Soon Albania will become a full member of the European Union —Interview with Ann - Louise AKTIV, Head of Projects for Albania at the European Investment Bank Turning another page in the bloodstained book of the dictatorship Cultural genocide

Inside After Majko, is it Legisi’s turn?! Koço Brokaj: “Legisi is the DP’s agent in the SP” Did you forget something, Comrade Ramiz? ZEF JUSHI Former political prisoner p. 5 The week’s sports page

Address by the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, at the reception given for the diplomatic corps on the occasion of Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe We Albanians share our joy with all of you today Your Excellencies, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased that we have gathered today to celebrate, together with you, the ambassadors of the member countries of the Council of Europe and the other ambassadors accredited in Tirana, an event of historic importance for Albania: its admission as a full member of the Council of Europe. I am sure that we Albanians share this joy today with all of you, and with many other friends and well-wishers everywhere in the world. But I believe that you, having worked and lived in Albania for years, understand better than all other foreigners why, for us Albanians, joining the Council of Europe is of extraordinary importance. Albania’s integration into the CoE is an achievement for democracy and for the Albanian nation in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and the diaspora. I believe this is also an important event for our region, which, less than 300 km from our borders, is experiencing barbaric Serbian aggression, the true holocaust of a defenceless people, and the paralysis of the most important international institutions. ... hundreds of laws meeting Western standards, among which I would single out the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights, the new Civil and Criminal Codes; we built democratic institutions and undertook profound reforms in every field, in order to bridge as quickly as possible the gap that separated us from Europe and the world. I have the honour to express here before you, representatives of this great family and of other friendly countries, my joy and that of my people. With membership in the Council of Europe, Albanians have managed to fulfil a historic dream of theirs; they now see themselves alongside others around the common European table. That is why Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe is felt by all Albanians, in Albania and everywhere in the world, as one of the most notable events in the history of our nation. Albania’s place alongside the democratic countries of Europe became possible, Your Excellencies, for two reasons which I would like to recall here once again before you. First, despite the great difficulties that history... From the very moment the democratic forces that overthrew the dictatorship in Albania came into being, we felt at close hand the fraternal support and assistance of the countries and democratic forces of the West and of other friendly countries. As you know, even at the moment of its collapse, the dictatorship proved extremely brutal in Albania; the state and society were shaken to their very foundations. The solidarity of democratic Europe, the EU member states and the USA, as well as that of our other friends, helped us Albanians avert a national catastrophe. Europe, the EU and CoE member states, the USA and other friendly countries responded to our determination to transform society radically and democratise all its structures and components with a readiness and generosity that we will never forget. I would like to single out here the fruitful cooperation we have had with the Council of Europe and its institutions, particularly in drafting legislation and building democratic institutions in Albania. I take this opportunity to express once again... and the diaspora. This is, I believe, an important event for our region as well, Serbian barbaric aggression, the true holocaust of a defenseless Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe is also a significant achievement for Europe and the values of our shared civilization. In its difficult history, Albania had the misfortune to suffer for half a century under Europe’s most brutal totalitarian communist regime, which, to preserve its rule, isolated the country, severed it from Europe and the world, and turned it into a land where time stood still, to such an extent that the very few foreigners who visited it saw it as another planet. Albanian diplomats were absent from London, Bonn, Washington, Moscow, Brussels, Tokyo, Madrid and elsewhere, while, as recently as the 1990s, all the diplomatic missions accredited in Tirana were considered representatives of enemy countries. The dictatorship sought to replace the Albanians’ traditional hospitality with xenophobia, and the country’s good image with its distortion. Thus, the forces that overthrew the dictatorship faced the task of replacing the image of the Albanian dictatorship—which fought free thought with the greatest ferocity, destroyed churches and mosques, imprisoned clergy and innocent people, abolished the Ministry of Justice and the lawyers, destroyed private property and individual initiative, undermined educational institutions and crippled society—with the image of a pluralist Albania, where the Rule of Law and a market economy prevail and the individual receives the full value due to them. Replacing the communist dictatorship with a democratic system and integrating the country into Europe are the objectives of the Democratic Party’s electoral program. From the outset of our government, we worked resolutely to join the great European family, and over the course of three years we drafted a of our nation. Albania’s inclusion among Europe’s democratic countries became possible, Your Excellencies, for two reasons that I would like to recall here before you once again. First, despite the great hardships that history unfortunately reserved for our people over the years, Albanians never lost their European orientation, and the values of European civilization—which our nation, one of the oldest on this continent, has also contributed to—were never extinguished deep in their hearts. Neither conquerors nor foreign ideologies ever managed to erase our identity or sever our centuries-old roots. Our people survived and defended their values, at times through victorious battles such as those of Skenderbeu and other Albanian heroes throughout the ages, right up to the Second World War, and at other times by resisting quietly but with Sisyphean determination, preserving their spiritual constitution even under the conditions of an exemplary Orwellian dictatorship. I would like to recall here the deeply European ideas and aspirations of our National Revival figures, which our great poet Naim Frashëri so beautifully and succinctly immortalized in his laconic saying: “For Albania, the sun rises even in the west.” Many of you witnessed with your own eyes the outburst of those same aspirations after a long hibernation, when our youth filled the streets of Tirana and other Albanian cities with the powerful cries: “We want Albania to be like all of Europe.” Today we are proud that in three years we managed to restore Albania to the European family, responding to the call of our ancestors that has always resonated within us, to the call of our sons and daughters who attacked the dictatorship in December ’90, and to the call of our wounded conscience, which under the red terror kept the human and European aspirations of our nation alive. The second reason we were able to realize this aspiration of the Albanians lies with Europe itself, the member states of the EU, the USA and your friendly countries, in your friendly countries, and your friendly countries,

March 1991—Archives—Evidence of communist crime Yesterday, at Vila - Koder in Durres, President of the Republic Sali Berisha gave an official reception for the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Tirana on the occasion of Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe. Yesterday, at Vila - Koder in Durres, President of the Republic Sali Berisha gave an official reception for the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Tirana Europe. Present were the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Mr. Pjetër Arbnori, Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi, members of the government, representatives of parliamentary political parties, MPs, journalists, etc. President Berisha delivered the address for the occasion, which we are publishing in full. On behalf of the diplomatic corps, the deputy dean of the diplomatic corps, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Stefan Naumov, offered a greeting. —”Aredin Shyti:”The political situation (March 91) cannot be thought to end on 31 March ’91... ...our bodies have special duties that they must carry out and pursue right up to the ballot box” 23.3.1991, 22:30 Local Departments of Internal Affairs The established state of readiness continues. Check all its elements and work to raise it to the level required by the political situation, which cannot be thought to end on 31 March. Up to that date and for that date and pursue right up to the ballot box. It will continue. Assemble the personnel, cadres and troops and brief them. These meetings

RUCI, WITH “CLEAN HANDS”

to clear the road to 31 March ’91 and beyond that date. “Firm readiness continues,” says the telegram. It is the readiness that the PPSH established in the security organs and the Ministry of the Interior, the readiness that, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, was put in place; it is the readiness of fear imposed after the day when Çauçesku was held finally accountable for crimes against his people. The results of this readiness are: inhumane treatment, bloodstained walls and rooms in the Tirana Interior Affairs branches, where young people from the embassies were subjected to inhumane acts; bullets were fired and lives were taken, and their end came at “Mali i Gropa.” These events had been foreshadowed in the city of Kavaja and by the murder of Josif Bude. The year ’91 was marked by the killing of Artan Lenja, and so the crimes followed one another like a relay organized on the track of the communist regime. “Fight to raise [our efforts] be considered for that date, our organs have special duties to carry out and must reach even the ballot box. It will continue.” And indeed it continued on 2 April with the “Shkodra massacre.” But massacres like the one in Shkodra had also been planned in Tirana, Korçë, Elbasan, Vlorë, Lushnjë, Kavaja, etc., where PD offices had been surrounded by snipers and the special forces of the 316th. They were not carried out—not because they showed tolerance, but because “2 April in Shkodra” forced them to moderate the crime, put a finger to their heads and think about their own lives. The revealing information in this telegram is that it makes clear to us how the PPSH won the elections of 31 March 1991. It was not a free vote, but a vote obtained through crime. Crime was used not only to secure the vote in the ballot box, but also against voters who voted against them. These are the people who today claim to be democrats, who say they have moderated; and if you cannot remember their names, remember Ramiz Alia, Fatos Nano, Gramoz Ruçi. RUCI, WITH “CLEAN HANDS” This telegram, offspring and multiplication of crime, carries in its phrases all the stages before and after, of the strategy.

Ladies and gentlemen! Today we have gathered here to celebrate Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe. This event is recognition of the path Albania has followed in implementing democratic reforms. It is also recognition of the great work and sacrifice made by the Albanian people over such a short period to overthrow the dictatorship—not only confirming their place as a geographical partner in Europe, but also as an integral part of the entire political, economic and social system on the European continent. The results achieved are visible and tangible. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me, on behalf of the diplomatic corps, to convey my most sincere congratulations on the admission of your country to the Council of Europe, and to wish you lasting success on the difficult road to democracy and in further affirming your place in European structures and organizations, so that Albania may take the place it deserves in Europe. Taking this opportunity, I personally congratulate Albania on the success it has achieved today, its admission to the Council of Europe. Your Excellencies, Ambassadors, Allow me to thank you in particular. Alongside your efforts to strengthen cooperation and friendship between your countries and peoples and Albania and the Albanians, you have made a valuable contribution to cooperation between Albania and the family of Council of Europe member states, between the Council of Europe, the Albanian government and the institutions of the Council of Europe in your countries. To your health and that of all those present. Cheers! Official reception hosted by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha Greeting by the deputy dean of the diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana, Mr. Stefan

Attending are Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi, Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali, Chief of the General Staff of the Army, General Beme Kosova, etc. The demonstration exercise “Oplasi ’95,” on the theme “Fire support from artillery and all types of weapons during a defensive maneuver,” once again demonstrated the ability and professionalism of the officers and personnel. of the General Staff of the Army, General Sheme Kosova, senior military officers and training specialists from various army units had come to observe the exercise. “Oplasi ’95” presented a remarkable spectacle in the way it was conducted and in the participation of everyone involved. The personnel who took part in this high-quality demonstration exercise have only three months of compulsory military service. Here are the characteristics of the “Oplasi ’95” exercise: perfect organization of the fire system; destruction of targets in accordance with the required accuracy and ammunition standards; protection of forces and equipment from enemy strikes; receiving and carrying out orders and tasks on time and accurately during the exercise; powerful artillery strikes; a new fire-control system in the organization of artillery and artillery units, and the application of new, modern equipment, which followed the equipment used in the “Bushati 95” and “Shipka ’95” exercises. Afterwards, representatives of the Government and the Army met with the personnel and thanked them for this outstanding exercise, which met the standards of Western armies. Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali also awarded out-of-turn promotions to three officers of this unit. In their speeches, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense spoke about the situation in the region and the need to increase the vigilance and defensive capability of our Armed Forces. Major AGRON MANCE

Written reply Reply in writing Reply to Attorney P.Sanxhaku and the newspaper “Koha Jone” Regarding the interview given by attorney P.Sanxhaku to the newspaper “Koha Jone” on 13.7.95, I declare that under no circumstances have I been involved in the investigation, that I was not involved in the investigation, and that I did not make Nano. The accusations that I manipulated the file are deliberate slander, an attempt to mislead public opinion and an abuse of press freedom; it is for the justice system to take a position on them. The publication of this new slander in the newspaper “Koha Jone” is a continuation of the denigrating stance this independent newspaper has taken toward me since 1992. And I am convinced that this will continue. KOLEC TOPALLI