Meksi and Shehu will receive representatives of the political parties As part of the meetings that the Democratic Party is organizing with Albanian political parties, Mr. Tritan Shehu, Chairman of the Democratic Party, and Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, the Democratic candidate for Chairman of the Council of Ministers, will receive representatives of Albanian political parties in separate meetings at the Palace of Congresses to discuss the composition of the government and consider political options concerning its governance. On Wednesday, 3.07.1996, Mr. Shehu and Mr. Meksi will receive, respectively, at 12:00 Mr. Sabri Godo of the Republican Party and at 13:00 Mr. Teodor Laço of the Social Democratic Union Party; on Thursday, 4.07.1996, Mr. Bushati of the Christian Democratic Party and Mr. Melo of the “Union for Human Rights” Party; and on Friday, 5.07.1996, Mr. Shehu and Mr. Meksi will receive Mr. Selfo of the “Balli Kombëtar” Party and Mr. Maluka of the “Green Party.”

Yesterday the First Session of the People’s Assembly began its work Message of the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, on the occasion of the opening of the First Session of the People’s Assembly, 1 July 1996 through entirely democratic procedures, will give the country the entire legal and institutional system of the European model, which will constitute the true legal infrastructure for Albania’s full integration into Europe. The new Albanian Parliament, through the strong laws it will create, together with the parliaments of friendly countries in the region, in Europe and around the world, as well as with international parliamentary institutions, and through the ratification of agreements, treaties and conventions for cooperation with friendly countries and international institutions, will make an essential contribution to consolidating Albania’s friendship and cooperation with these countries and institutions. I take this opportunity to invite the deputies of the left-wing opposition to abandon the red boycott and not to become co-authors of one of the ugliest acts in the entire history of world democracy, an act that was carefully prepared elsewhere

Deputies from the PD, PS, PR, PBK and PBDNJ took part in Parliament The People’s Assembly opened its first session of the new legislature yesterday. Almost all the deputies took part in yesterday’s plenary session, including those from the PD, PR, PBK and PBDNJ, as well as one of the ten deputies from the PS. It was PR deputy Sabri Godo who, on behalf of the ten oldest members of the Party[?], opened the proceedings of this first plenary session of the new legislature. In his opening speech, Godo expressed his belief that the Assembly would

Opening speech by Republican Party deputy Sabri Godo

Opening speech by Republican Party deputy Sabri Godo . The Assembly will make the laws the people want. Socialist deputies should follow the recommendations of the Council of Europe. the ten oldest members of Parliament, that this Assembly would enact the laws the people want, laws that protect the nation, individual freedoms, and economic and social prosperity. He expressed the hope that a spirit of understanding and tolerance would prevail. After the opening speech, the session chair, Godo, invited the deputies to stand and sing the “National Anthem.” He then invited the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, who delivered his message to the deputies of this Parliament. “This Parliament will give the country all the laws it lacks,” Berisha said, “and will improve the new laws so that Albania enters the 2000s with a complete and perfected framework for the rule of law, its institutions and its laws.” The ten oldest deputies chose me to open and chair this first session of the new legislature of the People’s Assembly. I wish you success in your work, trusting that this Assembly will ensure that the laws the people want are enacted, in defense of the nation and individual freedoms, and for economic and social prosperity. I hope that a spirit of understanding and tolerance will prevail among us, while party interference is increasingly set aside. Regardless of the events that preceded this, the Assembly must seek ways to resolve the urgent problems people are experiencing; this can be achieved if each of us, and all of us together, honorably shoulder the duties of a deputy. The truth must be spoken here, and politics must serve as a means of civic agreement for shared governance. We must never forget that we are under the reproving gaze of the people, as well as of the Western democracies, which are showing great concern for Albania. The left-wing opposition, represented by the Socialist Party, is absent from this Assembly today. It would be appropriate for the deputies of this party to follow the recommendations of the Council of Europe and take their seats here. Disagreements, however difficult, can be resolved only through open dialogue, and the Assembly, among other things, provides an opportunity for dialogue. I believe we will proceed quickly to re-elect the parliamentary bodies, taking the first step toward establishing order in the highest institution of the Nation. Once again, I wish you success in the Assembly and happiness in each of your lives. continued on page 3

Address by the President of the Republic Sali Berisha at the joint meeting of the National Council and the PD parliamentary group . The PD’s mandate consolidates Albania’s European direction. The beginning of the new legislature’s work expresses [text as printed: “parliament shqiptar”] and, to you legislators elected by the free vote, I extend my deepest respects and wish you success in your noble work. With this message I wish to express my conviction that the Albanian Parliament that emerged from the elections of 26 May will continue, with dedication, along the path begun by the previous Parliament and will fulfill its historic mission at the end of this century. This Parliament will give the country all the laws that are lacking and will perfect its institutions and its laws. Through its work and its oversight of the executive, Parliament will make a major contribution to improving governance in Albania, consolidating the new institutions, and rigorously enforcing the law. The new Parliament, through its laws and all its work, will play a decisive role in implementing the PD’s electoral program in Albania, whose implementation will benefit all Albanians alike. The new laws that the new Parliament will adopt will expand and consolidate the space for the market and freedom, and will be a main pillar of Albania’s dignity and national sovereignty. It, through its laws and of the executive, this national sovereignty. It, through its laws and Albania’s democracy, an act carefully prepared by [text unclear: “gjeniu”] to destabilize Albanian democracy and trample on Albania’s sovereignty. While expressing my unwavering respect for all of them, I invite them to assume all the responsibilities arising from their mandate as elected representatives, to represent with dignity the electorate that entrusted them with its votes, hopes and democratic, patriotic ideals, and to take an active part in building and consolidating Albanian democracy. I wish to assure the deputies of the left-wing opposition, and the opposition as a whole, of the unwavering loyalty of the power that emerged from the elections of 26 May toward the opposition and its role in the development of democracy. In conclusion, I once again wish you fruitful work for the well-being of Albania and Albanian democracy. Sinitis is elected leader of PASOK

Address by Mr. Tritan Shehu at the National Council of the PDSH . The socialist boycott is against the Albanians.

The DP National Council selected the candidates who will lead the parliament and the new government. The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, attended the meeting. — The Chairman of the DP, Mr. Tritan Shehu, will be Deputy Prime Minister. The National Council of the DP selected the candidates who will lead the parliament and the new government. The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, attended the meeting. Arbnori and Meksi will continue in top posts. — The Chairman of the DP, Mr. Tritan Shehu, will be Deputy Prime Minister. By secret ballot, the National Council of the Democratic Party, which was also attended by President Berisha, made its final selection on Sunday, June 30, of the candidates who will lead the Albanian government and parliament for the next four years. Aleksandër Meksi, the successful Prime Minister of the democratic government in 1992–’96, will once again head the cabinet of ministers, while Pjetër Arbnori will head the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. The two candidates mentioned above for the government and parliament will need to receive the confidence of the new People’s Assembly, after which, together with the other senior appointees, they can take up their duties. Mr. Tritan Shehu (Chairman of the Democratic Party) has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister, while Ms. Margarita Qirko, a member of parliament for Tirana, has been appointed Deputy Chairwoman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. The other deputy-chairman’s position will be left available to the opposition. Likewise, at Sunday’s meeting of the DP National Council, Mr. Alfis[A?]hia (Deputy Chairman of the DP) was approved as chairman of this party’s Parliamentary Group. Fatos Beja, a member of parliament for Gjirokastër, was elected Secretary-General of the DP Parliamentary Group. What is distinctive about the new candidates selected by the DP National Council is that, this time, appointments to the new posts have taken Western criteria into account, following the contemporary model of European party structures in which the DP participates. Thus, the next government will have only one Deputy Prime Minister, while parliamentary groups will not have deputy chairmen, but only a Secretary-General for the parliamentary group. President Berisha—who attended this meeting—called on the members of parliament, those newly elected to government and parliamentary structures, as well as the entire Democratic Party, to assume a responsibility of ... continued on page 2