President Berisha meets with the UN Secretary-General President Berisha returns together with success About the visit of President Berisha in New York At the “Voice of America” in New York, at the Plaza Hotel, in honor of President Sali Berisha, a dinner was held, in which prominent personalities, artists and members of the Albanian community in New York and New Jersey took part. The dinner the night before last opened with a prayer in Albanian by Imam Isa Hoxha and in English by the Chancellor of the Albanian Orthodox Church in America, Father Artur Liolini. A very pleasant surprise for those present and for President Berisha himself, who arrived in the hall for a few minutes, was Cardinal Ohaner of the Catholic Church of New York. President Berisha thanked Cardinal Ohaner for his presence and briefly informed him about Albania’s endeavors to open and rebuild religious institutions. At the dinner, thanks were also given to the American ambassador in Tirana, Xhozef L[e]j, and to the organizer of the dinner and chairman of the Albanian-American Entrepreneurs Fund, Domnek Skajlone. Finally, the guests were greeted by the honorable guest, President Berisha, who thanked those present and called on them to help, through investments, Albania’s economic progress. President Berisha meets with the UN Secretary-General The Kosovo issue at the center of attention Yesterday afternoon, at the headquarters of the United Nations, the President of the Republic of Albania, Sali Berisha, was received by the Secretary- General of the United Nations, Boutros-Boutros Ghali. After the meeting, which was held behind closed doors for journalists, President Berisha stressed that with the UN Secretary-General he had discussed in particular the important problems in the Balkan region, especially the question of Kosovo. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, said Mr. Berisha, had promised him that at the next UN meeting the question of Kosovo would be included in the agenda. On this occasion, Mr. Boutros Ghali expressed support for the preservation of the rights and freedoms of the Albanians in former Yugoslavia. ATSH An open, friendly spirit and great goodwill Interview of the President of the Republic Mr. Sali Berisha given to Mr. Elez Biberaj, head of the Albanian section of the radio “Voice of America” - Mr. President, today you are ending your visit to the USA. Are you satisfied with the talks you held with President Clinton? Today I am ending my visit to the USA and I am leaving very satisfied with the talks I had at the White House with President Clinton. I can confirm that these talks were characterized by an open, friendly spirit and great mutual goodwill, and a determination to move forward the Albanian-American relations. In these talks I asked President Clinton that the USA help Albania and the Albanians in achieving their two great strategic objectives: the creation of the democratic space for Albanians wherever they are, the rule of law and the market economy, and on the other hand support for rapid economic growth and Albania’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. President Clinton assured me that the USA highly value Albania’s great achievements in the field of the rule of law and the market economy and that in the future they will be more engaged in consolidating these achievements and their progress. I think the areas in which cooperation must be carried out are very broad. President Clinton informed me that he has decided to add another 46 million dollars in American aid for Albania, and other aid not included in this amount, which the USA will give to Albania. An important place will also be taken by the Albanian issue and especially the problem of Kosovo. President Clinton assured me that the American diplomacy, his administration and he personally attach particular importance to firmly upholding a red line, which had been declared by President George Bush and then repeatedly reaffirmed by President Clinton, and that in addition the president, the administration and the state parliament will be seriously engaged until the realization of the freedoms and human and national rights of the Albanians in Kosovo. I think that this meeting and these talks were very important and truly opened a new chapter in the important, now very good and friendly relations between our two countries. - Mr. President, are you opti- mistic that you can take some step toward resolving the issue of the Albanians in former Yugoslavia? I am optimistic that American diplomacy, President Clinton and his administration and the Senate, Congress will become intensively engaged for a fair solution to the issue of the Albanians in Kosovo, and I am convinced that this is a very serious, very important concern of the president and his ministers. -In the official statement, which the White House issued after the meeting you held with President Clinton, the excellent relations between Albania and Greece were welcomed. However, yesterday your visit was met by a Greek offensive campaign against your visit, raising accusations that, allegedly, the Albanian government does not respect the rights of the minority. What is the real situation of the Greek minority and can it be said that your diplomats, your embassies abroad have explained the issue as they should from your point of view? I think that between our government and the Greek minority in Albania and its presentation in the international community there is a discrepancy and work must be done in this direction to present the reality, which is one of the realities that most honors Albania. It is true that the Greek lobby, and not all of it, but some extremist elements of this lobby have engaged in minimizing reality. I can say that their attempt only helped me to shed light on, to fully illuminate, the achievements of Albania in this direction, the last country to sign the Helsinki Charter, but I can say with pride that it is one of the first countries that, according to OSCE documents, has fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria. I found full understanding in the American administration, Senate and Congress for the great achievements Albania has recorded in this direction and a great, undisputed appreciation. - Mr. President, the Pentagon described the talks you held with Secretary Perry as very successful. Can you give us some details about the development of military relations between the two countries? I can say that military relations between Albania and the USA are among the most advanced in Eastern Europe. They are practically becoming in some way equivalent, morally and also in concrete acts, to the relations this country has with the other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance. We decided to expand these relations in all fields with the aim that Albania would gradually become capable of joining the North Atlantic Alliance as an aspiration. The USA committed themselves to increase their technical aid, joint Albanian military maneuvers and to help in logistics and in the creation of the company of representatives in peacekeeping forces in anti-aircraft and anti-tank defense and at the same time in better control of the sea and air space. I say that this is a very broad spectrum of cooperation between our two countries and I parted from the meeting with Secretary Perry very satisfied. - Just one more question, please. A large number of Albanians live in the USA. What role can the Albanian-American community play in supporting reforms in Albania? I have spent two days living among the Albanian community. I appreciated the Albanian community, because Albanians are proud of it and their contribution, both in history and especially their recent contribution to the overthrow of the dictatorship, is an extraordinarily important contribution. The message to the Albanian-American community was: If they watch over the centuries of suffering, the times most difficult but God has kept us in the closeness of the creation of hope, meaning we are indestructible. What we all must achieve together is to work, to develop and to survive.

They are not angels By Dr. LIMAN DACI However, the leftist is stubborn. Just like his party, he does not give in easily. Once he is absolutely convinced, and “you have to call a pig uncle,” otherwise you are in for trouble with him. Let the world say what it wants, - he says, he cares only about himself, and according to him there is only one truth, namely that “during these 1001 days and nights, the democratic government has produced so many crises and failures that it has significantly devalued even those achievements and efforts made, thanks also to the democratic system itself” (“ZP”, 24 August 1995). Fine, if that’s all, because it can be even worse. With the inheritance that the extremist socialists have, with that Marxist upbringing, with that composition and pro- gram they are armed with, insulting and denigrating the achievements of reform in Albania is not enough. They can do even more. They could even force mules to mate and give birth to foals! MORE ON PAGE 4

Assessments of President Sali Berisha’s visit Peter Lukas: Berisha reacted like a true statesman The correspondent of the Voice of America radio spoke with the American journalist of Albanian origin, Peter Lukas, regarding his assessments of the visit of the Albanian president, Mr. Sali Berisha, to the USA. Journalist Peter Lukas emphasized that the visit of the Albanian President is not only an event of importance in the Albanian-American bilateral relations, but also a notable moment for the Albanian community of Boston. Mr. Lukas said that it was the first time President Berisha had visited Boston as President of Albania. The visit served to further strengthen the ties between the community, which was the base of Noli and Konica, and Albania. President Berisha’s visit should be assessed in the context of Albania’s efforts to attract foreign investors to Albania. Mr. Lukas added that there was a university incident in Boston that was handled with great maturity by the Albanian President and did not do anything (Continues on page 2)

Servet Pëllumbi's comment Servet Pëllumbi’s comment One more piece of evidence for the anti-American passport DUKAGJIN HATA The anti-American passport and the PS’s stance is now a directly confirmed issue, which differs very little, if at all, from Pol Pot’s bombastic rhetoric against the “Anglo-American revisionists, for Albania.” The difference has to do not so much with the substance of the issue, as with the somewhat more moderate way, with somewhat softer tones, in which the socialist presents the new relations between Albania and the West after the end of the Cold War. The leaf grows, in fact, with an anachronistic Marxist style and proudly upholds the values of the deputy leaders of the PS. Servet Pëllumbi, yesterday in “ZP” in the column “Pëllumbi Comments on Berisha” and in the title “We are for real and lasting ties, not for declarations only for personal credibility” while prejudging Dr. Berisha’s interview given to the CNN television network, Pëllumbi in a preconceived notion views and obscures the President’s visit to Washington, a highly successful visit that can and should raise Albania’s relations with the USA to the zenith. It is a question of a very visible similarity and the Albanian President’s desire to bring our military bases closer for NATO forces “as an act of forgiveness among human beings” continues to portray in the style of Diktator Hoxha himself NATO, this major institution of peace and stability in the world. Pëllumbi accused the Government of Meksi and the President of the Republic of “a marked lack of transpa- rency” and of “a total legal action that would demand any effective, civil and parliamentary control” regarding integration matters, the aspiration of Albanian society and the structures of the democratic state, among which, of course, aspects related to NATO and the USA are among the most successful. It is precisely this reasoning that the socialist leader tags Berisha’s visit to Washington in political tones, because Pëllumbi knows that from America comes the message of the open society of the free world and not primitive codes of communist internationalism. Pëllumbi is worried that Dr. Berisha’s statement about bringing NATO closer to the Albanian military bases in air operations against Serbian military objectives would be a card for personal credibility, and meanwhile he does not fail to say, that “our country has the people as its god,” while in his own way implying that the Albanian President was elected in a pluralist parliament that emerged from the people’s vote. The Marxist Pëllumbi and his fanatical clan, which currently leads the P.S., will find it difficult, if not impossible, to overcome the inherited concepts of the USA as “the international gendarme of the peoples” and NATO as “the machine of military aggression to suffocate the light of the peoples of the world.”

Inside Zef Brozi commits serious blackmail PAGE 3

They are frightened by approval of the law for the punishment of genocide PAGE 2