Press conference by the Minister of Education, Xhezair Teliti At his press conference yesterday, the Minister of Education, Xhezair Teliti, briefed journalists on the progress made so far in education reform. He said that the aim of education policy is to create a capable school that can prepare people with comprehensive civic, cultural, educational and professional training; to create good, normal conditions for the development of the teaching process; to develop the necessary legislation to make it possible to establish a suitable climate for successfully implementing the various aspects of the reform; to ensure the necessary compatibility of school textbooks and teaching aids; and to restructure teaching, as well as school documentation. This has consisted of restructuring subject curricula, consolidating existing academic disciplines, opening new curricular areas in secondary and eight-year education, and establishing new departments and faculties in higher education. In this context, alongside restructuring the Institute of Pedagogical Studies so that it functions as an analogous institute beyond the borders, the Ministry of Education also considers it necessary to establish a national council for higher education, which would be responsible for policy and new developments present a new picture of school infrastructure compared with the beginning of the reform, when 1,520 school buildings were reported damaged. This has been made possible by coordinating investment from the state budget with assistance provided by foreign foundations, international organizations, as well as a World Bank loan. Despite the projects undertaken, Teliti noted that there are still shortages of school furniture and necessary teaching aids in school facilities. Speaking about improvements to school legislation, Teliti said that, following the previous passage of the law on higher education, the law on eight-year education, drafted on the basis of the experience of foreign specialists and the contributions of our own specialists to incorporate all the new aspects dictated by the period we are going through, has now also been heard in Parliament. As a very important aspect of implementing education reform, Teliti noted the restructuring of curricula and teaching programs, as well as all school documentation. This has consisted of restructuring subject curricula, consolidating existing academic disciplines, opening new curricular areas in secondary and eight-year education, and establishing new departments and faculties in higher education. In this context, alongside restructuring the Institute of Pedagogical Studies so that it functions as an analogous institute beyond the borders, the Ministry of Education also considers it necessary to establish a national council for higher education, which would be responsible for policy and At the Ministry of Education, Minister Teliti went into greater detail about these matters, presenting concrete figures as well. 1,220 school buildings have been repaired and 440 reconstructed, including the construction of 80 new schools. (Continued on page 2) Photo: A. Babani

SAMI MILLOSHI In an interview given to the Voice of America on 3 May 1994, Shyqyri Mecka, deputy editor-in-chief of ZP, stated, among other things: “The old technique has failed; it does not allow the opposition’s old guard to compete with the opposition press.” You cannot say that Mecka is wrong. His assertion seems correct. But how, then, has the opposition been left with that old press technique? Could Mecka not know? Does he not know that Namik Dokle’s editor went to Canada at the beginning of 1991, to Benci’s Marxist-Leninists, to obtain a modern printing press? Could Mecka not know that 150 thousand dollars were sent to Canada for that printing press? Does he not know that Ramiz Alia gave Namiku 400 thousand dollars for the printing press? Mecka says what he knows, and Namiku does not tell him everything. Namiku is quite capable of talking about the corruption of the whole world, and, strangely enough, has not become mute when it comes to the thousands of dollars’ worth of the ZP printing press. But, anyway, that is Namiku’s business. Apparently, he is also a bit of a ...

The Prosecutor General of Albania informs the public: First, since on 16 March 1995 Parliament decided to reject the request to lift the immunity of deputies Genc Ruli and Rexhep Uka, the investigative group was ordered to discontinue the investigations concerning them. Second: Since, in this case, charges have been brought and investigations are continuing, including the arrest of former Director General of Forests Mahmut Xhelili and former director of the “Ital - Alba” company Gazmend Xhuvani, for the criminal offences of abuse of office and damage to forests, committed in cooperation, although the criminal offences committed by them have been proven, in view of the fact that these accused persons bear less responsibility than their other accomplices, and also taking account of their mitigating conduct, a decision to discontinue the case was approved, on the basis of Article 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and their immediate release from the detention cells was ordered. Third: The investigation established that former Minister of Cars Hoxha committed the criminal offences of abuse of office in cooperation, but there was no other suspect. Under these circumstances, the decision ordering his punishment was set aside—the decision that had previously been sent to Interpol for enforcement—and assistance was included in the charges, pursuant to Article 71/1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

According to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi will make an official visit to Israel from 21 to 24 March. Official sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the talks Minister Serreqi will hold with his counterpart Peres and other Israeli leaders will focus on bilateral relations and an exchange of views on developing cooperation between the two countries in the fields of the economy, culture and other sectors of mutual interest. The Albanian foreign minister is expected to have separate meetings with Israel’s highest-ranking authorities, including President Vafzman and Prime Minister Rabin. Albania and Israel established diplomatic relations on 19 August 1991. In a short time, relations between the two countries have developed positively. In November 1993, Shimon Peres visited Tirana, a visit that culminated in the two foreign ministers signing an agreement on cooperation between Albania and Israel in education, science and culture. Meanwhile, growing cooperation has been observed, especially in agriculture. ALEKSANDER MILO

Yesterday at the PDSH headquarters in Tirana Yesterday, a meeting between the leaderships of the Democratic Party and the social-democratic party BSDSH was held at the Democratic Party headquarters. The PDSH was represented at the meeting by Mr. Tritan Shehu, Secretary General, and Mr. Engjell Hysibegashi, deputy chairman. The BSDSH was represented by Mr. Teodor Laco, Arian Starova, Shagir Rexhvelaj and Ferdinand Dama. Both parties assessed recent political developments in Albania as an important process on the path to consolidating democracy. Both parties praised the achievements of Albanian foreign policy, whose purpose is Albania’s integration into European structures and beyond. The PD and BSD declare that they firmly maintain their political coalition and cooperation in government at all levels, a coalition established before the elections of 22 March 1992. The BSD considers the PD’s substantial contribution realistic, as the PD has borne the greatest burden of the difficulties of the transition during these three years of governing. Both parties requested that this year’s government program focus even more on the sectors that concern Albania and the Albanians and Press and Information Department of the PDSH

Athens: Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou praised the progress achieved in Greek-Albanian relations on Friday and did not rule out an improvement in Greek-Macedonian relations as well. Dialogue has begun between Greece and [the other country], and their relations are on the right track, Papandreou said, two days after the conclusion of Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias’s visit to Tirana, which brought an end to a year-long bilateral crisis. (AFP)

Schwarz: Merging the Secretariat for Local Government with the Ministry of the Interior is modern and up to date Meeting between Mr. Schwarz and Messrs. Shehu and Vrioni Yesterday, at the PD headquarters, PDSH Secretary General Mr. Tritan Shehu and PD Presidency member Mr. Dylber Vrioni held a warm and friendly meeting with Mr. Schwarz, former Interior Minister of the Land of Rainland - Phfalc in the FRG and CDU deputy in the German Bundestag. Mr. Schwarz spoke about the assistance that the German government and various foundations will provide for restructuring and modernizing Albania’s Ministry of the Interior. He described the merger of the Secretariat for Local Government with this ministry as modern and up to date. He said that the technical details would be worked out in due course, and that a team of experts was expected to visit; several officials of Albania’s Ministry of the Interior would also specialize in Germany. Mr. Schwarz showed particular interest in the museum city of Berat. Mr. Vrioni informed him Press and Information Department of the PDSH

Yesterday in the People’s Assembly The Code of Criminal Procedure approved in principle 20 articles of this Code were approved during yesterday’s plenary session The Code of Criminal Procedure, whose examination began in the People’s Assembly on Thursday, was approved in principle yesterday morning with no votes against. After the People’s Assembly approved it in principle, PD deputy Petritka Minga, who was not present in the Assembly, proposed that, since this draft code had been examined in detail by both the People’s Assembly’s Parliamentary Committee on Laws and the Council of Ministers, the Assembly’s Committee on Laws should refer it for discussion and amendments to a committee that would also include specialists in the field who had drafted it, as well as lawyers from the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Court of Cassation, the bar, etc. During the examination and approval article by article, debates were held on Article 1 and especially on Article 13, points 1 and 2, which concern special courts for trying serious crimes, and on whether or not assistant judges should be retained in this law for the hearing of cases. After extensive debate, it was decided by a majority vote that these points would be reviewed by the Assembly’s Committee on Laws, along with 20 articles. 20 articles of this draft code were approved at yesterday’s session. NDREKE GJINI

The facsimiles alongside show two articles from “ZP” on the same subject. The first is ZP’s leading article dated 14 March; the second is an older item at the bottom of ZP’s page of 15 March. In the first, as can be seen, amid enormous fanfare (or rather deception, since the news was not true), 246 women and girls were said to have been the only ones to take a stand against economic hardship. If a request is made to the government, ministers announce that the government has promised to address the workers’ demands, and the women’s protest will not continue. Doesn’t this manner of publication “confirm” what the deputy editor-in-chief of “ZP” said on television during a program about a Eurobarometer survey, namely that his newspaper would print in large type every item of news reflecting positive developments for Albania? In this case, the only difference once again lies in the concept. According to “ZP,” in this particular case, the “positive news” was The textile workers’ strike has ended E.P.

The night before last, a televised debate on the findings of Eurobarometer 1994 ended unexpectedly with a “conclusion” by Dokle, according to which Albania had made a mistake by joining the Conference of Islamic Countries. Naturally, this was a typical propaganda distortion by PS leaders, who make accusations against Albania’s real opening to the world. There is no doubt that, with democracy, Albania broke out of its bunker of isolation from the world—the bunker Enver Hoxha had built with such fanaticism. In these three years Albania has made many powerful friends all over the world. The prejudices of PS leaders regarding relations with the world are evidence of their profound crisis and of the isolationist mentality they represent. Albanians know this very well and cannot think otherwise, even when a televised debate ends with an absurd “conclusion.” B. KASMI

The opposition’s “sandcastles” and the truth about the PD electorate... We want to cooperate with the Albanian Army as partners and centuries-old neighbors Today: the week’s Sports page

ORGAN OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF ALBANIA Tuesday, 14 March 1995 THE TEXTILE WORKERS OF BERAT BEGIN A HUNGER STRIKE 246 women and girls are risking self-sacrifice so that the government will hear their voices