- The socialist leaders’ fixed idea: regaining power by any means - Before even starting work, Dokle calls the new ministers incapable EDI PALOKA “The Meksi government is more incapable than the previous ones”—PS deputy chairman N. Dokle could not hold back and declared in an interview. The new ministers have not yet taken their seats, but Dokle immediately analyzes work they have not even begun. There is nothing surprising about this. It is the same policy, the same methods the socialist leaders used after 22 March, when they immediately called for new elections. The government formed after the March ’92 elections would not only fail to receive their vote of confidence, but would become the target of illogical attacks by the PS and “ZP” from its very first days. They, the authors of Albania’s destruction, the implementers of the “scorched earth” policy of ’90–’91, did not hesitate to blame the newly formed first democratic government for everything. Afterwards, the game would continue: denying everything positive and raising various problems. They accused the democratic government of failing to establish order, when everyone well remembers that in ’90–’91 people did not dare go out into the streets because of the chaos that prevailed. They accused it then, and they continue to accuse it now. G. Ruçi, the former interior minister, accuses it of “dictatorship”; the former communist prime minister Nano and former “ZP” editor-in-chief Dokle accuse it of trampling on December’s democratic ideals. At a time when Albania ranks first in Eastern Europe for economic growth, and changes in living standards are indisputable, those who, when in power, told Albanians there was no more than five days’ worth of bread now accuse the new government of doing nothing for the economy and development. You would have to be extremely naïve not to understand what such a destructive policy is aiming at. It is destructive not merely because it denies development, but because it obstructs it through concrete actions. The attempts were working. because it obstructs it through concrete actions. The attempts and ”ZP”. “scorched earth” policy of ’90–’91, did not hesitate at all Then the denigration and denial of everything positive would continue, along with the magnification and exaggeration of every negative phenomenon. The leaders of the PS shamelessly declared themselves defenders of the underprivileged and blamed the new government for problems they themselves had caused. They accused the democratic government of leaving people unemployed, at a time when, when they were in power, almost nobody had bread; they and development. You would have to be extremely naive at. It is destructive not simply concrete actions. Attempts to block Parliament, the deliberate obstruction of local government where they hold power, political efforts to sabotage Albania’s integration into Europe, secret agreements at the expense of Albanian refugees, the incitement of absurd strikes and everything of a similar kind are part of a… Albanians have the logic and the knowledge to know what they can expect from people like Dokle and his associates. Certainly, no one expects Dokle, in keeping with Albanian customs, to say “Good luck with your work,” but the PS leaders, through their actions, leave people no illusions about their destructive aims. They are declaring quite clearly that they will sabotage any other kind of government, and that they will govern because they will not have power in their hands again. In any case, it will be the Albanians who decide in 1996 whether to return power to those who know only total destruction as a way of governing.

Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi and the delegation he led were received yesterday at the People’s Assembly of Egypt by the Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Ahmed Faki Duorn. The meeting discussed further expansion of the traditional friendly relations between the two countries, future cooperation between the two parliaments, and the situation in the region. Mr. Duorn expressed his interest in developments in democracy in Albania, the pace of progress of economic reform, the expansion of relations with other states, and in particular relations with neighboring countries. Prime Minister Meksi, speaking about the progress of economic reform in Albania and the difficulties facing the government during this period of transition, emphasized the government’s determination to continue along the path of democracy, along the road it had set out on. Afterwards, Prime Minister Meksi and the accompanying delegation visited the hall and museum of this parliament. The Albanian delegation then visited the citadel of Muhammad Ali in Cairo and the ancient city of Luxor. During the visit, the Albanian delegation was accompanied by Albania’s ambassador in Cairo, Mr. Fanuk Borova, and Egypt’s ambassador in Tirana, Mr. Ahmad N.M. Issa.

- President Berisha’s meeting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey President Berisha received the Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey, Army General Ismail Karadaj. “I am pleased to welcome you to Albania and to confirm that relations between our two peoples and countries are very good and offer broad scope for friendship and cooperation,” President Berisha said. “I would also like to express my deep gratitude for the very valuable assistance your country has given and continues to give Albania in all fields, including the military. Our army is engaged in a profound restructuring reform, during which we have valued your support. Through this reform, we aim to adopt the standards of Western armies.” General Karadaj conveyed warm greetings from President Demirel and Prime Minister Ciller, who assured President Berisha of their full commitment to strengthening friendship and comprehensive cooperation between our two countries. He said that Turkey is ready also to ... Photo: A. Bahani

Statement by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni on the problem of families flooded by Lake Fierza, given to TVSH Continuing the work to implement the President’s decree and the Council of Ministers’ decision on resolving the problem of land belonging to families whose homes and land were flooded by the Fierza Hydroelectric Power Plant, a working meeting was held yesterday ... The chairmen of the affected districts will immediately go and determine the number of families most urgently needing to relocate. The receiving districts, which are Durres, Lushnja, Lezha and ... Kukes, Has, Tropoje and Puke, were represented at the meeting by the special group established by the government to follow up this issue, the Secretary of State for Local Government, Mr. Kosovrasi, and MP Ali Spahia. The meeting discussed at length the concrete measures that must be taken decision. At the conclusion, the parties agreed on the following points: Relocation is to begin immediately for the 650 families identified as affected by flooding; this is to be done proportionally, according to the number of flooded families in each district. The relevant district chairmen urgently needing to relocate. The receiving districts, namely Durresi, Lushnja, Lezha and Kurbini, will take immediate measures to provide land and a place for the arriving families to settle. The government was tasked with taking immediate measures and arranging, through the Housing Agency, the funding for this large-scale relocation. A meeting with the chairmen of the receiving districts has been scheduled for Monday, while another meeting has been planned for the following day to review and monitor implementation of the tasks assigned today.

Gramoz Ruçi—the former interior minister at the time of Shkoder’s tragic April 2, who has still not received what he deserves as such; the mastermind behind identical scenarios in several other cities after 31 March ’91. One need only recall the siege of the PD headquarters in Tirana, with snipers on apartment-block rooftops and special units provoking people in order to trigger reprisals. Gramoz Ruçi, this former minister whom Ramiz Alia described as “the party’s iron hand in its difficult moment after December 1990”; Gramoz Ruçi, the minister of violence and terror who made compromising documents from the Ministry of Internal Affairs disappear; Gramoz Ruçi, the minister who implemented the exodus scenario, which brought further crimes and missing people in its wake, for example on the ship “Partizani”, which failed to leave the port. This dark record of crimes and massacres committed by this former minister of the PPSH and of R. Alia could be continued with many more facts. They are medals on his chest, “merits” that bear witness and also serve to justify his presence as the “renewed” PSSH’s secretary-general. Who else could the PS trust more than this responsible figure when it comes to inventing slanders about the lives of others, allegedly brought about by the police and law-enforcement forces? Comrade Ruçi assumes this responsibility whenever he is called upon, in the PS’s shadow, as though he were interior minister. Ruçi took on this role as a slanderer in parliament on Thursday as well, fabricating events like those in yellow-back crime novels—scenes that exist only in the mind of an incurable nostalgist who is unwell. Ruçi’s allegations in Parliament about the “terror” supposedly inflicted by law-enforcement bodies on 6 November, when “policemen with knives in their mouths and pistols in their hands” massacred the people, are merely the product of a criminal’s imagination, but also part of the PS leaders’ strategy and their policy of expanding their power. They forget that Albanians are alive and would have seen “policemen with knives in their mouths” on 6 November. If it had been as Ruçi says, they would have seen them just as they saw Ruçi’s policemen when he was minister. Ruçi forgot to talk about the scenarios he had prepared, again as he did back then; he fabricated events like those in yellow-back crime novels, scenes did back then, even on 6 November. In any case, Ruçi does well to show his face on screen, because this reminds Albanians of the period when he was interior minister, when crime flourished and Ruçi’s police batons were used to keep the communist regime on its feet. Look at this photo: the minister of that time, G. Ruçi, dares today to accuse the democratic government of terrorizing and massacring people with the police. It is G. Ruçi whom the PS has prepared once again for the post of interior minister should it ever come to power. Tirana, 29 May 1991

Is it lawful for flooded land to be recognized only as building land, compensated in cash and replaced with first-category agricultural land, and are the objections to the quality of the land the state has given these farmers justified? Yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the following to us regarding these questions: The government issued Decision No. 306 nearly six months ago, concerning the resettlement of residents of the districts of Kukes, Has and Tropoje whose lands were flooded by the waters of Lake Fierza. The President of the Republic’s decree was also issued, enabling loans of up to 150 thousand new lek per person. Furthermore, pursuant to Decision No. 306, the amount of land to be made available to the farmers who will relocate has also been determined, although, according to sources at the Ministry of Agriculture, thousands of hectares of undistributed land remain in the districts mentioned above. It has been (Continued on page 2)

Recently, illegal crossings of the border via Lake Shkodra towards “Montenegro” have increased considerably in the district of Malësia e Madhe. As a result of these crossings, for various reasons, residents of towns and areas have lost their lives while using unsuitable watercraft that did not meet any technical standards. In the early hours of the morning of December 15, 13 people aboard a primitive boat sank in the lake. Nine people, including a woman, drowned, while the other four managed with difficulty to reach the shore. State authorities and local residents have begun efforts to find the bodies of those who drowned.

President Berisha yesterday received Mr. Aristidh Koli, chairman of the “Association of the Arvanites of Greece” and editor of the Arvanite periodical “Besa”. “I would like to congratulate you on the highly valuable efforts that you and your association, the ‘Association of the Arvanites of Greece’, as well as your periodical ‘Besa’, have made and continue to make to preserve and revive the Albanian language, tradition and culture. Your work serves not only to preserve your cultural identity, but also understanding and harmony between our two peoples and countries,” President Berisha told Mr. Koli. Kollokotroni, Bubulina, Ali Farmaki, Marko Boçari and dozens of Albanians, heroes of the Greek revolution, are also Albanian heroes and heroes of freedom. The meeting went on to discuss the changes that have taken place in the life of the Greek minority compared with 1987, when Mr. Koli first visited Albania. Regarding the issue of the treatment of the Albanian minority in Greece, President Berisha said that the Albanian government considered it important to ensure their human rights and treat them in accordance with contemporary European standards, so that they could serve the friendship between our two peoples, the oldest in the Balkans. “We have recently observed,” President Berisha said, “a mutual willingness to reduce tensions. For our part, we will not cease our efforts to find common ground for cooperation with the Greek government, and we are ready for talks at any level between the two sides.” Mr. Aristidh Koli expressed the view that, alongside politicians, the ties between prominent intellectuals of the two peoples could play a special role in efforts to improve relations between the two countries and counter extremist positions. “Now in Greece,” he said, “among Greek intellectuals there is a discernible tendency towards good relations between our two countries. The Arvanites and the efforts of the Association of the Arvanites of Greece are trying to make their contribution in this direction.” Press and Information Office of the President

It was Macedonian President Gligorov who promised the opening of an Albanian-language university in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but today, on the day of its inauguration, the Skopje government has called it “unconstitutional” and has stated that it will take all measures to prevent it from operating. Using violence, the Macedonian authorities partially demolished the building of this Albanian-language university with a bulldozer, and summoned members of the ministerial council for the establishment of the Albanian-language university in Tetovo to so-called “informative talks” at the police station. In protest against these acts of violence by the Macedonian authorities, the deputy prime minister and minister of national affairs of Tetovo resigned. The chairman of the initiating council, Dr. Fadil Sulejmanaj, has expressed his determination to “see this problem through to the end” and said that, as planned, the building will be inaugurated today. “The University is a spiritual necessity of the Albanians, and the Albanian people in the Former Yugoslav Republic of (Continued on page 2)

Section: Conversation with members of the Democratic Party of Albania Page 2 Two former court presidents arrested Page 2 Hajdin Sejdia promises to repay his debts Page 3