The international conference on investment in Albania began Address by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, delivered at the foreign investment conference Mr. Benovider, Your Excellencies, Ambassadors, Distinguished businesspeople and entrepreneurs, Ladies and gentlemen, It is a particular pleasure and privilege for me to greet you and warmly welcome you, representatives of business and enterprise from the EU countries, the G-24, other friendly countries and International Institutions, and to wish success to the proceedings of this conference. I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks to its organizers and sponsors, the Commission of the European Union, its representatives in Tirana, and the Albanian side for organizing it. I consider this conference a very important event and great support for Albania on its path toward building a market economy and consolidating its fundamental political direction: the country’s integration into Europe. For 50 years, Albania was a country of complete isolation and perhaps the only country in the world where foreign investment was forbidden. The years 1990–92 were years of almost complete economic paralysis, halted production, mass unemployment, chaos and anarchy. But after the victory of the democratic forces, the government of Mr. Meksi committed the country to a far-reaching programme of political, legislative, economic and constitutional reforms, intended to replace the communist dictatorship and the centralized economy with the rule of law and a market economy. The programme was extremely ambitious. It was announced at a time when the country had 730,000 unemployed, young people made up 40% of the population, only 20% of agricultural land was being cultivated, inflation had soared to 400%, the currency was depreciating every day and every week, and foreign-currency reserves were heading toward zero. (Continued on page 2) Photo: A. Babani

To bring capital and technology to Albania through foreign investment, the European Commission and the G-24, together with our government, are holding a three-day conference on foreign investment. Prime Minister Meksi chaired the session, together with Mr. Benovider, Director of Political Relations with Central and Eastern European Countries at the European Commission and Co-Chairman of the G-24 group, who welcomed our President Berisha and opened the conference. President Berisha’s address at the Foreign Investment Conference was directed to business circles from the European Union and G-24 countries, representatives of enterprises, the ambassadors present, and the European Commission as organizer. Mr. Benovider delivered an address offering a very positive assessment of the achievements of the Albanian state. He praised legislative and economic progress as a secure platform for privatizing the economy and attracting capital and technology, and for achieving social peace. The conference continues today. “RD” correspondent

By LORENC LIGORI Throughout the day yesterday, the Albanian parliamentary delegation in Strasbourg held meetings with various parliamentary delegations. At the meetings, the desire and strong support of many delegations and parliamentarians for Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe were confirmed. This is decisive, given that after the meeting of the Political Committee, the Assembly will debate and vote in plenary on Albania’s admission. Among the various delegations, the German delegation also confirmed publicly that it would support Albania’s application at today’s Assembly meeting. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Mr. Pjeter Arbnori, who heads Albania’s delegation, sent a letter to members of the Assembly. In it, Mr. Arbnori responds to Mr. Kolumberg’s objections. In his clarifications, Arbnori clearly highlights not only the truth concerning the stated objection, but also Albania’s goodwill and desire to cooperate with the Council of Europe and benefit from it. Amendment 6 was not accepted, since, as Arbnori explains, “in the name of the principle of the separation of powers, no internal or external political influence is acceptable”. At the end of the letter, Arbnori asks the Assembly members to support Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe. We clarify our position to the Council of Europe. Meanwhile, the Albanian delegation “For Albania’s membership”, with the support of the Political Committee, will be considered on 8 July by the Political Committee, before the Parliamentary Assembly, and then Albania will become a member of the Council of Europe. Today at 8:30 the Political Committee of the Council of Europe meets, while at 10:00 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe convenes to vote.

On the eve of Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe Today, the Political Committee of the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly will discuss Albania’s request for full membership in the Council of Europe. After amendments to the document, which [text corrupted/unclear], Albania—having emerged from one of the harshest dictatorships—seeks full membership in the Council of Europe. The Albanian communists were the last to be overthrown among the former communist countries. Consequently, Albania’s official application to the Council of Europe was made only in May 1992 by Sali Berisha, the first President of post-communist democracy, during his visit to the Council of Europe. The history of Albania’s relations with the Council of Europe begins with the period of political pluralism and the emergence of anti-communist democratic forces on the Albanian political scene. During the dictatorship, the same anti-communist structures were formed, organized and led; the Council of Europe also provided continuous assistance to Albanian democracy, while the country developed its democratic economy and carried out reforms, respected freedoms and human rights, the rights of ethnic groups and minorities, the rule of law and the market economy, and participated in a number of international conventions and pursued a policy of peace in the Balkans, fulfilling European democratic requirements and standards step by step. “You should know how far Albania had to come from 1991,” the Council of Europe’s Director of Political Affairs, Mr. Ferrer, told the journalists, summing up in a single sentence not only the prospects for democracy but also the changes achieved over the years and decades. Albania after 22 March ’92 is an Albania that respects individual rights; an Albania of pluralism of ideas, parties, property and free enterprise, and of “surprising” results in economic reforms, etc. Therefore, Albania today is rightly seeking membership in the Council of Europe. In surveys conducted, Albanians are against membership, following the deaths of former communist leaders [text unclear]. Albania has historically been part of Europe. That is why President Berisha made one of his first steps in foreign policy by visiting the Council of Europe and submitting Albania’s official application for full membership. But the road to democracy is long. It is arduous and requires constant effort. For this effort to be possible, Albania is seeking to become a member of the Council of Europe. Today, the history of Albania’s relations is expected to reach its high point: Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe. This is the wish of the Albanian nation.

The two Presidents discussed the results of President Rugova’s visit to the USA and Spain. They also focused on the situation in Kosovo and the progress of reforms in Albania. They agreed that President Rugova’s visit to the USA and his meetings with Secretary of State Kristofor, Deputy Secretary of State Tarnof, Senator Doll and Congressmen Lugar, Ingel and Moliner constituted a very important event for the issue and relations between Kosovo and the USA. The visit helped the President and the Clinton administration understand the situation in Kosovo better and more closely, and offered an opportunity to address this problem. Presidents Berisha and Rugova expressed their high appreciation for the invitation extended to President Berisha by President Klinton to visit the USA, considering it a special contribution to friendship and cooperation between Albania and the USA. The two Presidents also considered President Rugova’s meeting with Foreign Minister Solana and senior Spanish officials important. Spain is the current president of the European Union, and they highly valued the Spanish government’s commitment to addressing Kosovo’s problems and its role as EU president. Press and Information Office of the Presidency

Clarification by the Foreign Debt Committee The Albanian Committee for the Settlement of the Foreign Debt has kept the public informed about the negotiations and agreements reached with Albania’s foreign creditors. The report that an agreement has been reached with the Czech Republic concerning the foreign debt is not true. So far, discussions with representatives of the Czech government have concerned only when negotiations will be held to settle the debt we owe that country. The Committee for the Settlement of the Foreign Debt has undertaken not to sell Albania, as claimed in the lead article of the newspaper “Zeri i Popullit” dated 27.05.1995, but to resolve Albania’s foreign-debt problem. If you want to find those who sold out the country, you can look to those who created this debt.

The archives speak — V. Tempo reports ... TEMPO: “A very complicated situation had arisen: After they had been driven out, the Ballists held power in the city. They were ready to use weapons to impose the idea that Dibër should remain part of Albania. The Albanian partisans did not have sufficient forces, but they were not prepared to confront the Ballists’ aims.” MENTOR SHEHU The half-century-long efforts of Albania’s communist regimes to shape historiography—and history itself—left it distorted, creating a history with facts and legends that have since been tested against historical documentary evidence. In researching historical truth through the documentary value of the archives, Enver Hoxha had to be raised up as an absolute authority, while the Ballists were portrayed as enemies everywhere. What had the PKSH really done in the war? From its very beginning, the CPY, with its dogmatic approach, sought to erase the memory of the past from communist historiography, and Those [text corrupted] ... Yet the facts, and the information and reports of the CPY commissioners themselves, confirm that history was falsified, that the PKSH had betrayed the ideals of the war and had become a blind tool serving the interests of the CPY. These truths are also borne out by a document discovered recently. This text is from a report by Vukmanoviç Tempo, a senior figure in the CPY, which discusses the situation in Dibër in 1943. Here is what he reports: “Çervonosky briefly informed me about the situation in Dibër. The Ballists held power, while ... These three theses are now accepted on a scientific basis, although the PS still tries to defend the history written by Enver Hoxha. But the facts, and the information and reports of the CPY commissioners themselves, confirm that history was falsified, that the PKSH had betrayed the ideals of the war and had become a blind tool serving the interests of the CPY. [Text continues on page 2]

NDRKE GJINI The attack launched in recent days by the newspaper “ZP” (organ of the P(S)SH) against the newspaper “RD” is neither accidental nor the whim of some anonymous writer. If we carefully consider the political moment at which this is happening, the true nature of this attack by “RD”’s anonymous assailant becomes quite clear. [Source wording unclear] The anonymous ZP writer began this unscrupulous attack precisely when the newspaper “RD” was discussing indisputable documentary evidence and denouncing the genocide perpetrated against Albanians by the communist-socialist leadership up to March ’92; at a time when “RD” has denounced and continues to denounce every day the embezzlement of tens of millions of dollars by former leaders of “ZP” and the P(P)SH; at a time when all Albanian journalists and readers are recognizing “ZB” not only as a newspaper of [unclear] but also as the most debated and professional newspaper. Unable to withstand all these undeniable truths, the anonymous ZP writer, driven by primitive instincts, has evidently resorted to ... The article is complete ... [Continued on page 2]

Conscious slander by “ZP” In the “ZP” article dated 28 June ’95, entitled “The tragicomedy of the newspaper ‘RD’”, several falsehoods are written concerning newspaper distribution. As the director of postal transit, I guarantee that no such thing has happened involving the actual vehicle for the “RD” newspaper; moreover, it has not happened that [text corrupted/unclear] newspaper distributors do this and incur expenses ... at the post offices in the ... [text corrupted]. I would like to emphasize here that the “ZP” journalist was given a clear explanation about this matter, but apparently the journalist was not interested in the clarification. I am available to speak with journalists about this issue and other matters.

Clarification We clarify that the newspaper “Koha Jone” dated 28.06.1995 published on its front page a report on the meeting of the Legal Committee of the Council of Europe held on 27 June. By 14 votes in favour, 11 against and 1 abstention, the Legal Committee decided to recommend that the paragraph proposed by Mr. Kolumberg, Chairman of the Legal Committee, be referred for consideration to the Political Committee, for the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly to be held on 29.06.1995, and Press and Information Office of the People’s Assembly

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