The German Embassy informs:

“I’ll put up 1 million dollars for ’96” Besnik Kadia is from the city of Lezha. He is now counted among the wealthy people of this city. He owns a sausage factory, a poultry farm, and a restaurant in the center of Lezha. As we talk with him, the conversation—as usual—also turns to politics. “I’ll put up the 1 million dollars I have for ’96,” says Besniku. Naturally, this statement of his is an expression of gratitude for democracy: for the democracy that allowed him to create the right opportunities to realize his free initiative; for the democracy that carried out the material and moral rehabilitation of those harmed by the former system. Besnik Kadia’s statement is that of a man with a developed awareness of the fact that today’s socialists, or yesterday’s communists, have lost their moral claim to govern the country. It is clear that the socialists may interpret such a statement as they wish and from their own point of view, but essentially it expresses gratitude for the metamorphosis from nobody into somebody, from worker into owner, from a person looking for work into a person who provides work. Around 80 workers are employed at Mr. Kadia’s businesses, and even more will be when they reach maximum capacity. But Kadia is not alone in the chorus of those expressing gratitude. This chorus consists of all those who became owners and are reaping the fruits of free initiative. Those grateful to democracy also include—and should include—all those persecuted and oppressed people who, after escaping a long ordeal of suffering, also experienced the Government’s utmost commitment to their material and moral rehabilitation. This feeling should also characterize that part of the former property owners who are satisfied with the implementation of the current law on the return and compensation of property. Those who should be even more satisfied and grateful are the social stratum which has changed its position in these years. In the final analysis, each person has their own criteria for judging; in any case, it is beyond doubt that most of them will count themselves among the beneficiaries of democracy. As for its benefactors, they will always remain few. SHPETIM LUKU

PDSH delegation’s visit to Greece concludes The PDSH delegation’s visit to Greece has concluded Relations between the two countries are very important for the region and beyond As has been reported, a delegation of the Albanian Democratic Party, led by its Secretary-General, Prof. Dr. Tritan Shehu, paid a two-day visit to Athens at the invitation of the chairman of the New Democracy Party, Mr. Miltiadhis Evert. Yesterday morning, the delegation met with the Deputy Speaker of the Greek Parliament, Mr. Sakolikos. In his remarks, Mr. Sakolikos expressed his willingness for closer cooperation between the two parliaments and our two countries. He stressed that relations between Albania and Greece should always be characterized by friendship and mutual cooperation based on reciprocal interests. Also, in his capacity as chairman of the parliamentary committee on European policy, Mr. Sakolikos expressed his desire and readiness for greater cooperation between the two parliaments to help resolve issues concerning the Council of Europe, the Phare programme, etc. For his part, Mr. Shehu thanked Mr. Sakolikos for the warm welcome and at the same time stressed that good relations between our two parliaments and our two countries are very important for Greece and Albania, and for the wider region. In his remarks, Mr. Ali Spahia outlined the work done in parliament to pass democratic laws, to complete the legal framework in various fields, and on the law on human rights, one of the most advanced laws compared with those of other countries, as well as the role and contribution of the PDSH parliamentary group. Mr. Spahia underscored the issue of legalizing foreign investments, which provides guarantees for serious foreign investors and creates good conditions for them to invest. He noted that more serious and powerful Greek investors would come to Albania. Mr. Salikos was invited to visit Albania at a time convenient for him. Yesterday, the delegation also met with Mr. Xoaxopoulos, Secretary-General of PASOK. At the meeting, both sides stressed that uninterrupted and practical cooperation would be valuable for both parties and our two countries. In his presentation of the situation in Albania, Mr. Shehu described in broad terms, and with concrete facts, the achievements made in Albania during the years of democratic government… Mr. Shehu stressed that the Democratic Party supports open relations with all political forces, in the interests and for the benefit of our countries. He considered political forces and the relations between them to be both an indicator and a stimulus for relations between countries. Mr. Spahia spoke about the work done by the Albanian parliament and the PD parliamentary group concerning laws, the penal code, etc. Mr. Xoaxopoulos expressed his pleasure at the visit by the PDSH delegation. He underscored the great importance of cooperation between PASOK and PDSH, and the significant contribution that both parties should make, as the largest parties in our two countries and as parties in government. He also expressed his readiness for broad, concrete cooperation of mutual interest to both countries. In this context, he expressed his desire to visit Albania, to contribute to and encourage the two governments to pursue greater cooperation and achieve concrete results for the economies of both countries. Mr. Shehu invited Mr. Xoaxopoulos to visit Albania in the autumn at the head of a high-level PASOK delegation. With this meeting, the delegation concluded its visit to Greece.

A presidential spokesman confirms to the BBC The visit to Albania by the President of the Greek Republic will take place soon, a spokesman for President Kostis Stefanopullos confirmed to the BBC, while Greece’s defence minister will visit Tirana in the first days of July. Existing problems in Greek-Albanian relations, now normalized, and especially the issue of the status of Albanian emigrants in Greece, remain unresolved. The meetings and joint signings that concluded a few days ago highlighted the many problems that characterized Athens-Tirana relations, problems that are nonetheless not insurmountable and had been shelved because of the 11-month crisis. Although the parties had differences of opinion on various points, they emphasized the spirit of understanding that characterized the work of the commissions and reached conclusions on which a decision will be made early next month at the meeting of the joint Albanian-Greek commissions in Tirana. At the beginning of next month, between July 2 and 3, Greece’s defence minister, Gerasim Asenis, will also visit Tirana. Asenis’s visit is a return visit following the one made in Athens by his Albanian counterpart, Safter Zhulali, at the end of 1992. Meanwhile, another visit continues to attract the attention of analysts of Greek-Albanian relations: that of the President of the Greek Republic, Stefanopullos, to Albania, following the direct invitation extended to him in London by his Albanian counterpart, Berisha, a month and a half ago. Mr. Stefanopullos’s visit to Tirana is expected to give a new, positive emphasis to bilateral relations. Even the invitation alone has helped bring the two sides closer, acting as an effective catalyst. Stefanopullos has publicly confirmed that the visit will take place, but apparently both sides want it to coincide with… The details can be inferred from the words of a Greek presidential spokesman, who clearly confirmed to the BBC that the visit would take place soon, perhaps even during the summer. It is natural that a meeting between the two presidents will not make the problems between the two countries disappear as if by magic, but, as analysts believe, it will nevertheless speed up the resolution of some of them, with the issue of emigrants being the one singled out by the Albanian side. Six (Continued on page 2)

-Bringing communist recidivists out of mothballs is the PS’s activation of the ghosts of communist-socialist politics. In the PS’s ongoing activity, the emergence of this phenomenon, resulting from mass mobilization and the assumption of responsibility, has often been accompanied by fanatical passions. Recent developments, particularly with the start of the Socialist Party’s activity and the activation of communists and their movement, are making its contours clear. The PS party. It has been observed by ZP and its derivatives, “ZP,” “KJ,” “Albanica,” “Alternativa,” “SD,” or some other “independent” outlet, that they have conducted a series of interviews or given former exemplary communist politicians of Albania the opportunity to publish, even allotting them considerable space. The specimens, zealously preserved in the Socialist mothballs, are activated as circumstances require and with a specific aim. The political reactivation of Zija Xholi, Hulusi Hako, Feri Huidhri, Xhevat Lloshi, Dhimiter Shuteriqi, Neshat Tozaj, Kiço Blushi, Koço Danaj, etc., amid a flurry of flattering flashes, exaggerated epithets, and intensive compilations of the achievements and doctorates obtained by communists (which they themselves do not even know why they received), is beginning to reveal their gems. Inflated with self-importance and flattery, these dramatic displays of activity aim to implement socialism’s strategy. The reactivation of communist memory! Is the PS relying on these worn-out cards? It knows well that these communist asylum relics are finished, but for their own purposes it seeks to devise a tactic of its own, a typically socialist one. These reptiles have not been kept in mothballs for nothing. They are the best fabricators of ideological lies and deceptions, which suit Socialist politics so well today. The spreading of lies is the classic form of communist-socialist political struggle; it is the specialty of the communist press, which has spent its whole life learning to present falsehood as truth. To present it and repeat it.

Decision of the Bulgarian Arbitration Court -Interview with Mr. Kristaq Traja, lawyer for the $300,000 case involving the Albanian Ministry of Defence, heard by the Bulgarian Arbitration Court Question: Mr. Traja, you defended our Ministry of Defence’s $300,000 case before the Bulgarian Arbitration Court, a case widely discussed in the press, especially the opposition press. Could you tell us something about the procedures the case went through before the decision was issued? Answer: As is known, this case had a strong political dimension. Nevertheless, I decided to defend it by considering it purely from a legal standpoint. At the request of our Ministry of Defence, I undertook to defend this case internationally against a Bulgarian company called “Bolid 1990 Petrov.” I took on the case concerning the $300,000 paid by the Ministry of Defence in exchange for 200 “IFA” trucks at $3,500 each. Because of the negligence of the Bulgarian party, which never responded, after a year and a half—or even more—of negligence in fulfilling the contractual agreements, I went to Bulgaria on December 5, 1994. After we filed the claims and other documentary evidence with the Arbitration Court at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the hearing in this case took place on April 23, 1995. I have described in detail in the press how that hearing proceeded and what procedure was followed in the Bulgarian arbitration. I stated that, through several interim and other decisions, the Arbitration Court had decided to take a position in favour of the Albanian party, having reviewed the documentary evidence in the file. Under the rules of Bulgarian arbitration, the final decision is not issued on the day of the hearing (that is, April 23, 1995), but is to be issued within a maximum of one month. This is not because it was requested that the two… Since I hope that on the next page you will read carefully and try to interpret it, you will understand the analysts will whisper about resolving some of these issues, with the emigrants’ issue singled out by the Albanian side. Six Albanian-Greek. (Continued on page 2)

13 hunger strikers responsible for the crime of kidnapping a person are arrested As was also reported by the mass media several days ago, a group of farmers from the village of Laknas, 10 km north of the capital, went into a hunger strike, demanding that the land be redistributed by the Commission established for this purpose. During the days of the strike, many representatives of the local government of the Municipality and Tirana District visited the farmers who had shut themselves in, but the discussions held between the parties produced no concrete result. Meanwhile, the extreme-left press, as it is in its nature, distorts events according to its tendentious and speculative views, never suggesting—certainly deliberately—any real solution or alternative for resolving the issues. Indeed, this extremely nihilistic and unscrupulous press encourages violations of the law when it should not, and does the opposite when it ought to act differently. The case of holding hostage the Director of the Directorate of Lands at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Idriz Xhumara, as well as the village headman, Mr Musa Burrelli, when they went there to talk with the villagers and reach an agreement on finding the best solution within the laws of the democratic state, was an act of betrayal and, secondly, a grave violation of human freedoms and rights. In this way, these self-proclaimed hunger strikers, as also stated in the Ministry of the Interior’s communiqué on the government’s position, showed through their actions that they are nothing other than a group of terrorists, some of whom are former collaborators of the Secret Police. By doing this, they committed a punishable criminal act. The terrorists went even further, acting like vandals against the Prefect of Tirana, Mr Karapici, who rightly went to them to demand the release of the hostages and compliance with the law. In a communiqué, the Ministry of the Interior refutes the news published by the communist newspaper “ZP” that the hostages Xhumari and Burrelli had supposedly shown solidarity with the hunger strikers. With this claim, ZP did nothing other than show solidarity with the terrorists’ unprecedented act. This claim was refuted in the presence of the hunger strikers by Messrs Xhumara and Burrelli themselves. Under these circumstances, the Ministry of the Interior used all the means available to it under the law and yesterday, in a blitz operation, managed to detain 13 people, former hunger strikers who had held the aforementioned gentlemen hostage, and to free the hostages. The Ministry’s communiqué states that the former hunger strikers were placed under arrest. RD correspondent

“The independence” of the courts through a red lens EDI PALOKA “Nano will be released as soon as we come to power,” “The prosecutors and judges who convicted him will answer for it when we come to power”—these historic statements have often come from the mouths of Socialist leaders lately, but they have become especially frequent now that the communist prime minister was due to appear before the Tepelenë court with a request for release, claiming that he had served his sentence. After the Tepelenë court’s decision, based on the law (e mo be antradi e Sanxhakut), to keep Nano where he belongs, the hysteria of his cronies erupted once again. Confused by their pressure and threats, they did not manage to influence the court’s decision; Doklet Sanxhakut and the others continued their mission, fully supported by their press Siamese twins, “ZP” and “KJ.” The PS leaders shout about “subservient” justice, “taking orders from the PD,” etc., but they do not hesitate to threaten that “when they take power, they will release Nano and…” It is true that they are accustomed to ordering arrests and the sentencing of innocent people from party offices, but those days are over. With their statements, “when we take power…,” the PS leaders seek to tell Albanians that those times will return, and that with a signature from PS offices they will free the embezzler of aid, the former communist prime minister, and imprison those who upheld justice. In this way, they seek to put a large number of people under pressure, but they forget that they cannot come to power with a mere signature from PS offices. Such threats, besides being intended to put pressure on the justice system, clearly show the lens through which today’s PS leaders view the independence of the justice authorities—precisely those who keep shouting about that independence. In any case, even if they continue to puff themselves up and indulge in their dreams, they would do well to remember that the majority of Albanians, those who overthrew the dictatorship, want a state governed by the rule of law and based on democratic institutions. They will therefore never allow the ghosts of the past, which today are part of the PS government’s shadows, to raise their heads again, when criminals and thieves used to order the sentencing of innocent people from their offices. In a state governed by the rule of law, criminals and lawbreakers will occupy the place that belongs to them—the place now occupied by the former communist prime minister—and no one will dare to violate this principle. Established by the democratic world otherwise [?], they too will answer before the state governed by the rule of law.

Ruçi: We are not communists! A few days ago, Gramoz Ruçi came to the village of Rrubjeke, in Maminas municipality, Durrës, accompanied by employees of the former State Security service. Ruçi seems to have remembered that Marxist-Leninist propaganda continues to survive in the village of Rrubjeke, whose residents lived under persecution for 50 years under E. Hoxha’s Stalinist regime. Mr. Ruçi held an “enthusiastic” rally attended by around 10–12 people, while the village has around 200 residents. At this “ridiculous” rally, he tried to sow panic among the people by claiming that we supposedly have no government! We do not understand, Mr. Ruçi: who are you accusing of not governing? Is it when Albania, under the leadership of the democratic government, is entering the great European family, or when you were Minister of the Interior in the communist governments of R. Alia and F. Nanos and were preparing terrorist scenarios like those in Lezhë or on April 2 in Shkodër?! Albanians know your kind of “governance” well, having endured it firsthand through 47 years of unprecedented communist genocide. The villagers were right to show this champion of Enverist nostalgia the place he belongs. Meanwhile, many speakers made it clear to Mr. Ruçi that the ’96 votes will go to the rightful recipient: democracy and the democratic forces. Gramoz Ruçi left the democratic village of Rrubjeke with his head bowed, amid shouts of: “Long live President Berisha!”, “Long live the Democratic Party!” SHPRESIM LALA