched lie when it “reports” on a scandal in the emergency service in Shkodër. The imagination of an author incurably ill with the virus of lying fabricates a gross fairy tale, aiming to kill two birds with one stone: discredit the law-enforcement authorities, the Government and the DP, and stir up dissatisfaction and disappointment among people, in order to draw me away from the path of democracy begun in 1990 and pull me into their fold. In any case, comrades at “KJ,” do not tire yourselves in vain. You continue the 52-year tradition of lying, with “ZP” as its standard-bearer; I, together with all the democrats of Shkodër and Albania, will continue along the path of democracy and the defense of national interests against our historic foreign enemies and their emissaries or domestic mercenaries.

S. Pellumbi: “If this meeting did take place, it would constitute a political moment.” P. Majko: “I do not feel enthusiastic about this meeting.” For several days, the Albanian newspapers … against the Albanians. … that the PS as a “political moment” about which it must

S. Pellumbi: “If this meeting did take place, it would constitute a political moment.” P. Majko: “I do not feel enthusiastic about this meeting.” For several days, the Albanian newspapers have reported the fact that F. Nano and R. Alia met in the prison cells. Strangely, there has been no reaction from the PS on this issue. “ZP” continues to publish stale articles and commentaries about Nano’s “unjust” imprisonment, but cannot find a single word to comment on the fact that badly discredited Nano and the PS (when we say Nano, we mean the Party and...). Why is it discrediting? Perhaps it needs little comment. The first article “RD” published about this fact mentioned that this could not simply have been a meeting between friends who missed one another, because there would have been no need to bribe the guards or use a tape recorder and camera for that. The fact that they met before their trial (this is not a misprint) also says a great deal. But beyond this circumstance, what is discrediting for the PS is the fact that the chairman of the “renewed” PS is meeting with a figure such as R. Alia, who is to be tried for genocide against the Albanians. And yet the PS remains silent. In any case, the “Voice of America” correspondent asked the opinions of two members of the PS leadership, deputy chairman S. Pellumbi and the Eurosocialist P. Majko. “The Socialist Party has no knowledge of this meeting. political moment for the PS. We will clarify the circumstances of this meeting”—this is what S. Pellumbi said three days ago, but so far there has been no “clarification.” Pellumbi makes it clear that the PS knows nothing about this meeting, thus once again attributing to himself the role of the Party, as happened with the PASOK statement. Pellumbi says that, if it took place, this will be a political moment for the PS. It is hard to believe that Pellumbi doubts that the meeting took place. In any case, irrefutable evidence of it exists, but let us see how capable Pellumbi will be of presenting this meeting to the PS leadership as a “political moment” on which a position must be taken. But what position should the PS take? P. Majko puts it clearly: “The decision about this meeting must have been made personally by Mr. Nano, since the PS leadership and parliamentary group know nothing about it. In any case, I do not feel enthusiastic about this meeting.” Of course, a Eurosocialist who claims to stand for European socialism cannot be “enthusiastic” about such discrediting, but the decisions in the PS are made by Dokle, Ruci and Brokaj, so it is easy to imagine what the PS’s position on this will be (if there is one). Nano has now become the figure discrediting the PS from every direction (and rightly so), but the PS’s propaganda (“ZP”) is doing no less by placing on Hoxha’s empty pedestal the head of F. Nano, the communist former prime minister imprisoned for corruption. EDI PALOKA

At the plenary session of the People’s Assembly on 28.4.1994, Deputy Ritvan Peshkepia, through his conduct, disrupted the order of the meeting. Although the Chair of the Presidium reprimanded him for improper behavior, he again used offensive words and attempted to provoke disorder. Deputy Ritvan Peshkepia has displayed such behavior on other occasions as well, although he rarely attends meetings of the People’s Assembly. Thus, from 20 January 1994, when the current session opened, up to today, he has taken part in the Assembly’s proceedings for only 3 days and has not attended any committee. Under Article 22, fourth paragraph, of the law “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” a deputy bears no legal responsibility for actions performed or positions taken in the exercise of his duties as a deputy, or for the vote cast; acts of hooliganism and insults are unrelated to the exercise of his duties, and for these he is legally responsible like any other citizen, etc. The conduct of Deputy Ritvan Peshkepia on 28 April 1994 violated parliamentary ethics and the order of the meeting; therefore, the Presidium of the People’s Assembly decided that Deputy Ritvan Peshkepia be barred from participating in the proceedings of the People’s Assembly session from 28 April to 12 May 1994. RD correspondent

PS THE PEOPLE'S VOICE THE VOICE OF THE N…[?] THE PEOPLE'S VOICE