Further cooperation between Albania and NATO to be reviewed At the invitation of the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, NATO Secretary General Javier Solana will arrive in Albania for an official visit from 1 to 2 May 1996. During this visit, Mr. Solana will hold talks with President Berisha on further cooperation between Albania and the North Atlantic Alliance. He will also be received by Prime Minister Meksi and Ministers Serreqi and Zhulali, and will meet with the ambassadors of NATO countries and the leaders of the North Atlantic Association.

The DP launches its election campaign in Elbasan — A magnificent rally at the Sports Palace Extraordinary enthusiasm and strong support were shown to the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha — Elbasan: “Industrial Park” DP parliamentary candidates introduced Address by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha First, I would like to greet you and all the distinguished citizens of Elbasan, wherever they may be, and express my great appreciation for the honor shown to me and for opening the election campaign for our sure and deserved victory for democracy here in Elbasan, in

Address by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha

Secret Pact between Pëllumbi and Greek Extremists in Washington The trip to the United States by an SP delegation, at the invitation of a Greek ultranationalist, marked the end of this party’s demagoguery, as it tried to use the visit as a cloak of support from US government institutions. The head of this delegation, a former spy for the communist secret police, according to sources in Washington, held a secret meeting at the estate of one of PAOK’s leading figures, which Nikolas Gaxojani (Gejxh) is also said to have attended. Gaxojani has been accused by the official Greek media of being one of the organizers of the gang that carried out the Peshkëpi massacre two years ago, as well as a financier of MAVI. N. Stavros, M. Delos, and two other people are also said to have attended this meeting. A three-point agreement was signed between Pëllumbi and these Greek lobby extremists in Washington, according to which: 1. The SP undertakes, if it comes to power, to do everything possible to ensure that Albanian refugees return from Greece to Albania. 2. PAOK undertakes to sponsor the SP’s election campaign with its funds. 3. The SP and PAOK undertake that, following an SP victory in Albania, they will maintain ongoing contact in future elections to address other issues. While official Athens signs treaties of friendship and cooperation with Tirana, and while the Greek government is preparing to submit for Parliament’s approval a special status for Albanian emigrants working in Greece, Pëllumbi signs in the ledger of a Greek ultranationalist the return of Albanian emigrants working in Greece. These, then, are the Albanian socialists: people who, as they have shown, have made pacts to the detriment of the interests of the Albanian nation and people, collaborating with anti-Albanian circles for their own interests. NDREKË GJINI

First, I would like to greet you and all the distinguished citizens of Elbasan, wherever they are spread throughout our country, and [unclear] for the construction that everyone [unclear], and opened the election campaign for our sure victory, the deserved campaign of democracy, here in Elbasan, the city of knowledge, the city of our national spirit, the city of democracy. and all the distinguished citizens of Elbasan, wherever they are spread throughout our country, and [unclear] for the construction that everyone [unclear], and opened the election campaign for our sure victory, the deserved campaign of democracy, here in Elbasan, the city of knowledge, the city of our national spirit, the city of democracy. Long live Albania! The elections on 26 May will be decisive not only for Albania and the Albanian nation, but above all for rescuing Albanians from poverty, continuously increasing individual well-being, and creating a social state—which means swift employment, education, much better healthcare, and the order and security that the people of Elbasan deserve, as Albanians as a whole deserve. These are the major objectives of the Democratic Party’s program, which together we will endorse on 26 May for ourselves, for Elbasan, and for all Albania. The four years we have gone through have proved that the DP promises what it delivers. We have not promised, and do not promise, what we cannot achieve. We promise well-being because, just as we managed to [unclear] at an early pace that year, starting from misery, today—with what we have achieved, the trust we have built in Albania, Europe, and throughout the world, our great natural resources, security, and the laws and practices we have established—we are convinced that we will raise the well-being and living standards of Albanians every year, not once or twice, but several times over. Therefore, a vote for the DP is a vote for the well-being of all Albanians, a vote for economic growth, a vote for Albania’s rapid development. With us, everyone wins; all Albania wins. In our election program, employment has a prominent place; it is one of the DP’s greatest objectives. We know that unemployment is the great social gangrene that afflicts Albanian society, and we are determined that employment is the foundation of development. We believe that the DP, production, and domestic and foreign investment, pursued through effort and with order and secure means, are the way to solve every other problem in the country. In the battle for employment, there will be new jobs; [unclear] will be employed in families, while two young people [unclear] will wait to emigrate and fulfill their dreams, to live happily through employment. Today, we pledge [unclear] and dare to include many projects for the benefit of this [unclear], for every worker who is genuinely employed. We undertake to pay pensioners [unclear], the costs of training and indirect income [unclear] expenses related to work, and we guarantee ... [?] for those employed. Here before you, we pledge that in these four years, in employment, we will reach all the levels achieved by Europe’s most developed countries. Elbasan, your city, will also attain the level that all Albania will attain. In our program, we plan to draw up for Elbasan, your city, the city of democracy, a special strategy and project to overcome the difficulties it faces and to ensure it remains an unshakable bastion of Albanian Democracy. We are determined to declare Elbasan a free zone, but first an industrial zone, because an industrial park entails a free zone as well as certain government obligations to ensure infrastructure development there and create all the conditions for its easy development. We are determined to develop mechanical, metallurgical, food, textile, and banking industries, as well as an entire system, in Elbasan and its industrial park. I assure you that serious negotiations have been held with the World Bank and the Development Bank, and that the project will be fully implemented. The Government and I will make a serious commitment to establish the Elbasan Industrial Park as soon as possible. We promise Elbasan priority in seasonal employment in Italy and Greece. I have come here to express my deep gratitude to you for the support you have given democracy, and to pledge that I will work tirelessly to fulfill our commitments. For Elbasan, we will also strengthen the University, the source of Albanian knowledge and education; we will increase the number of departments and the number of educated people. We will give Elbasan priority in infrastructure too, especially the northern route, on the road that runs from Durrës to Qafë-Thanë. Alongside these, we will look at bridges, schools, hospitals, water, and electricity, doubling them. These are some of our projects. Every development has its own season. The season of socialism, apart from Socialist Albania, is over. It was our grim winter; it must be said that it will never return. Today, two alternatives stand opposed: the alternative of the red front, which seeks to dismantle what we have achieved through effort and sacrifice and bring back winter, and the alternative of democracy’s victory. Therefore, today I call on all Albanians, I call on the citizens of Elbasan, not to let their economic difficulties, the hardships of reform, [unclear], or the unworthy departures of one officeholder or another make us give up our great achievements and what we still have to accomplish. I call on the people of Elbasan to prove forever their true democratic spirit, to say no to the red front, and to choose the DP’s alternative: the alternative of well-being, employment, security, the alternative for everyone: “With us, everyone wins; with us, Elbasan wins; with us, all Albania wins.” The main purpose is to present before you the Democratic Party’s election program and those who will represent you in the next Parliament, but I also want to thank the other MPs who, although they are no longer on the lists, remain distinguished and devoted people of democracy, Elbasan, and the Nation. Among the DP candidates for Elbasan, I am pleased to present here Mr. Tomor Plangarica, a distinguished lecturer, doctor of sciences, and one of the committed democrats. Mr. Zingfrid Jorgaqi, a distinguished and honest intellectual; Mr. Kasem Dylgjeri, a distinguished and tireless humanitarian doctor. Mr. Bardhyl Musai, a talented lecturer at UE; Mr. Kozma Tanxhiu, a distinguished doctor and democrat; Mr. Abdyl Xhaja, who has not only been an active minister but also an active, unelected “deputy”; and Mr. Engjëll Dakli, one of Elbasan’s most committed democrats and a tireless minister. I call on you to vote for them, so that they may represent you worthily in the next Parliament. [Photo of the rally: no visible caption.]

EURONEWS: “An American-style campaign by President Berisha’s party, while the ex-communists have started a savage campaign” Europe’s most powerful television station, Euronews, is assessing the election campaign in Albania. Showing footage from the campaign launches of the two parties facing off in these elections, the DP and the SP, Euronews clearly highlighted the differences between them. “An American-style campaign by President Berisha’s party,” Euronews said, showing the launch of the DP campaign. Meanwhile, Euronews gave a logical description of the SP’s hysterics, with their fists raised high: “The ex-communists have started a savage campaign. Their aim is to free Fatos Nano after the elections; he was convicted of corruption committed while he was Prime Minister.” In fact, Euronews has shown only what Albanians see every day. While the DP offers alternatives for the future, making them tangible and presenting a vision through young people, songs, and a festive atmosphere, the SP puts forward crowds of hysterical people howling for “revenge” against the “dictatorship.” Of course Europe can tell which of these two parties a country needs; it is no coincidence that it has openly expressed its support for the DP. But what Albanians themselves think is more important. No one can vote for chaos to begin after 26 May and for everything achieved so far to be “dismantled.” Albanians cannot vote for the SP again merely to give former senior communist officials the chance to take revenge for the positions they lost four years ago. Albanians are smart enough to recognize, simply from the start of the election campaign, what will happen in Albania if one party or the other wins. People cannot prefer the gnashing of teeth and the furious outbursts coming from socialist hysterics over the modern, optimistic vision the DP offers them for the future.

-The first issues of “RD,” before they were printed, were checked by Ramiz Alia at his home together with Çupi and Shaban Sinani Page 3

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