Statement by the Association of Journalists of Albania Local elections - free and fair The Association of Journalists of Albania categorically opposes the secret initiative of the White House press secretary, Jennifer Freiman, to dismiss the spokesman of the President of the Republic, Mr. Tritan Shehu. When asked whether this initiative by Ms. Freiman is also linked to the name of the multimillionaire Soros, the leaders of the Association of Journalists of Albania stated that behind this initiative there is not only one person. It seems insufficient that the foreign media are condemned for acting against national and state interests and against the national will. The line of propaganda and insults against opposition figures has gone beyond every limit. Now the scenario to strike at senior officials of the Albanian state is also being put into action. Enough! Insults and accusations without proof are replacing democratic debate. The development of this campaign against Albania is becoming clearer by the day. Three senior Albanian officials have been targeted. The President, the Prime Minister, and the press spokesman. This is no longer criticism, but organized political pressure. This is an attempt to humiliate the Albanian state and intimidate its institutions. The foreign mission to impose double standards in Albania has failed. In Albania there is pluralism, there is a free press, and there are institutions that function. No one can decide which journalist should speak and which spokesman should remain silent. The Association of Journalists of Albania considers this interference unacceptable and anti-democratic. It calls on public opinion and international organizations to condemn any attempt at censorship and intimidation. 200 thousand and from a single plane sent by President Bush, the opinion official of the Association of Journalists of Albania, speaking on its behalf, stressed that Albanians have shown that they know how to defend freedom of speech and the dignity of their state. The foreign mission cannot turn into a punitive mission against the media and the Albanian state. Albania needs partners, not tutors. The Association of Journalists of Albania will continue to firmly defend freedom of the press, editorial independence, and the right of Albanian institutions to be respected.

HILLAR KLINTON: Responding to a question about a statement by the spokesman of the Serbian government, in which the Albanian government was accused of helping ethnic Albanians in Kosovo who are suffering from the violence of Serbian troops and Serbian police in Kosovo, Mr. Clinton said: “I know what you are saying; we discussed this with our ambassador in Belgrade. We are monitoring this closely, and it will become clear that the civilized world views with concern the fact that human rights are being violated even for those ethnic Albanians near the Albanian border, in the area where the creation of a refugee camp has been sparked by Albanians who have left the Albanian border and are entering a border crossing point. It has also been made clear that we value the Albanian government for the elections it is holding, for the transition to democracy, for the liberalization of the economy, and for standards that are so important to all humanity, including Albanians, and we believe that Albania is clearly aligned with the democratic countries in the civilized world”.

PD Organizational Secretary Prof. Ylli Vejsiu comments on this occasion for PD The Democratic Party Council meets tomorrow To be started tonight (today) on above “Koha Jonë” Artificial respiration for the losers Ceka and Imami calls from the USA “The success” of the failures Yes! Q. Andër is distinguished and the round table of the parties “PS has betrayed us” Xhelal Pozhegu, to tolerate their position on the verge of error with sal. affair. PAGE 3

Meeting of Mr. Tritan Shehu with the Italian Minister of Defense The head of state and from views[?] mala shqiptari made a call to ready interconnections Kosovo[?] The official party of nësheljesh[?] The speech of Mr. Tritan Shehu delivered at the congress of the Italian Christian Democratic Union Continued and sufficiently old Italo-Albanian cooperation PAGE 2

Position / The Embassy's position on an article in the daily newspaper “Koha Jonë” dated 18 July 1996 In the article “Massacre in the embassy”, “The SHIK war” “Has blocked the embassies”, “The protector of the international observation mission”, published in the newspaper “Koha Jonë” on 18 July 1996, it becomes necessary to clarify that the German Embassy in Tirana has never, under any circumstances, called SHIK “The protector of the international observation mission”, nor has it had any problem with the Albanian authorities. On the contrary, cooperation with them has been good. In a completely unfounded manner, the article in question mentions that the refugees' office of the embassy supposedly denied “supplying the observers with food”. This is incorrect. The refugees' office at the German Embassy has no role whatsoever in distributing food to observers. The above-mentioned article also states that “the visa office has been closed for security reasons”. This too is not true. The visa office has not been closed. It has continued its normal activity. The above-mentioned article is an example of how speculation and inaccurate news can create an untrue and harmful atmosphere. The German Embassy considers it necessary to make these public clarifications.

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