France provides concrete support for the DP’s victory Mishel Perikard, chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Rally for the Republic (RPR), the party of current French President Zhak Shirak, arrives in Tirana today. His mission: Total support for the Democratic Party in the newly launched election campaign. Within a relatively short time, France’s ruling party is bringing two of its leading figures to Albania to convey to Albanians the message of Shirak and Prime Minister Zhype: “Win, Mr. President, win so that we can help you. Win for Albania, for Albania in Europe” — an excerpt from the message Pierre Lelouche, Political Adviser to Zhak Shirak, addressed to President Berisha at the Democratic Party’s Third National Convention. The four-day visit agenda of the senior French parliamentarian is packed with movements covering four important reference points on the Albanian geopolitical map: Korça and Vlora, Tirana and Fushë-Kruja will get to know the French parliamentarian not simply as an academic, but as a campaigner for the Democratic Party. At his request, Mr. Mishel Perikard will take part in major election rallies that the Democratic Party will organize this weekend, to give concrete expression to the extension of its slogan “Everyone wins with us” into “The DP’s victory is a guarantee of our support.”

The Democratic Party launched its election campaign in the district of Kurbin

The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, held talks in the afternoon with the NATO Secretary General. . The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, held talks in the afternoon with NATO Secretary General Solana. We had a very fruitful conversation. I expressed my thanks to Solana for this very important and successful visit to Albania. I assure Secretary Solana that Albania is determined to work seriously within the framework of the Partnership for Peace and that the Atlantic Alliance has, and will have, in Albania a true ally de facto: small, but determined and strategically important. We are very satisfied with the level of cooperation we have established with the Alliance. I thanked the Secretary General for the valuable assistance the Alliance has given us. We are satisfied with the high level of cooperation we have established with member countries and partner countries. I reaffirmed to the Secretary General that Albania will always be open to providing airport facilities and other facilities for NATO operations in the interests of peace and security in the region and in Europe. We regard NATO’s new role in Bosnia as historic. I confirmed our desire to join the IFOR forces as soon as possible with a platoon, which, after being prepared, will join the German units located outside the territory of Bosnia, because our decision has been that our troops will not be inside Bosnia. We discussed the situation in the region extensively with the Secretary General. I expressed my deep concern about the situation and the tensions of recent days in Kosovo. In my view, Kosovo is one of the most important issues in the Balkan crisis, and without resolving it there will be no lasting peace and stability in the Balkans. The recent killings in Kosovo are a clear attempt by Serbian nationalist groups to destabilize the situation and further complicate the difficult conditions in Kosovo. They were carried out by people in uniform and, overall, the victims have been innocent Albanian children or students. Stopping these acts and conducting a thorough investigation into this situation are essential. Pressure on Belgrade to begin negotiations with Prishtina in the presence of a third party is an indispensable step towards resolving the situation. I would like to thank the Secretary General for this very important visit and assure him that Albania is determined to work intensively and resolutely to meet the criteria and take the place it deserves in this Euro-Atlantic institution, a main pillar of peace and stability in the region and beyond. NATO Secretary General Havier Solana said: “I have been looking forward to visiting your country, and I conveyed this to your president. I also had the opportunity to examine the situation in the region, which is very troubling to me. Once again, I would like to thank the president for your cooperation with the IFOR troops in bringing peace to Bosnia and for all the assistance you have provided. I told the president that I am sure that when I leave your country, relations between NATO and your country will be deeper, and we will be loyal friends.” Asked what he thought about the prospect of Albania joining NATO, Solana replied: “I had the opportunity to discuss this with the leaders of your country, with your president. Your country is very important in the Partnership for Peace and is a loyal ally. You will now begin a dialogue between your country and NATO, a dialogue that will clarify the situation for both sides and allow us to see how we can continue this process of cooperation.” In response to a question about his view on a solution to the situation in Kosovo, Solana said: “I spoke with President Berisha about the situation in Kosovo, told him of my concern, and promised that I would convey this concern to the other countries of the Alliance as well. We want to see the return of OSCE missions and, perhaps you know, there is now a US presence in Kosovo to assess the situation.” the new role of NATO in Bosnia. I confirmed our desire to participate soon in the KFOR troops with a platoon, which after you… NATO Secretary General Havier Solana said that, conveyed it to your president President Berisha received NATO Secretary General Havier Solana

The Democratic Party launched its election campaign yesterday in the Kurbin district, with a meeting organized in the town of Laç with members and supporters of the DP. The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, also took part in the meeting. Opening the meeting, the chairman of the district DP, Sami Metaliaj, addressed the participants, saying: You must vote for our alternative, which is the alternative of the future, happiness and security in the family. Speaking at the meeting, President Berisha said: I have come here to present the main elements of our new electoral program. A program to increase the prosperity of Albania as a whole, and to promote security, mutual understanding, employment, and Albania’s integration into Europe. With the contract signed on May 26 with the Albanian electorate, Berisha said, we are convinced that we deserve a decisive victory; we are convinced that the electorate of Kurbin and all of Albania will vote for the DP. have not yet enjoyed the fruits of this reform. I call on to let disappointment compel their troubles and problems, but will make their own and many others’ problems more complicated. I tell them that voting, on the other hand, is an important individual, family and national decision. Before casting their vote, they should consider the great changes we have made, the strong ties we have forged, and the great prospects ahead. Let us not forget that we were a country with a destroyed economy; let us not forget that we were a country in deep isolation. Today, after these four years, we are a country that is increasingly respected; we are a country developing its economy and leading economic growth in post-communist Europe. We are a country that has quadrupled per-capita income in four years; we are a country that has built dignity and respect, and has a brilliant future. In the year 2000, Berisha stressed, we will go forward as a democratic country, not as a socialist country. The May 26 elections are elections that, in the truest sense of the word, divide history. Speaking about his alternative, Berisha said that this alternative seeks only an Albania dressed in Marx’s clothing; to dress Albania in Marx’s clothing is like dressing a bride in black. This is a very grave sin for those who promote Marxism in Albania. I call on Albanians never to trust this ideology, which for 50 years humiliated us more than anything else in this painful history. Speaking about the objectives of the DP program, Berisha said: We aim to increase economic prosperity, provide better education for Albania’s youth, and ensure their rapid employment; we base all of this on local and national alternatives. I assure you, Berisha pointed out, that Laç will have a special program, including for employment. This will be achieved, first, by increasing investment in production and services in this district; second, by increasing scholarships and educational opportunities for young people from Laç; and third, through seasonal emigration, for which we are confident and have received full guarantees from the Italian and Greek governments. Very soon we will sign seasonal-emigration agreements with these two countries, which will take seasonal migrants for two years in Italy and eight months in Greece, and this will be another way to ease and solve unemployment. We are determined to reduce unemployment over the next four years to the lowest average level, comparable to the figures for this phenomenon in Europe’s developed countries. We are determined to spend on education as much as developed countries do. We are a nation, and the noblest sacrifice we can make is to educate our children. That is why we believe the largest share of the budget should go to our children’s education. This is the best investment we make in ourselves, in the future, in Albania, and in the country as a whole. The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, attends The Democratic Party opened yesterday Have not enjoyed the fruits of this reform In the 2000s, neizivoj Berisha, BERISHA: My very sincere appeal is addressed to all those who, even today, have not enjoyed the fruits of this reform. I urge those who are skeptical or feel dissatisfied with developments not to let disappointment lead them to vote for the Socialists, to vote for the red front, because they will not only fail to solve their own problems and difficulties, but will make their own and those of many others more complicated.

- A member of the Berat SP leadership, during the presentation of the parliamentary candidates, declares: “We will take power even with blood” Page 3

Prime Minister Meksi received Solana In his remarks at the meeting with NATO Secretary General Solana, Prime Minister Meksi stressed that the DP had included Albania’s membership in NATO in its electoral program, and that by signing the Partnership for Peace we had expressed our commitment to integration into the structures of the North Atlantic Pact, with the desire to become members of this Pact as soon as possible. We consider this membership very important for peace in the Balkans and, more broadly, for stability in Europe. We believe, Prime Minister Meksi went on to point out, that achieving genuine stability on the Balkan Peninsula requires putting pressure on Serbia and Montenegro to democratize public life, respect European standards and protect the rights of Albanians in Kosovo, whose rights are violated and abused every day by Serbia, remaining a potential danger of dangerous outbreaks in the Balkans. We are impressed by what Albania has accomplished so quickly, just two years after signing the Partnership for Peace, Mr. Solana said. Your participation and support for the IFOR troops, and your contribution to integration into NATO structures, are very important for the future of our relations. It is very important for NATO to strengthen the Partnership for Peace and its role in maintaining peace in the Balkans. We congratulate you on your achievements and will support you in strengthening and consolidating democracy in Albania.

On Friday, 3 May 1996, at 18:30, at the “Asllan Rusi” Sports Palace, the Tirana branch of the Democratic Party is organizing a meeting with its electorate, attended by the gentlemen: 1. Tritan Shehu — Chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania 2. Aleksandër Meksi — Prime Minister 3. Michel Pericard — Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of Shirak’s Rally for the Republic Party

Rikard Fon Vajceker stresses: It is in the interests of Europe and Albanians to continue along the path of the last four years Page 3

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