Only with the law on the sale and purchase of land will the Albanian peasant become the true owner of his land At President Berisha’s initiative, a meeting was held yesterday at the Palace of Congresses with the prefects and the mayors and district heads of the coastal areas. Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi and Deputy Prime Ministers Dylber Vrioni and Dashamir Shehi also attended. “I requested that this meeting be convened,” President Berisha told those present, “to address a very important problem connected with the decision of the Council This fully fulfils the DP’s promise to privatize the land. I welcome this law, which is in keeping with the DP’s program: it is not a party that owns the land, but a party that [fragment incomplete] The owners of plots and agricultural land should be compensated not only with securities, but, if they wish, also with plots in tourist areas. Therefore, you are being asked to complete the study carried out so far [fragment incomplete] [kilometres of uninhabited coastline]. Changing this ratio is a historic commitment. We must turn our gaze toward the sea. That is why the sale of plots on the coast [fragment incomplete] “I asked for this meeting to be convened,” President Berisha told those present, “to discuss a very important issue connected with the decision of the National Council of the PD to compensate owners of plots and agricultural land with plots in tourist areas. This is a fundamental issue in the PD’s program, which we have pledged to implement. It is true that, by adopting the law on the sale and purchase of land, Parliament declared more than 2.27 million Albanians to be owners, and this is a major historic act, because this is about the right to sell and buy. Until now, the land law was not a property law, even though it declared land to be in use. By not granting the right to sell and buy land, it effectively did not recognize Albanians as owners. land does the Albanian farmer become the true owner of his land. This fully fulfils the PD’s promise to privatize the PD’s program; the PD is not a party of large landowners. And what has been set out in the program must be implemented as stated. On the other hand, we have finally put an end to a major distortion. Certain individuals and groups, with their noise, want to create the impression that only a group of families have been or are the owners of Albania’s property. The truth is that, at the end of the Second World War, Albanians as a whole were almost all owners of land, shops, factories or olive groves, which were later subjected to collectivization, confiscation and expropriation. matter in the PD’s program. The decision of the PD’s National Council is that in tourist areas. Therefore, you are asked to complete the study prepared so far and submit the necessary data to Deputy Prime Minister Shehi by 13 August: how many hectares of land you need to compensate, and how many hectares of tourist land you are making available. To address technical difficulties, the topographic institute, experts from the Ministry of Construction and the district municipalities, as well as other necessary resources, will be made available to you. The land area to be submitted to the KRT will have three purposes: 1. A portion will be sold at auction, for securities or cash. Through this measure, we aim to begin changing a very important national relationship: the relationship between our population and the sea. We are the only country with hundreds of kilometers of coastline that is uninhabited. Changing this relationship is a historic commitment. We must turn toward the sea. Therefore, selling plots on the coast also serves this purpose. The remainder will be used to compensate owners of plots and agricultural land. The group of experts will determine the compensation coefficients for building plots and agricultural land. On the basis of the data as of 15 August, the Government will issue the decision and relevant instructions to begin this process. And we must remember to conduct the study also on the basis of the concept that tourist land is a national asset. This means that those who do not have a coastline can also benefit from this asset. All subsequent instructions and decisions,” President Berisha concluded, “will be adapted to this strategy.”

Statement of the Ministry of Justice In recent days, the press has been making a fuss and creating a sensation about two amendments made to the New Code of Criminal Procedure and the Law on the Entry into Force of the New Criminal Code. There are attempts to politicize even genuine legal acts, linking the consequences of these acts to particular individuals. The contents of these acts are either not presented in full or are interpreted incorrectly. For this reason, we clarify that: 1. The paragraph added to Article 525 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was voted on for inclusion together with the New Code of Criminal Procedure in March of this year. The paragraph reads: “For criminal cases which, on the date this Code enters into force, are at the investigation or trial stage at first instance or on appeal, the provisions of the previous Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply, but not beyond 15 November 1995.” It is standard legislative practice, as well as the recommendation, for a new law to state what will happen to court cases that are under investigation or trial. Without this addition, given the fundamental differences between the requirements of the new Code and the previous Code, the consequences for the fight against crime would have been serious. This addition has nothing to do with abolishing the Plenum of the Court of Cassation. The Plenum is abolished even without this addition, by the New Code of Criminal Procedure itself, approved by the People’s Assembly with the consensus of all Parliamentary groups. 2. The amendment made to Article 2 of Criminal Code does not affect the principle on which that article was drafted. The principle is that when the sentence imposed on a person under the old Criminal Code falls within the sentencing range stipulated in the relevant article of the New Code, that sentence remains unchanged; and when the sentence exceeded the new maximum, it is reduced to that maximum. The consequences of this article for convicted persons were clear as of 31.05.1995, when it was approved by consensus by the People’s Assembly. This principle and that article cannot [sentence incomplete]. Because there were misinterpretations in the application of that article, it became necessary to supplement it, and this supplement was adopted by the Law dated 28.07.95. The new element in this Law is that the principle mentioned above applies both to one sentence and to two or more sentences; and, when the sentence lengths do not change, the aggregation of sentences that has already been carried out (a matter already adjudicated) also remains unchanged. This is the paragraph added to Article 8 of the Law dated 31.05.95. The legal acts mentioned above have been published. Any individual or organization, at home or abroad, may consult them in detail at any time.

President Berisha stressed his pleasure at the friendship and the very good relations with Turkey. He also expressed his wish to welcome Prime Minister Çiller to Albania.

The Turkish delegation for agriculture and rural development was also received yesterday by Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi. The Minister

President Berisha emphasized his satisfaction with the friendship, the very good relations and the growing economic cooperation between our two countries. Praising the signing of the Cooperation Protocol between the two Ministries of Agriculture, he said that Albanian farmers have much to learn from the experience of Turkish farmers in irrigation, vegetable cultivation and marketing, etc. President Berisha asked the Turkish Minister to convey his greetings to President Demirel and Prime Minister Çiller, as well as his appreciation for the changes made to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, describing them as a very important contribution to Turkey’s present and future. He also expressed his wish to invite Prime Minister Çiller to Albania. After conveying President Demirel’s and Prime Minister Çiller’s greetings to President Berisha, the Turkish Minister said that growing cooperation in agriculture, as part of comprehensive cooperation and the very good traditional relations, is of particular interest to both our countries. The meetings here in Albania, as well as the signing of the protocol, mark important steps in this direction. Press and Information Office of the President

received yesterday by Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi. Turkish Minister of Agriculture Refadin Shahin conveyed to Prime Minister Meksi the greetings of Turkish President Demirel and Prime Minister Çiller. Prime Minister Meksi spoke to his guests from Turkey about the traditional friendship between our two countries, a friendship that has grown stronger in recent years. Cooperation in agriculture is of considerable interest to us, Mr. Meksi emphasized. He then renewed the invitation to the Turkish Prime Minister, Ms. Çiller, to visit our country.

Tirana Prosecutor Arben Qeleshi speaks out In the newspapers “Koha Jone,” “Populli Po” and some other left-wing papers, these days there have been sensational reports claiming that 140 case files from this prosecutor’s office have gone missing (!) To clarify these reports, we asked the Tirana Prosecutor, Mr. Arben Qeleshi, for a statement. He told RD: “I am extremely surprised by the news these newspapers are reporting, when neither I nor anyone in this prosecutor’s office knows of any missing case files. I tell you responsibly that not a single case file has gone missing from this prosecutor’s office. Everything written in those newspapers is a blatant ploy, part of a series of others, belonging to the mission of the left wing to misinform public opinion and smear democratic institutions.” Prepared by: ZEF LLESHI

The International Development Association (AID - IDA), an organ of the World Bank that assists less-developed countries, granted Albania a loan of 4 million dollars, a World Bank statement noted on Wednesday. These funds are earmarked to finance an urban project to promote employment and micro-enterprises. Unemployment affects 30 percent of the active population in Albanian cities.

Regarding Mr. E. Sherifi’s article, entitled “One month to examine the petition, two months to deliver the ruling,” published in the newspaper “Zeri i Popullit” on 3.8.1995, the President of the Constitutional Court, Mr. Rustem Gjata, clarifies: “Any criticism based on professional competence and free of tendentious political overtones is useful and, as such, is always welcome. But when, in an article, a professional uses political labels and dark political colors instead of arguments, it means that he lacks professional ability or that arguments are lacking. Whatever the reason, such articles do not help the author. I deem it necessary to clarify that the Constitutional Court, because the required majority for reaching a decision was not formed, has decided to reopen the examination of the case with the participation of all the judges of the Court. Since one of the members is ill, it has been impossible to schedule another court hearing. For the above reasons, the petitioning parties were informed immediately.”

The relevant documents were signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Mr. Hasan Halili, and, on the Turkish side, by the Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mr. Refaidin Shahin. On this occasion, the Turkish Minister of Agriculture invited Minister Hasan Halili on a working visit to Turkey. On this occasion, Minister Shahini spoke about the prospects for relations between our two countries in the field of agriculture: “The agreement that (Continued on page 4) Yesterday at the Ministry of Agriculture, the protocol on technical, scientific and economic cooperation in the field of agriculture, as well as the veterinary convention between our two countries, Albania and Turkey, were signed.

Communist leaders against Albania’s entry into the CSCE SECRET Minutes of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party’s Central Committee, held on 23 August 1990 Published for the first time Continued from the previous issue