Commenting on recent developments in relations with Greece and Prime Minister Papandreou’s statements, President Berisha said: There was no reason to cancel the meeting of the Foreign Ministers. Albania believes that continuing, rather than interrupting, dialogue helps overcome the difficulties in Greek-Albanian relations and ease tensions. I emphasize, the president said, that the arrest of the six minority citizens on charges that are already known took place several weeks before we agreed to hold this meeting. There have been no other arrests connected with the aforementioned process, but Albanian citizens of Greek and Albanian origin have been questioned as witnesses in full accordance with criminal procedure. In this matter, the independent justice system of the Albanian state has not sought, and will not seek, anyone’s permission. What I want to guarantee is a fair, open and independent judicial process. During this period, Greece has blocked the EU assistance for Albania’s balance of payments. This act seeks not only to block reforms, but, more than that, to divert Albania from its deeply European direction and orientation. On this occasion, however, I want to state and confirm that neither this blocking of balance-of-payments assistance nor any other Greek measures or decisions against Albania will be able to divert or shake its European orientation and our integration into Europe. I have confidence in the European Commission and the governments of the EU member states, and in their independent, positive assessment of Albanian policy as a factor of stability in the region, and of Albania’s prospects for expanding cooperation in the region, in keeping with the EU’s own strengths. Also (Continued on page 4)

Press conference of PDSH Chairman Eduard Selami: THE PEOPLE’S VERDICT ANSWERED THOSE CALLING FOR EARLY ELECTIONS Yesterday morning at the Palace of Congresses, PDSH Chairman Eduard Selami, accompanied by the party’s Secretary General and Deputy Chairman, Messrs. Tritan Shehu and Ali Spahia, respectively, [fragment as printed: “teper se gjithçka vleresojme ndryshimin dhe afrimin drejt demokracise.”] On this occasion, I also want to thank all the activists, sympathizers and members of the DP, as well as [fragment as printed: “por ne duart e Partise Socialiste.”] Unfortunately, the SP representatives in these communes have left room for misinterpretations and tension, because they do not want to accept it at all. In Greshicë, we were told that the SP representatives who had gone there to campaign had told the villagers that they should not accept the road the Democratic Government is building! It is better to walk through…

Yesterday morning at the Palace of Congresses, PDSH Chairman Eduard Selami, accompanied by the party’s Secretary General and Deputy Chairman, Messrs. Tritan Shehu and Ali Spahia, respectively, held a press conference for journalists following the conclusion of local elections in five communes in the country. THEY CALL held a press conference for journalists following the conclusion of local elections in five communes in the country. —MR. SELAMI’S STATEMENT TO THE PRESS— At the beginning of the conference, the PDSH Chairman made a statement to the press in which, among other things, he said: As you know, yesterday, 29 May, elections were held in five communes in the country. These communes represent all the areas of Albania’s mountain and hill villages, as well as the plains. In Libofshë in Myzeqe, in Greshicë and Ngracan in Mallakastër, in Reç in Dibër, and in Zall-Herr in Tirana, the DP achieved a convincing victory in yesterday’s vote. As the DP, we will work to win the commune of Zall-Herr as well, where there will be a runoff, next Sunday. These elections were distinctive in that the greater the DP’s victory, the greater the fall in the SP’s percentage. A comparison of the results itself is the best comment that can be made on yesterday’s elections. But I want, in my own name and on behalf of the DP, to thank from the heart all those voters in Mallakastër and Myzeqe, Dibër and Tirana, for the great confidence they showed in the DP, its two-year programme of government, and its efforts to build a free, democratic Albania. The confidence expressed in these elections represents the confidence of all Albania. This confidence is, and will remain, a very great responsibility for us as the DP: to implement its programme properly, with even greater commitment, in the countryside and in the cities, as a programme that has proved to be among the most successful in all of post-communist Europe. I want to emphasize that in three communes—that is, the communes of Mallakastër, namely Greshicë and Ngracan, as well as the commune of Libofshë—this was the first time since the four elections held in Albania that voters had voted overwhelmingly for the DP. Therefore, here before you, I want to thank from the heart all those who have voted for the DP for the first time during this democratic period. I want to assure them that, just as in our face-to-face meetings with them, they are welcome in democracy, and that above all we value change and the move towards democracy. the party’s leaders, for their contribution to this campaign. I think it was precisely the persistence, seriousness and high democratic culture of all those who took part in this campaign that played a role in the victory in these communes. I also want to emphasize that yesterday’s elections were the best answer to those political forces that have made new elections their political slogan, trumpeting it since 23 March ’92. At the same time, this victory was major support, bearing in mind the fact that we are in an extraordinarily important period of reform. The realistic campaign we conducted, our direct contact and open dialogue with people, have enabled us to approach many of the problems facing the country with the same seriousness with which we discussed them, and to try to overcome them together. —DIALOGUE WITH JOURNALISTS— After Mr. Selami’s statement, questions and answers followed. “What is your view of the SP press conference about the incident in Libofshë? Did the socialists’ calls, ‘Do not vote for those who convicted Nano,’ affect the election results?” These were two questions from Edi Paloka of RD. “Yes,” Mr. Selami said, “I am aware of the press conference held yesterday and of the statement made by the SP. My view is that the facts in that statement have been distorted. It is enough to mention the claim that the organizers of the incident were Mr. Tritan Shehu and Mr. Lefter Uka, when it is known that Mr. Shehu was not in Libofshë at all yesterday. I have commented before in Gazeta Shqiptare, where I said that this artificial tension was a forewarning of the defeat the SP suffered in these communes, which, as their leader also said, they regarded as the SP’s Stalingrad. I think that if there have been violations or incidents, the competent authorities should take action. But I also want to mention that in the two areas where violations have been alleged, responsibility lies with the electoral commissions, which were not DP commissions but, rather, Socialist Party commissions. for misinterpretations and tension, because they refuse to accept that, regardless of who chairs a commission, its only duty is to conduct the elections, not to influence which party wins. “In response to the question of whether the focus on the Nano issue affected this election campaign, Mr. Selami replied: “I have gone to almost all the villages, and not just once; I have met dozens of people and heard their comments and suggestions, but on no occasion was I asked about the ‘Nano’ issue. The SP’s decision to focus its campaign on the ‘Nano’ issue was a miscalculation. “Dylejman Karaj of RD asked Mr. Selami for his view on the decline in the percentage of votes won by the SP, the participation of the AD, and the very small percentage of votes received by the other parties. Mr. Selami replied: “I think it is their right to analyze this. My view is that the SP’s policy during this period has been one of tension, a nihilistic policy, a policy that has unfortunately defended those who have been brought before justice. The unfair campaign and the lies spread by the socialist leadership and press have also played a part. I was especially pleased to go and talk with people in Reç or Libofshë, and then, when they read ZP a few days later, to have them come and tell me that things we had never discussed had been written about us—lies had been published. This was counter-propaganda, but it was just as useful to our propaganda. We were in Libofshë and spoke before 2,000 people. We spoke for about two hours. We did not insult or offend anyone. In fact, when asked whether they considered it the imposition of a dictatorship if the SP won, we answered no. Yet, strangely, a day later we were described as criminals and fascists, and people were told, ‘Don’t vote for dictatorship,’ ‘Don’t vote for the dictator.’ People did the sums correctly, which is why I think this unrealistic and deceptive campaign conducted by the SP did not harm us, but only the party that lies and slanders. I would also say that the lack of an alternative played a role. Look at their propaganda and press: partisan, unfocused, without any alternative, just slander and claims about what Selami or someone else supposedly said or did. the road had been narrowed and that the Democratic Government was building it, and that they should not accept it! ‘Better to walk through the thorns than accept it!’ I thought this was a clever enough saying; it did not insult or denigrate anyone. I said that you are unable to draw conclusions. This is a moment when many honest people within the SP, and the party itself, should reflect. “I repeat once again that the ‘AD’ is on the Albanian political scene thanks to the DP’s stolen mandate. When, for the umpteenth time, you cannot put forward a single candidate, the result speaks for itself. I am convinced that the voting system of yesterday is relative; in the long run, the system of the two big parties will continue.” Erion Braçe of ZP asked why the DP had won in Zall-Herr only where soldiers had voted, and why they were prejudging the Libofshë votes when the result had not yet been announced. Mr. Selami answered: “If what you say is true, I would like to thank all those young men doing their military service who voted for the DP.” (Applause in the room.) “I see no difference of any kind: the free vote is the foundation of democracy, and everyone has the right to vote according to their political convictions. In any case, we won not only at the polling station where there were soldiers, but at others as well, regardless of the overall result. ZP’s propaganda about the soldiers is wrong. In 1991, we counted the soldiers’ votes for Ramiz, but it is known that he lost. So no change should be made; that period is now behind us.” Regarding the second question, Mr. Selami said that they had confirmation of the election results from other sources and independent representatives. Mr. Spahia answered the same ZP journalist’s question about the incident in the commune of Roskovec: “I heard from villagers that the chairman of the commune of Roskovec had entered the polling station and brandished a pistol, which was then taken from him and handed over to the law-enforcement authorities. In other cases, such as those they describe in Libofshë, I did not see any kind of incident. I have had many meetings with DP and SP sympathizers. (Continued on page 2)

—The SP loses even in communes it had won on 26 July 1992 —The regularity of the elections and the results are also confirmed by independent associations and other observers. —The SP also loses in communes it had won on 26 July 1992 —The regularity of the elections and the results are also confirmed by independent associations and other observers. From the start of the campaign, the 29 May elections for commune heads in Libofshë, Greshicë, Ngracan, Zall-Herr and Zall-Reç were at the center of attention of the press and the propaganda of the parties that fielded candidates. But the news spread even further, and these elections were emphasized and promoted not as an event of narrowly local scope and character. This was determined to a great extent by the SP’s hysterical, absurd, often unlawful propaganda, lacking journalistic and civic ethics, with its completely discredited standard-bearer, at home and abroad, ZP. Knowing only how to engage in demagoguery, manipulation, lies, slander and insults—the eternal faithful servant of its own E. Hoxha and his anti-Albanian and anti-democratic bequests—it committed itself to and prepared for the final battle with its Don Quixote-like weapons. For its campaign, an army of commissars, experienced in the art of deception and physical and psychological intimidation, was deployed in the field, along with substantial financial resources drawn from inherited wealth and today’s accumulation of red business. From the Socialist headquarters, creatively implementing Chairman Nano’s directives from his cell, the battle cry was issued: this little battle should be considered “the final battle on earth”; it had to be won at all costs, with every weapon. According to the Socialist “strategists”—or, more accurately, fortune-tellers—the voters in these communes would not value what they had gained in two years of democracy; they would cast it aside and return to the Socialist “paradise” of cooperatives, collectivization, ration coupons, class struggle, prisons and internment camps—in other words, they would voluntarily demand yesterday’s dictatorship instead of the true democracy they enjoy today. It is clear that the SP propagandists were deceiving themselves; they were the first victims of their dreams and (Continued on page 2)

FITORE E MADHE E PD DHE HUMBJE E THELLE E PS FALENDEROJME POPULLIN E ATYRE ZONAVE TE MALLAKASTRES E TE MYZEQESE QE VOTUAN PER HERE TE PARE PER PD. JENI TE MIREPRITUR NE PD. MIRENJOHJE EDHE NJE HERE POPULLIT DEMOKRAT TE RECIT SI DHE ATIJ TE ZALL-HERRIT REZULTATET E PESE KOMUNAVE, PROVA ME E MIRE PER MBESHTETJE NDAJ PD-SE, QEVERISE DHE PRESIDENTIT BERISHA REZULTATET E ZGJEDHJEVE PERGJIGJA ME KUPTIMPLOTE NDAJ KERKESES SE OPOZITES PER ZGJEDHJE TE PARAKOHSHME.

No. | Communes | 29 May 1994 | PDSH | PSSH | Others | | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % 1. GRESHICA - 67.8 - - - 2. LIBOFSHA 2525 66.4 1086 29.1 115 2.2 3. NGRACANI 1 300 66 156 34 7 0.1 4. ZALL REÇ 775 55.7 263 18.9 353 25.4 5. ZALL HERR 940 33.46 1302 46.35 567 20.2 6. NGRACAN 2 241 54 144 32 64 14 TOTAL 26 July 1992 For the DP, votes = 3247 For the SP, votes = 4173 29 May 1994 = 4781 = 2807 The DP received 1534 more votes than on 26 July 1992, or 47% The SP received 1366 fewer votes than on 26 July 1992, or 32.7%