THE FRENCH NEWSPAPER “LE MONDE”, dated 7.11.1994, publishes an article entitled “Albania: the difficult birth of democracy.” “Four years after the first student demonstrations of 1990, which dealt the first blows to one of the most dictatorial and absurd regimes on the entire communist planet, and two and a half years after the Democrats’ victory in the 1992 general elections, adoption of the new Constitution—which Western experts describe as fully democratic and exemplary—should have marked the final entry of the ‘land of the eagles’ into the circle of European states governed by the rule of law. In fact, this Constitution guarantees the separation of powers, establishes a parliamentary system and promotes a market economy. This text would replace the fundamental law of the communist era.” THE ENGLISH NEWSPAPER “THE TIMES”, dated 7.11.1994, publishes the article “Albanians vote for the charter of the future.” “Albanians voted yesterday on a post-communist Constitution, continuing their efforts to cast off decades of Stalinism... The Constitution fulfils the requirements for Albania to become a member of the Council of Europe.” THE ENGLISH NEWSPAPER “THE GARDIAN”, dated 7.11.1994, writes in one of its articles, among other things: “The Constitution, which establishes a parliamentary Republic, is seen as a key condition for Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe.” THE NEWSPAPER “INDEPENDENT”, things: “The new Constitution will guarantee freedom of belief and the separation of the judicial, executive and legislative powers.” THE ITALIAN NEWSPAPER “L’INFORMAZIONE”, dated 8.11.1994, publishes an article entitled “Albania, communist nostalgia wins. Disappointed by the possibility that the draft constitution might be rejected, the three Council of Europe reporters who came to Albania to observe the vote [are] also...” THE ITALIAN NEWSPAPER “STAMPA”, dated 8.11.1994, writes: “In Albania, the old order triumphs. The population has rejected the new Constitution, which defines Albania as a democratic country with a market economy that recognizes rights (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday, President Berisha received the Bishop of Ungro, Erkole Lupinaci, and the Arbëreshë scholar Anton Belushi. At this meeting, President Berisha highly praised the efforts of the Arbëreshë diaspora to preserve Albanian traditions, language, customs and everything else connected with the homeland of their ancestors. He highlighted the tireless work of many Arbëreshë scholars to document ancient Albanian culture in scholarly and literary works. Scholar Anton Belushi presented the President with his recent, generous work on the Albanians of Greece, a work that marks an important step in keeping Albanian traditions alive among the Arbëreshë of Greece. President Berisha thanked the Arbëreshë diaspora for the care it has shown toward many Albanians who have found a fraternal welcome among the Arbëreshë of Italy. The two friends from the diaspora, presenting him with a number of works on the culture and language of the Arbëreshë of Italy and Greece, expressed to President Berisha the Arbëreshë community’s wish to see the President visit them one day.

The President of the European Parliament, Mr. Klaus Hansch, sends a telegram to the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Mr. Arbnori, in which he thanks him for his congratulations on his election to the office of President. “All the messages I have received,” he writes, among other things, “are a great source of encouragement to me in my new role. During my term, I will do my utmost to strengthen the position and political authority that belong to the European Parliament as a democratic institution at the heart of Europe,” concludes the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Klaus Hansch.

- Latest announcement from the Central Referendum Commission FROM TVSH According to the announcement of the Central Referendum Commission, work continued yesterday as well, with the receipt of the minutes reporting the results

Shkoder - Vig Yesterday, the centre of the Commune of Thellë, in Vig, was unusually lively. Thousands of residents of this area, [arriving] from the city of Shkoder and the nearby villages of Hajneli, Kneles and Nenshat, attended the funeral of Vig’s beloved son, Mark Gjin Prenga, who was treacherously killed with a cold weapon while on duty by the PS member Paulin Lleshi Vllashi. Also attending the funeral ceremony were the Chairman of the PD branch in Shkoder, Mr. Ludovik Dega, the Chairman of the District Council, Mr. Ali Kazazi, and others. The area’s deputy, Mr. Pjeter Pepa, spoke about the life and activities of the late Mark Gjin Prenga: Mark Gjin Prenga had previously been politically persecuted by the communist regime for his anti-communist convictions. He joined the ranks of the PD in March ’91 and was the first chairman of the Democratic Party section in the village of Vig. Most recently, he had been elected chairman of the local branch of the Association of the Politically Persecuted. In the voting on 6 November, he was a PD observer at the polling station in Fushe-Vig. Despite suffering 12 years of political imprisonment, he had inexhaustible energy, which he put at the service of democratic processes. He left us at the age of 35, at the height of his vitality, which he placed at the foundation of Albanian democracy. In deep grief, the residents of this area accompanied the veteran PD activist Mark Gjin Prenga, father of three children, to his final resting place. The children lost their father, Vig lost its beloved son, and the Democratic Party lost its veteran and tireless activist. K. BUSHATI Shkoder, 9.11.1994

Yesterday, the Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly, Mr. Arbnori, received Kosovo's martyr, Mr. Adem Demaci. Yesterday, Arbnori, received Kosovo's martyr, Mr. Adem Demaci. Two former prisoners of the harshest dictatorships in Eastern Europe. “You are a symbol of Kosovo,” Mr. Arbnori told his brother Demaci. “Your suffering and perseverance are the suffering and perseverance of Kosovo. In this way, you also became a political leader, while also being a great intellectual.” For his part, Mr. Demaci said that every time he comes to Albania, he finds even greater progress. “Democracy is a source of support and security for us. We are pleased that Albania embraced Europe's new spirit. We highly value Democratic Albania, which raised the issue of Kosovo first, but we too are not indifferent toward Albania. We have our place and our dignity within the borders of the Balkans. We will triumph over darkness. Love is the foundation of today's world.”

REPORT On the irregularities observed by us during the handover of the materials concerning the conduct of the referendum by the Korçë District Commission 1. Thirty percent of the voter lists have not been signed by voters, and in the same proportion the identity-card number has not been recorded. 2. For people who voted using a certificate, the certificates were not submitted together with the other materials. Objections made by the district, municipal and commune commissions. - The secretary of the Voskop commune commission refuses to sign for political reasons. - The minutes of the Voskopojë commune commission are unsigned by the secretary of this commission because the minutes contain an objection stating that the PS observers appeared without authorization. - The minutes of the Maligrad commune (commission) state that the ballot papers were signed by the chairman and secretary of the KQVP before voting began. According to the objections in the minutes of the municipal commission, the PS secretary, Mos Stari, signed 490 ballot papers before voting began. - The minutes of the Veshatas commune commission indicate that there were unregistered persons. - The minutes of the Lekas commune show that the voter lists are more than twice as numerous; this same commission also issued no authorization to the observer. - The minutes of the Ravonik polling-station commission, Drenove commune, include an objection stating that the PS commission members arrived at the polling station at 11 o'clock on November 6. - The commission of the Vincan polling station, Voskop commune, reported 36 unsealed ballot papers. - In the communes of Libonik and Drenove and in Korçë municipality, voting was conducted without obtaining signatures or identity-card numbers. - The minutes of the Hallice polling station showed that the record was signed by three members, while the village of Protapape in this commune was not provided with the voter list by the commission. - In the village of Voskop, the chairman of the commune commission reports that we have received complaints from separate groups of people, and a person of this kind, such as Jetor Braholli, has repeatedly disrupted the elections, blocking the polling station as well and calling on people to vote “NO” on the Constitution. In addition, on Saturday, leaflets from the Socialist Party were illegally distributed at the doors of homes in the city and the village, calling on people to vote “NO” on the Constitution. - In Vlosht, the PD commission member, Astrit Gorambasi, reported to the PS commission chairman a violation that had taken place; two unknown individuals struck him in the chairman's presence. One of them was detained by law-enforcement forces. Section Manager Theodhor Theodhor

Subject: Information on violations observed during the referendum by the Presidium of the Albanian Democratic Party During the voting for the November 6 referendum, in addition to the violations verified and reported by the Elbasan District Central Commission to the Central Referendum Commission, we have new verified information that serious violations of the referendum law occurred at almost all polling stations in the communes and municipalities. We list these violations below: 1- There are voter lists that are unstamped, unsigned and not closed off after the last serial number, which left an opportunity for voters to be added even on Sunday. One such case is the addition made to the voter list at Polling Station No. 12, on the orders of the commission's Socialist secretary, Skender Katana. 2- In most polling stations, a large number of people voted without passports. 3- It has been verified at all polling stations in the district that fictitious passport numbers were recorded or no numbers were recorded at all. 4- On a very large number of lists, voters did not sign at all, or it is clear that the signatures were made by the same hand. 5- In Belsh Commune, the lists show that a large number of voters have the same passport number; such cases also occur in other communes in the district and in the city of Elbasan. 6- At the entrances to all polling stations in the city of Elbasan and in the communes, there were Socialist Party people who threatened those arriving to vote in order to make them vote against. A flagrant case was the punching of the Democratic Party observer Sander Zefi by a PS member. 7- On Saturday, November 5, and on Sunday morning, November 6, in violation of the law, PS members distributed voting leaflets in homes and villages. The chairman of the PS in Gracene Commune was caught red-handed with 100 such leaflets. For the Democratic Party Elbasan Branch C h a i r m a n URAN KOSTRECI

Reports from PD observers on the commissions raise concerns about irregularities in the registration of citizens on the voter lists, voting without identity documents, without signatures, etc. Such cases have been observed at polling station No. 11 in Lac, stations No. 3 and No. 6 in Fushe - Kuqe, station No. 1 in Fushe - Milot, stations 1 and 2 in Selite, etc. It is reported that 2,723 unfolded and completed ballot papers were found in the ballot boxes. "RD" Correspondent

Yesterday, Defense Minister Safet Zhulali held a special meeting with the Ambassador of the United States of America in Tirana, Jozef Eduard Leik. The meeting, which took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, was also attended by the American military attaché in Tirana, Colonel Stiven Buçi. Minister Zhulali briefed the new American ambassador on the work done and currently under way to integrate the Albanian army into NATO structures, on civilian control of the army, on drafting our defense doctrine, etc. On this occasion, he emphasized the benefits of the experience of the American army, through reciprocal visits, the contribution of the American team at the Ministry of Defense, etc. Highlighting the importance of the visit by the American Secretary of Defense, Mr. Perri, and the memorandum of understanding between Albania and the USA, Mr. Safet Zhulali emphasized the need for concrete assistance to our democratic society, for (Continued on page 2)

On the elections in the United States Republicans take control of Congress -ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY RESULTS- Americans entrusted Republicans with a majority in the United States Congress. Three hours after voting closed in the eastern and central parts of the United States, Republicans won eight Senate seats held by Democrats. According to projections by the two television networks Si-Bi-Es and Si-En-En, Republicans are also expected to secure a majority in the House of Representatives and thus control both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years. In this way, Republicans secured Senate seats held by Democrats in Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The White House attributed the strong Republican showing to a desire for change and a “vote against Washington.” (Continued on page 2)

YEAR IV OF PUBLICATION No. 802 Thursday 10 November 1994 Number of pages: 8 PRICE 5 LEKË PAGE 2 - TWO LAWS APPROVED - “THE IMPRESSION MUST NOT BE CREATED THAT A ROUND OF THE GREEK-ALBANIAN DUEL TOOK PLACE ON 6 NOVEMBER” PAGE 3 - ANOTHER 12.4 MILLION DOLLARS IN WORLD BANK LOANS PAGE 4 - ARE ALBANIANS “POORER” THAN BEFORE?! PAGE 5 - ZERQANI AND THE PRELUDE TO FREE HUMAN THOUGHT PAGE 6 - “SIDEWALKS OF SADNESS” A POETRY VOLUME BY EDMOND TUPJA, PUBLISHED BY PUBLISHING HOUSE “HIDA”, TIRANA 1994 PAGE 7 - “PARTIZANI” FINALLY REACHES “TIRANA” - ADVERTISEMENT PAGE 8 - NEWS FROM THE WORLD.

In light of the many statements in the press concerning the result of the nationwide referendum on the adoption of the Draft Constitution, I am authorized to state that, according to the information available to the Democratic Party from its own sources, some of which have also been confirmed by the Commission’s official results, there has been a considerable increase in the YES vote for the draft constitution. The results have not yet been confirmed and there are no official figures, but one thing is certain: the figures given by various newspapers are grossly exaggerated and do not come close to reality. These figures have not been confirmed by us or by official sources. Meanwhile, it has been reported that in more than 50% of the districts, the minutes have not been signed by all members of the polling commissions, as the law also requires. Serious violations have been observed in the preparation of the lists and registrations, in the violence inflicted in many districts and municipalities on members of the commissions and observers from the Democratic Party, and in the signing of the minutes. The major irregularities, serious violations of the election law, and extensive speculation about the official results and those not officially confirmed mean that the Democratic Party will maintain a firm stance against violations of the law, manipulation, and disregard for the results of the Central Commission for the Referendum on the adoption of the Constitution, the only official body competent to issue the final results. Spokesperson for the PDSH SOKOL BALLA

- Latest announcement from the Central Referendum Commission - to the announcement from the Central Referendum Commission, work continued yesterday with the receipt of the voting-results records from the district commissions. In some cases, the records have been accompanied, or continue to be accompanied, by complaints, objections and protests from political entities or individual commission members. Under Article 17 of the Referendum Law, the Central Voting Commission is required to examine all appeals submitted and issue the relevant decision within 3 days. This commission is working intensively and, within the legal deadlines and its own powers, will announce the nationwide referendum results as soon as possible. Secretary ARBEN BRAÇAJ Chairman VLADIMIR KRISTO

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE NOT REGISTERED ON THE VOTER LISTS On November 6, 1994, like all my fellow citizens, my wife and I went to the polling station in the “Mustafa Mahohiti” neighborhood in Tepelene to vote on Albania's draft constitution. (Continued on page 2)