Blerim Rashani, legal adviser to the constitutional expert at the Council of Europe, denied in an interview given to the newspaper “R.D.” the Socialists’ statements that the draft Constitution they presented to Albanian public opinion is identical to the Venice Commission draft. Thus, in an interview published yesterday by the newspaper “ZP”, which is considered the Socialists’ mouthpiece, Mr. Rashani expressed the opinion that “the draft presented by the Socialists is contrary to the opinions of the experts”. In this interview, Mr. Rashani explains that the project presented by the opposition against the government is very far from the original draft of the Venice Commission. “If one looks at the draft presented in ‘ZP’, which was issued in the name of the three Albanian opposition parties, it is very different from the Venice Commission draft. I think Albanians know that the ‘ZP’ draft is very far from the essence of that Venice Commission draft,” said the legal expert of the Council of Europe. Speaking further in the interview about the position of European experts regarding the draft presented by the opposition, Mr. Rashani explained that “the draft consists of two parts, which contradict one another. Its first part, which concerns the High Council of Justice, was not in the previous draft and is in open contradiction with the legal practices of European countries”. According to Mr. Rashani, “the opposition draft contains many things that are legally nonsensical. This means that the Socialists either do not know what the Constitution is, or, in the worst case, they know and do not care what the Constitution is”. Referring to the Socialists’ statement that “the fundamental problem of the draft Constitution was local government,” Mr. Rashani made clear that “the Venice Commission draft had no such problem”. In the interview, the legal expert of the Council of Europe also rejected the Socialists’ claims that the Albanian opposition had imposed on the European experts some of the changes requested in the draft they had presented. “That is not true. It is true that each party has its own opinions and they are presented, but each side takes into consideration the experts’ opinion and in the end what is right and what is most rational is decided. The Socialists often use this argument to manipulate public opinion. They want to say that the draft was imposed on them by the opposition. That is not true,” concludes the legal expert of the Council of Europe in the interview for “ZP”.

The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, received yesterday the Minister of Defense of Turkey, Mr. Oltan Gohan [?] In greeting the President, the Turkish Minister, Mr. Oltan Gohan, acknowledged the handshake on behalf of the Turkish Minister of Defense, Mr. Ahmet Gohan. PHOTO: A. DAVANI President Berisha received the Turkish Minister of Defense Mehmet Gohan PHOTO: A. DAVANI

Declared Mr. Summers, US representative at the Berlin-London summit on 10 April Fred and Anju Summers are pleased that the London Conference ended very successfully. I am convinced that the government and the reforms carried out so far have done many good things for your country; at the same time I urge you to continue on the path of reform so that you can further integrate the Albanian economy with the rest of the world. These things have been very necessary in this period,” Mr. Summers says to “R.D.”. Lawrence H. Summers is Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He is the youngest economist in the United States, ranking third on the list of economists under 40 in the Foreign Service professions. At 32, Mr. Summers holds the title of professor of economics at Harvard University. As soon as he finished college, Summers was appointed lecturer at Harvard University. He is the author of many publications in this field. During 1982-1983 he was a member of the Economic Council. In 1987 he published, together with economist Bradford De Long, the book “A Guide to Economics”. In response to the “R.D.” journalist's question about some of the main economic problems that await Albania in the future, Mr. Summers said that Albania is in a much better situation than other Eastern European countries. We are very optimistic about the results of the economic reform. Some countries still have inflation problems, whereas in Albania inflation has been brought under control. The level of free trade in Albania is increasing, and we have also observed growth in infrastructure investment. But nevertheless there are still many things to be done. First, you need to improve the legal system and reduce barriers to investing in Albania. You also need to implement the benefits of privatization. And finally, the government must complete the establishment of a stable climate for foreign investors to invest here. Recently in Albania there has been more discussion of the privatization of strategic sectors, especially telecommunications. In response to the question of whether this would be beneficial for the Albanian economy, Mr. Summers replied: “We do not think that there is a single model suitable for every country. However, Mr. Summers stressed that “each country must follow its own path and we give our opinions, but the country chooses for itself. We think it is very important to encourage foreign investment in telecommunications and in other sectors.” In response to the question of what the attitude of the Albanian government and businesspeople should be toward foreign investors, Mr. Summers said that we consider investment in Albania an important opportunity, but one thing must be clear. If we want people to invest in Albania, if we want people to invest their capital here, we must give them a chance to make a profit. It is wrong to think that foreign investors will put money into a country if they do not have their own benefits. In this area, your government needs to do more work. In response to the question of whether Albania should be worried about the recent developments in Belgrade, Mr. Summers stated that it is not for the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make political comments, but he added that your country is an example for the countries of Eastern and Central Europe in most of the economic reforms. He noted that Eastern Europe as a whole has moved quite quickly along the path of economic reform. Albania has achieved very encouraging results in this area and holds an important place in this region. AJO VUNE

Today in Tirana, the deputy chairman of the Military Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Turkey. The signing ceremony of this document was attended by the Minister of Defense of Albania, Mr. Safet Zhulali, the Minister of Defense of Turkey, Mr. Mehmet Gohan, the Chief of the General Staff of the Albanian army, Brigadier General Aleks Andoni, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Turkish army, Major General Salim Koksal, and other military personalities. Also present at the signing ceremony were the Ambassador of Turkey in Tirana, Mr. Ahmet Diku [?], the Turkish military attaché in Albania, Colonel Ceti Butur, and the Albanian military attaché in Turkey, Colonel Ismail Lleshi. In his welcoming speech, the Minister of Defense of Turkey, Mr. Mehmet Gohan, underlined the importance of this agreement in increasing understanding and cooperation in the military field between the two countries. He said that the document is a good basis for expanding and intensifying the existing military relations between our two countries. According to the Turkish minister, through this memorandum military cooperation between Albania and Turkey will gain new momentum. The Turkish minister also praised Albania’s achievements on the road to the democratization of the country, and underlined Turkey’s support for the development of military relations in the region. In the end, the Minister of Defense of Albania, Mr. Safet Zhulali, described the memorandum as a valuable contribution within the framework of the traditional friendly relations and mutual cooperation between the two countries. He expressed the conviction that this memorandum will play a special role in further strengthening military relations between Albania and Turkey. (continued on page 2)

Association of Journalists of Albania Statement Journalists of the traditional Albanian press and the still-unclarified independence to date, with concern we emphasize that in defense of press freedom and media independence, voices of protest are being raised against the closure of the newspaper “Koha Jone” for 5 days by court order, describing this decision as hasty and contrary to the country’s democratic standards. Such an action seriously affects freedom of expression and information, and creates a dangerous precedent for relations between power and the media in Albania. The Association of Journalists of Albania calls on the competent authorities to review this decision and guarantee the normal exercise of the activities of the press organs. PRESIDENCY XIII meeting

2 June, consensus for postponing Tirana Yesterday in the People's Assembly The Chairman of the High Council of Justice, Prof. Dr. R. Meidani, invited yesterday in Tirana a meeting of the High Council of Justice, where several issues related to the organization of the judicial system were examined. (continued on page 2)

Putin [sic?] [?] and the importance of the situation in Yugoslavia, as a question of international cooperation. The interlocutors also attached special importance to economic and trade relations between the two countries. The Russian President stressed that their strengthening takes on special importance for their future. Mr. Meksi also emphasized the result of the recent visit to Albania by Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev and the arrival in Albania of Russian government officials and businessmen. Prime Minister Meksi formally invited the President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, to visit Albania. In the first session of the official meeting, the delegations of the two countries discussed at length the issues of bilateral cooperation, the economy, transport, and energy. During the talks held between the two delegations, the favorable climate that currently exists between the two countries was noted. It was expressed that, with the commitment of both governments, political dialogue should be further intensified and agreements in areas of common interest should be made concrete. (continued on page 2 )

Fahdiko de M. A. [?] calls his relatives 'victims' The Republic of South Africa is changing even without the will of the white government. Deputy President De Klerk said that the best way to fight hatred between races is to increase tolerance. However, his opponents say that he has lost popular support. (continued on page 2)

Letter from Kurbnesh. Mr. Gjinushi came to Kurbnesh, spoke, left, and left behind only a cloud of deception. Dokë Spahll “spy for the PD” they are asking about the missing 400 thousand dollars. Call the sons of Enver to help. “We are all except the disciples of Falik Konica” Tan Noli On the occasion of the celebration of the 120th anniversary of Fan Noli's birth