Today in Tirana, a meeting of the defense ministers of the Balkan countries . This is the first meeting of its kind. The meeting of the defense ministers of the southern Balkans aims to increase cooperation in the field of security in this region. The meeting was organized at Albania’s initiative. It has aroused considerable interest and has been welcomed by all sides. Confirming the considerable importance this meeting has for the Balkan region and this entire part of the world, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Peri is also at the head of the U.S. delegation, as part of an official visit he will make to Albania. He will meet with the country’s highest-ranking officials. Regarding this meeting, Deputy Minister of Defense Luan Limaj told the press: “So far, the participants whose attendance has been confirmed are the United States, Italy, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and a representative of the OSCE.” Since this is a high-level meeting and is being held in Albania for the first time, the Ministry of Defense organized and established special structures to ensure the best possible performance of the tasks and to provide the most normal conditions for holding this conference. On the first day of the conference, Albania’s Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali will lead the invited ministers of the participating countries in meeting the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha. This marks the beginning of the meeting’s proceedings. The following day, the meeting will focus on important discussions concerning issues related to confidence-building measures and security in cooperation between the armed forces of our countries. In particular, issues related to civil-military relations will be addressed. Considering all the preparatory work and the measures taken, as well as the serious commitment to fulfilling all the responsibilities of the participants and groups involved in preparing this conference, I believe that all the normal conditions for the successful conduct of the conference have been created, and I hope the meeting will achieve the desired results.

The chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Skënder Gjinushi, has begun testing his own identity around Europe. Yesterday in Paris, he put forward the possibility of unfair elections in Albania and continued to complain about laws that have now begun to be implemented, such as the law on genocide and the vetting of political figures. He has forgotten that it was precisely from Europe’s capitals, including Paris, that messages of support for these laws came—laws that cannot even be said to infringe anyone’s rights. Naturally, Gjinushi’s right to challenge these laws has not been infringed either, nor has his right to continue his communist story even after the adoption of these two laws. A few days ago, at the Socialist half-congress, he declared that his party is in coalition with the Socialist Party. Thus, he also has the right to serve in the old ranks of Albanian politics, as well as the right to remain no different from the minister under Alia and the communist government, and likewise not to disavow, at least through political action, the origins of his entry into politics. A few years ago Gjinushi managed to enter parliament only because of the Democratic Party’s philanthropy, and it is understood that had this not happened, the law on genocide or the vetting law for political figures would not have concerned him. Put differently, it can be said that Gjinushi has no merit even in having been a member of Parliament. His only merit would be to show understanding toward the Democrats, or at least to remain silent when they are attacked. His renewed engagement in the struggle against democratic forces, and especially against the Democratic Party, is a reflection of the new tests he will undertake to secure the trust of his superiors in the leadership of the Socialist Party. He cannot act otherwise, since his story is that of a servant and his entire political career is founded on the old orders he received as far back as 1991. The misfortune lies not so much in the fact that a Skënder or a Neritan are servants, but in the fact that the entire Albanian left has institutionalized its political actions according to the master-and-servant scheme. The definition of such a political position does not stem from the laws passed by the Albanian Parliament—not from the law on genocide, nor from the law on vetting political figures. The cause is the Democratic Party, even beyond the years in which it has been in operation, and the possibility of being independent, or at least of showing that one cannot be worthy of remaining in politics. The servant’s position means losing other rights. The loss of rights occurs precisely because of one’s closeness to being a servant. The phenomenon of left-wing alliances, built as a function of the restoration of the democratic standards Albania has achieved, aims to narrow the role of the past in politics and to reopen it verbally, with the weapons of democracy in Albania. The alliances declared among the left are not merely alliances serving legitimate political obligations; they also seek to establish an uninterrupted tradition in Albanian politics. This is not a struggle for left-wing ideas or ideologies, but a struggle that has been revived within the left in order to keep in power or in politics, through clientelism, business interests, criminals, servants of the dictatorship, thieves, and all the forces associated with Albania’s history. Among them, the entire political movement of the former communist Albanian left has been synchronized as a movement built solely in opposition to the alternatives of the Democratic Party, and not at all as a movement founded on the strategy of progressive politics or on left-wing principles. Thus, the alliances announced a few days ago as a new fact already existed when Çeka, Imami, and others were members of the Democratic Party, as well as when the Social Democratic Party was allied with that party. Their return to their present position does not constitute a political movement, but only a visible outlining of the evil front that was already such in 1991.

Interview given by President Berisha to the Swiss newspaper “HANDELSZEITUNG” I firmly believe that Albania will have free and fair elections, and I am certain that the Democratic Party will win these elections. Over the next four years, we will strive to implement a new program to create new jobs, centered once again on private investment. ABOUT THE PERSON SALI BERISHA, born in 1944 in northern Albania, studied medicine in Tirana. In 1987 he graduated with distinction, and in 1989 became a professor of cardiology (heart diseases). At the beginning of 1990, B. Berisha became a leading figure in Albania’s democratic reform movement. Following Ramiz Alia’s resignation, Berisha was elected President of the Republic on 8 April 1992. He speaks the foreign languages English, French, Italian, and Russian.

Interview with the distinguished physician, Prof. Dr. Mentor Petrela p. 2

According to a poll conducted in Italy The Freedom Pole, led by Silvio Berlusconi, is in the lead with 47% of the vote, ahead of the center-left alliance (44.3%), while around 20% of voters remain undecided. The poll was published on Saturday by the Datamedia institute. This is the last poll to be conducted before the legislative elections on 21 April, in accordance with Italian law. The Northern League, which has decided to run alone in the 21 April elections, secured 4.8% of the vote.

The Socialists declare: Vasil Melo’s party must be disbanded! p. 3

p. 2 p. 3 B.N.