Interview with Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi Read tomorrow in “RD”

President Berisha in Selenicë Immorality of the far left The publication of the U.S. State Department’s annual report on human rights violations also covers Albania, but in areas of state activity where human rights violations are even more widespread. Its observations mainly concern the justice system, a very delicate area of the new system established in Albania only a few years ago. Everyone knows that the Ministry of Justice was created six years ago. Thus, there was an institutional vacuum that would have been inconceivable to a citizen of New York, while the judicial system of the communist period itself could not be imagined outside the structures of the dictatorial state. The way judges dealt with cases for trial was entirely different from what is written today in Albanian laws, which complete the Albanian legal framework. American attention to Albania is an assessment of Albanian institutions and democracy in general. When American institutions have found shortcomings, it means that there is also room to correct them. Nevertheless, the Albanian case of human rights violations is one in which violations occur in the context of a state that is still consolidating. The state is not directly responsible for these violations, and this is essential to maintaining a cool-headed assessment of the State Department’s observations. It is the branches of power that have their share of responsibility for these violations. If the State Department’s picture of human rights violations had included only those preceding these observations, it would have been very pessimistic, to the point of neglecting the issue because of the lost hope that anything could be corrected. The State Department’s sources on human rights violations are institutions that have more than once been criticized by the Albanian press for lack of seriousness and bias in their portrayal of events or … Selenicë under the dictatorship was treated as a human reserve, as a prison town. The Central Committee of the PPSH interned its enemies in Selenicë. At that time, the Party Committee in Vlorë did the same to all those it expelled and interned. This Selenicë, where at that time … Berisha also thanked the president of the construction company Andi, Theodhori Gjiknuri, for the good work carried out in renovating and building this hospital. After the inauguration, the meeting prepared to take place in the hall … “the past four years of democratic development have shown.” He thanked the people of Selenicë for the contribution and support they had given the democratic government over these four years in implementing its program. Never before have projects in Albania received such massive and active support as the projects in the DP program. In the Vlorë district alone, during this year, investments in the health sector have been made on a scale equal to ten years combined. Over these four years, President Berisha continued, mistakes have also been made, but we do not make mistakes because we are guided by wrong principles; they arise either from lack of knowledge or from other difficulties. But our decision is clear: to correct them as quickly as possible. Further on, President Berisha stressed that Albanians today, on the path they are taking, do not need deception; the dictatorship was deception. The SP, he said, resembles an old structure without a roof. They hold their congresses in two stages because they are incapable of holding them in one. And if they are unable to put a roof on their own house, what can they do for Albania? Alongside our alternative, said Mr. Berisha, which passes through difficulties but also success, we faced the alternative of denial and disappointment put forward by the leaders of the PPS. They attack not only the DP’s platform but, above all, the pessimism of every individual, of each of us. Selenicë, where at that time informers spied at night beneath the windows of the internees and the “marked” people, while during the day a few characterless “layabouts” vegetated, drawing up “lightning sheets” against those unfortunate people who would be arrested days later, gave its vote to democracy on 22 March 1992, to escape this terror once and for all. Yesterday, President of the Republic Sali Berisha came to attend the inauguration of the area hospital in Selenicë, accompanied by Ministers Cikuli, Xhaja, Musaraj and Dakli, Vlorë MPs, local government officials, etc. 13 million new lekë were spent on renovating the hospital and building the new maternity ward, funded by the World Bank and the Albanian Government. The 30-bed hospital will serve five villages and the town of Selenicë. Speaking with the doctors and nurses at the hospital, President Berisha stressed, among other things, that in the future we will preserve the free nature of healthcare and raise its standard. By 1997, 20 health centers in the Vlorë district will have been renovated. Today, President Berisha continued, we have an ultrasound diagnostic system in place that covers the whole country. The gathering in Selenicë was held outdoors, as attendance was large and the people of Selenicë wanted to speak with President Berisha in the square. The meeting was opened by Agim Kadiu, chairman of the Vlorë district council, who informed those present that the district government had allocated 34 million new lekë for investment in Selenicë alone. Taking the floor, President Berisha stressed, among other things: “The superiority of the path we have chosen lies in building another kind of society. Through their alternative, the SP leaders demonstrate their aversion to the market system and to free enterprise. In the future, alongside free enterprise, we will also give importance to strengthening the social character of the state,” Mr. Berisha said. “Employment, education, healthcare and infrastructure will be our major priorities,” Berisha emphasized in his speech. Those attending then asked questions and raised their concerns with the President. They asked about the privatization of the Selenicë mine as soon as possible, local-government autonomy, and other matters. Regarding the mine, the President assured the people of Selenicë that it would be privatized very soon. As for local government, he pointed out that decentralizing financial resources and increasing the autonomy and powers of local government are at the heart of the DP’s forthcoming program. “We are convinced,” he said, “that this will contribute to development, and what has not been done so far will be implemented in the next four years.” This is essential in order to make a nuanced moral assessment of the State Department. There are segments of the authorities that have a part in these violations. If the State Department were to have an excellent overview of human rights based only on the parties’ accounts, the picture would be very pessimistic, to the point of its being neglected The Department’s sources on human-rights by the Albanian press for a lack of seriousness and for bias in their characterization of events or problems that have arisen in Albania’s post-communist environment. For example, the Helsinki Committee has been described in several articles as biased and even as having its statements ignored. Such cases have led several members to resign from it, including some who had themselves been among those most subjected to violations until just a few years ago. At the heart of its mission, the Albanian opposition has focused on the lack of political ethics and on the actions of the composition of the Albanian state. In its report, when referring to Albanian institutions, the State Department itself distances itself from direct authorship, using wording that indicates that this is what has been said, without going any further. The left-wing opposition, which has constantly complained about rights, remembered America very late. America was where it is today a long time ago, too. But they never even considered that it might one day also be a friend of the Albanians. They remember it only when it is possible to find even a hint of opposition within the mechanisms of this state toward various segments of the Albanian state. Sources of information in Albania do not go beyond those who did not vote for the Human Rights Charter, or elements that until recently maintained regressive positions on Albanian reform, such as a member of the Helsinki Committee. The passage dealing with freedom of the press or violations of journalists’ rights, while making clear that it is not based on accurate information, says that Blendi Fevziu was sentenced by the Court of First Instance to a fine of two thousand dollars, while the Court of Appeal declared him innocent. Before that court declared him innocent, it was the President of the Republic who granted clemency to this journalist. As can be seen, the state is not involved in legal proceedings against any journalist, while the right to sue someone has not been denied to the aforementioned journalist either. As for the case of Gjergj Zefi, it is a fabrication. He is chairman of the Assembly of the Democratic Alliance party and certainly not a journalist. As such, he may have been summoned to court, since, as a politician and citizen, he cannot be immune to the possibility of conflicts, including personal cases. The attribution to the leader of the Democratic Alliance party, in the report, of the status of a journalist also casts doubt on the State Department’s sources. In such cases, credibility is a civic test for the person who trusts you as a realist, while the lack of truthfulness implicates the recipient of the information. Nevertheless, Albania is classified as the country with fewer cases of human-rights violations than all the other countries in the Balkans. In other words, it is also better than countries with many years of democracy, as is the case with Greece. The left-wing press’s exploitation of this report by presenting it as extending across the entire spectrum of Albanian-American relations is an attempt by regressive forces that want to keep Albania under the sway of the Eastern spirit.

Pjetër Arbnori received Ambassador Lake Yesterday, the Speaker of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori, received U.S. Ambassador Joseph Lake on the occasion of his departure from Albania. Among other things, Mr. Lake said in his remarks that he would always be a supporter of Albania, which has overcome great challenges on the difficult road to democracy. “For this, we admire you,” he concluded. For his part, Mr. Arbnori thanked Mr. Lake for his work and assured him that Albania would continue along the path it had begun and maintain close cooperation with the United States.

Interview with Afrim Jupi, member of the PAD Assembly and MP Their united positions with the P.S. run counter to the ideal on which A.D. was founded The party they rose up against in ’90 has changed only its name to …

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against in ’90 has changed only its name to PS The laws on vetting politicians’ backgrounds are overdue and far too lenient p. 3