An honor for the Albanian Parliament, an honor for its initiators—the 25 DP deputies REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY LAW ON AMNESTY ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF THE HOMELAND FROM THE NAZI-FASCIST OCCUPIERS Pursuant to Article 16, paragraph 6, of Law No. 7491, dated 29.4.1991, “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” of the Homeland, upon the proposal of a group of deputies, THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA DECIDED: ARTICLE 1 1. All persons sentenced to imprisonment or lesser penalties before the entry into force of Law No. 7382, dated 1 November 1990, are granted amnesty. 2. All persons sentenced to imprisonment for a criminal offense [text as printed: “1/6)”] of the remaining sentence are granted amnesty, as are all those sentenced who do not benefit from the preceding points of this article. 6. All persons who, as of 24.11.1994, have served 2/3 of their sentence are granted amnesty. ARTICLE 2 This amnesty does not apply to persons convicted of intentional criminal offenses resulting in death; persons convicted of sexual intercourse by force (Article 97 of the Criminal Code), sexual intercourse with minors (Article 98 of the Criminal Code), or robbery of state property or another person’s property (Articles 65 and 102 of the Criminal Code); or persons convicted of kidnapping (Article 94a of the Criminal Code). b) Persons convicted by the Court of Appeal. ARTICLE 4 Criminal proceedings are discontinued in all investigative cases, all cases not yet examined by the courts, and all reports made to these bodies and to the Public Order authorities concerning criminal offenses committed on 24.11.1994, for which the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of up to 1 year or any other lesser penalty. ARTICLE 5 The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Order, the General Prosecutor’s Office ... General Prosecutor’s Office, and the Court of Cassation are charged with implementing this law. ARTICLE 6 This law enters into force on 27.11.1994. Tirana, 24.11.1994 Law No.: 7876 CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDIUM PJETER ARBNORI ARTICLE 1 1. All persons sentenced to imprisonment or to lighter dated November 1, for up to 2 years, conditionally, or to a fine are granted amnesty. 3. All persons sentenced to imprisonment who were under 18 years of age when they committed the criminal offense are granted amnesty. 4. All persons sentenced to imprisonment or to lighter penalties who, as of 24.11.1994, have one year or less remaining to serve of their sentence are granted amnesty. 5. One third (recurrent) is deducted those Penal Code), sexual intercourse with minors (Article 98 of the Penal Code), as well as those convicted of robbery of state property and the property of others (Articles 65 and 102 of the Penal Code). One quarter of the remaining sentence is deducted for women convicted of criminal offenses provided for under Articles 83, 84, 65, 102 and 94a of the Penal Code. ARTICLE 3 For the purposes of this law, the following shall be considered convicted persons: a) Persons convicted by a court of first instance against whose judgment no appeal or protest has been filed with the Court within the legal time limit

NDREKE GJINI The initiated by 25 DP deputies and approved by Parliament two days ago, constitutes an act of great humanitarian significance. Through this act, the democratic state, by way of its highest body, Parliament, sent a highly meaningful message, one that best expresses the consistency and deepening of democracy, the establishment of the rule of law, and the elimination of the language and remnants of the communist dictatorial past. The dimensions of this act become more real, more tangible and more humane for all Albanians, because thousands upon thousands of families lived for years and decades with the profound anguish of pain for their sons and relatives languishing in terrible prisons. There were people under 18 years of age, imprisoned for an offense, to whom an opportunity is now being given to reform and integrate into normal life. The exclusion from this amnesty of those convicted of intentional criminal offenses resulting in death, or of those who committed sexual violence or had sexual relations with minors, and of those who committed large-scale robberies of state or private property in collaboration with others, as well as those who kidnapped people, is connected with the consistent protection and respect for individual freedom, the constitutional law guaranteeing the inviolability of the person, and respect for fundamental human freedoms and rights. Through this great humanitarian act, the amnesty approved by Parliament, all prisoners without exception benefit from one third of their sentence. Therefore, the political coloring that some opposition leaders are trying to give this act ... does not in the least diminish its humanitarian message. On the contrary, had things been done according to their prescriptions, by granting amnesty to specifically named individuals, this spectrum would have taken on political colors. This is best demonstrated, despite the cynical heralds of the opposition leaders’ politics, by the overall vote on this law: not a single vote against and only one abstention.

(Commemorative scientific session) On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of liberation The Institute of History of Tirana and the Institute of History of Prishtina, continuing their close cooperation, held yesterday in one of the halls of the National Historical Museum a commemorative scientific session devoted to the Albanian national question during the Anti-Fascist Liberation War. In addition to many historians, researchers, invited guests, etc., those present at the event included Prof. Shaban Demiraj, Chairman of the Academy of Sciences of Albania; Mr. Kolec Topalli, Secretary of the Presidency; Prof. Ylli Vejsiu; Mr. Meriman Braha, representative of the Ministry of Education of Kosovo; and others. In his opening remarks at the gathering, the Director of the Institute of History of Tirana, Mr. Kasem Bicoku, said, among other things: “RSP (PKSH), relying on Marxist theory and under the influence of Yugoslav emissaries, placed communist ideology first, not the national question. As a result, it did not link the struggle for liberation with the question of national unification; it even left the armed struggle against Kosovo—most of which had at that time been united with Albania—to the hands of the Yugoslav Communist Party (PKJ).” Prof. Ndreç Plasari’s paper, “The Position of the Albanian Communist Party and the National Liberation Front on the National Question,” was heard with particular interest. In it, the author addressed with scholarly objectivity the policy and activity of the PKSH and the FNC on the national question on both sides, the issue of liberating the country enslaved by the fascist occupiers and ... (Continued on page 2)

MENTOR SHEHU Yesterday, the meeting of the Tirana branch of the DP was held. Those present included the Secretary-General ... Constitution. The “No” vote was not a protest—it resulted from the way some government bodies were being run, which ...

Meeting of the Tirana branch of the DP the DP was held. Present were the Secretary-General of the DP of Albania, Mr. Tritan Shehu, deputies, and officials of the government and local authorities. The meeting was opened by Mr. Shaban Memia, secretary of the Tirana DP branch, who said that this meeting concerned not only an analysis of the referendum result, but mainly also matters of principle regarding the situation and work of the Tirana DP branch. The chairman of the Tirana DP branch, Mr. Dylber Vrioni, informed those present about the issues that had arisen at the DP of Albania’s National Council and, on that basis, analyzed the work of the branch leadership and sections, cooperation with local authorities, and the campaign for approval of the draft Constitution. The “No” vote was not a protest; it was the result of the way some government bodies were run, as they had performed poorly. The same thing happened in the central and local administrations. In his speech, Mr. Dylber Vrioni went on to say that, as the Tirana branch, during the referendum we did more in the rural areas, where the result was not as expected. This was mainly due to the poor work of some members of the branch leadership and section heads, as well as the poor and irresponsible work of the local authorities and the District Council. All of this, the chairman of the Tirana DP branch continued, should be of great value to us in correcting ourselves at every structural level, both within the DP and in government, at both central and local levels. Mr. Tritan Shehu, the Secretary... (Continued on page 2)

... IT IS BROADER THAN THE FREEDOM OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE TRAMPLED ON THE FREEDOM OF OTHERS, THE FREEDOM OF THE MAJORITY - The People’s Assembly’s adoption of the of Liberation, is another expression of the dimensions of freedom, another space for the emancipation of Albanian society. This amnesty, in the name of merit and its potential values, shows the emancipatory stage and progress of a democratic society that is not afraid to forgive and appeals for a vision of tolerance and unity. It will return to their families those who were under 18, those tried without a lawyer, and all the convicted who did not abuse their freedom during these stages so as to terrorize people through murder, robbery, kidnapping and flagrant rape, in violation of the law. This act demonstrates the strength of the Albanian state and society in freedom, and the democratic space in which no one loses except those on probation, who can be corrected and return repentant to a free life, without the “stain” on their biographies with which the rotten system punished them and locked them away in the galleys of communist prisons. Strangely, some pseudo-independent newspapers see nothing humane, no value in this, apart from provocative insinuations involving the last communist President, Alia, Nexhmije Hoxha and Fatos Nano. Thus, according to the newspaper “KJ,” “PD amnesty” means “everyone in prison”! According to these “independent” scribblers, since “the bloc members will remain in prison,” five members of the Greek minority will again be in prison, Socialist leader Nano will again be in prison”—everyone is in prison—and on the 50th anniversary of Liberation, “pickpockets will be released...” This newspaper’s logic reduces the Amnesty to such an extent that it calls it nonexistent, calls it nothing, if it does not release from prison those who turned Albania into one big prison and filled their pockets while Albanians lived in extreme poverty, having been driven to the very brink of existence. The “independent” newspaper “Koha jonë,” which identifies the Albanian Parliament with Dokle, will undoubtedly reduce—as it does—the issue of Amnesty to “the Nano and Alia issue,” their spiritual leaders who are giving lessons from Tirana prison. Gentlemen, Amnesty is broader than the freedom of a few individuals who trampled on other people’s freedom, the freedom of the majority. Your turning the initiative by 25 PD deputies to grant it into a ridiculous balloon and “bluff” analyses is not entirely your fault. Your old instincts compel you to see things in terms of existence. DUKAGJIN HATA communist dictatorship. The magnitude of this act becomes decades with the profound grief of sons of the homeland languishing in the dreadful prisons of the dictatorship. This amnesty gives a new dimension to the freedom we won with the triumph of democracy, by freeing hundreds of people who were tried without a lawyer from their shackles. This amnesty law also includes, in its scope, a humanitarian appeal on behalf of the younger people who were convicted of various offenses. The granting of amnesty to all those sentenced to imprisonment who, at the time of committing the offense

With Lutfiu Mane, former youth secretary and later instructor at the PP district committee in Librazhd, where he has been for some time. Lutfiu now works as a teacher at the secondary school in the village of Dorez, a few kilometers from the town of Librazhd, and is also a member of the leadership of the district PS. It seems that Lutfiu understood the referendum with greater conviction than I respected him, even though he had not convinced me, either, through political friendships. Certainly, it is right that Lutfiu, in his more political tone, again explained the veto ... ... the right, then I did not believe these statements! I did not believe them because a teacher cannot judge a student for his political convictions, much less for the draft constitution. Yet here is teacher Lutfiu making just such mistakes! Here is what Shpetim Hala, a fourth-year student at Dorez secondary school and secretary of the Socialist Forum for the Librazhd district, told the newspaper: “Just because I spoke at the rally organized by the PD in Librazhd as secretary of the Librazhd Socialist Forum, firmly supporting ... I will serve with ... Because of the harsh attitudes and leadership of the PS in Librazhd, and especially of my teacher, I decided to leave the Eurosocialist Forum,” Shpetim concluded. Strict measures have been taken by the PS leadership against all PS members who supported approving the constitution by referendum. In my opinion, this was not right, but a teacher cannot be forgiven for acting this way toward his student! Therefore, I call on comrade Lutfij to change his teaching tactics and be careful, because, according to my teachers, political parties should ... Only in this way will the teacher’s name and the teacher’s honorable image be preserved! REXHEP POLISI

From the meeting of the PD district branch in Korçë PETRAQ KITA On November 24, in one of the halls of the “Thimi Mitko” library in the city of Korçë, the district PD branch held its assembly. The meeting was attended by the delegate of the PDSH leadership and member of that leadership, Mr. Pieter Arbnori. Also present were the district council chairman, Mr. Pavljlo Lapanxa, and the mayor, Mr. Gjergji Gjinko. Before the meeting began, the PD branch secretary, Fredi Olli, invited those present to observe a minute of silence in memory of Mr. Pali Jorgji, chairman of the PD section in neighborhood 13, who died in an accident. The assembly met to analyze in detail the reasons that (Continued on page 2)

A rather lifeless summer passed at the border between the two countries. A dry summer, with a blinding sun, under whose scorching heat customs officers had nothing to do but smoke in silence and drink iced “Coca-Cola.” There were few visitors at the Kapshticë border crossing. Taxi drivers waited in vain on both sides of the border, as did the money changers. The two neighboring states, Greece and Albania, continue diplomatic negotiations to break this icy silence... After the November 6 referendum, it was Greece—its diplomatic circles—that hurried to declare its readiness to resume a dialogue of friendship with Albania. Greece even dropped the condition it had imposed on the Albanian government to release the five members of the Greek minority convicted of anti-national activity. Dozens of priests, on all Greek television channels, blessed and congratulated the people of southern Albania the day after the November 6 referendum for saying “No” to the Draft Constitution. The Greek Church thus, perhaps unintentionally, revealed its true face. It turned, so to speak, into a kind of opposition party inside Albania. It seemed as if the plight of some 70,000 refugees who had been sent back during the “trial of the five” had been forgotten. It seemed as if a heavy burden had been lifted for dialogue... But no. On this day Kapshticë is once again witnessing the disturbing scenes of refugees being returned. The troubling statements by the Greek Minister of Public Order, Stelios Papathemelis, about a resumption of clandestine Albanian emigration—which had been almost protestingly absent this summer, during which Greece closed its borders—continue to reverberate. The Ioannina police confirm the official news that 676 Albanian refugees who had entered Greece clandestinely were deported... Meanwhile, at the Greek customs post at Kapshticë, on Monday, November 21, dozens of refugees spent only a few hours there; Greek buses packed with refugees stood at the border, and buses crossed the border in a single day. They were all young people from every region of Albania. In place of the black dogs that Greek border guards used to set on refugees some time ago, Greek customs now “patrol” with a man using psychological methods, who checks refugees as they get off the buses. Constitution. The “No” vote as a protest was a consequence of the way some levels of government had been run; went on to say that we, as the Tirana branch, did more during the referendum some members of the irresponsible performance of the local authorities and the District Council. All this, the chairman of the Tirana PD branch continued, should be of great use within the PD and in government, at central and local levels. Mr. Tritan Shehu, Secretary (Continued on page 2)

- A TRANSITIONAL PROTECTORATE UNTIL A SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO PAGE 3 - VIOLATIONS AND MISAPPROPRIATIONS TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE STATE BUDGET PAGE 4 - ECONOMIC REFORM REQUIRES REFORMERS PAGE 5 - THE PARADE MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF LIBERATION, ON THE WAY TO THE PEOPLE-WIDE CELEBRATION OF 28 NOVEMBER PAGE 6 - THE SUBLEVEL OF DRAMATIC TEXTURE PAGE 7 - ADVERTISING FOR YOU PAGE 8 - FOOTBALL: AFTER THE BREAKUP OF THE “TIRANA”-“PARTIZANI” PAIR