“EUROPEAN ANALYST,” June ’96 Critics of the Albanian elections are biased, says Mark Almond MARK ALMOND is a professor of modern history at Oxford. Almond was an observer sent to Albania by the British Helsinki Human Rights Group. Page 3

Draft resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

There are five days left before the new Parliament of Albania convenes. Considering the scale of such an assessment, July may be defined as a further starting point for democratic reforms in the country. It undertakes to continue implementing Albania’s program for building a market economy in the country and improving the institutions of the Albanian state toward the more advanced European and American models. The result of the May 26 elections, from which this parliament emerged, has been attacked in an unrestrained manner by the Albanian far left. This attack on the elections has recently been amplified against the new parliament, aiming to keep the voice of opposition alive even throughout its coming four-year term. The far left’s escalation of its attack from the voting to the legitimacy of parliament reveals this political grouping’s contribution to the new phenomena and structures taking shape in Albania. They are trying by force to fill the void created by their absence from Parliament and, consequently, from all the processes that accompany and guide parliament. For them, treating involvement in Parliament’s affairs as a fight against it is an unchanging model. During the previous parliament, too, they tried fighting the majority by boycotting it, but these boycotts were never effective. They were always forced to return, unable to achieve their extra-parliamentary ambitions. There is nothing left for the Red Front to do but watch, without any effect, the work of this parliament, elected by the free vote of the Albanians. The effort to fabricate the illegitimacy of the Parliament that will convene on July 1 merely confirms the Red Front’s absence from it; it cannot establish the validity or invalidity of this institution’s decisions. If the Socialists are considering taking part in it, their seats are empty. They can test their claims from within Parliament, through the force of votes and democratic reasoning. But an extra-parliamentary struggle does not divert Parliament from its purpose, which is reform; it only turns the Socialists’ or the other two parties’ weapons against themselves. It is not the legitimacy of Parliament that is at issue, but their fight against Parliament. With the figures they post—no more than 2 percent of the votes—they cannot oppose a group of twelve votes in a parliament. The seriousness of the fight against Parliament is worth no more than a conversation in a café and cannot be elevated to the level of political debate, much less to a political strategy for a party or group of parties whose tiny voter figures can barely be made out. Likewise, Parliament’s legitimacy has been recognized by the most important international parliaments and institutions, with which Parliament has had and will continue to have relations and cooperation. A political force may or may not recognize a parliament. That depends on the political direction taken by that party, which may be the opposite of the general direction of a country. This is not a sufficient condition for a parliament to be legal or otherwise. The July 1 Parliament has the people’s vote and international recognition. That is what constitutes its legitimacy. The rest is the emotion or retrograde outbursts of the losers, who are very few.

It was the group of representatives of the Council of Europe member governments that, at its meeting on Monday, reached the conclusion that Albania should continue to receive assistance from the Council of Europe member governments on its path toward democratization. Meanwhile, after hearing the views of the leaders of Albanian political forces the previous day and becoming acquainted with the position of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observers, the Council of Europe’s Political Affairs Committee prepared a draft resolution on the elections in Albania. The draft resolution will take its final form today, after the Political Affairs Committee also examines the amendments submitted by representatives of the Albanian delegations. It will then be presented to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which meets today at 6 p.m. to consider it. Examining the substance of this issue, it is clear that the Council of Europe’s Political Affairs Committee reached the reasonable conclusion that the elections in Albania were legitimate. Although the draft resolution contains criticisms of both the Albanian Government and the opposition, which is considered responsible for the irregularities that occurred during the elections, its conclusion on the legitimacy of the elections is unequivocal. The legitimacy of the newly elected Albanian Parliament is undisputed. There have been discussions in the Political Affairs Committee about some of the countries where elections have recently been held, including Albania. Particularly worth noting are the words of the Greek MP, Mr Aristotelis Paditis, who highlighted the great progress Albania has made in democracy: “Let Albania continue on the right path it has begun.” In preparing the draft resolution, the committee also took into account the positions of foreign observers on the elections in Albania. In fact, the observers have stayed and remained highly critical of Albania, but not a single critical word about them has been heard from those who took part as observers. The representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mark Almond, has had his positions repeatedly translated and reported in the newspaper, but no one listens. If we take the announcement today as final, the Political Affairs Committee will examine the amendments submitted by representatives of the Albanian delegations. The draft resolution will then be presented to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which meets today at 6 p.m. to consider it. Examining the substance of this issue, it is clear that the Council of Europe’s Political Affairs Committee reached the reasonable conclusion that the elections in Albania were legitimate. Although the draft resolution contains criticisms of both the Albanian Government and the opposition, which is considered responsible for the irregularities that occurred during the elections, its conclusion on the legitimacy of the elections is unequivocal. The legitimacy of the newly elected Albanian Parliament is undisputed. There have been discussions in the Political Affairs Committee about some of the countries where elections have recently been held, including Albania. Particularly worth noting are the words of the Greek MP, Mr Aristotelis Paditis, who highlighted the great progress Albania has made in democracy: “Let Albania continue on the right path it has begun.” In preparing the draft resolution, the committee also took into account the positions of foreign observers on the elections in Albania. In fact,

Interview with the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, Mr Tritan Shehu Paradoxically, the Albanian opposition continues to smear Albania and insult various Albanian politicians, and has persistently called for Albania to be expelled from the Council of Europe. Page 3

Yesterday at the Greek Embassy: Andreas Papandreu was a historic figure in Greece. Yesterday at midday, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, visited the Greek Embassy in Tirana, where he stopped to express his condolences on the death of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreu. In his entry in the book of condolences, President Berisha praised Papandreu’s role in the development of modern Greece and his historic contribution to Greece and its integration into Europe. Berisha said that Papandreu’s death was one of the greatest losses for the Greek people. He also noted that the former Greek prime minister had been an important contributor to the advancement of relations between the Albanian and Greek peoples. Deputies, leaders of political parties, representatives of Albanian society and clergy, various associations, and others also offered condolences at the Greek Embassy. Representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana also paid their respects. Yesterday morning, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr Aleksandër Meksi, left for Greece to attend the funeral ceremony of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreu. At Rinas Airport, Prime Minister Meksi was seen off by Ministers Musaraj and Xhaja.

He will attend the funeral ceremony of Andreas Papandreu Yesterday morning, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr Aleksandër Meksi, left for Greece to attend the funeral ceremony of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreu. At Rinas Airport, Prime Minister Meksi was seen off by Ministers Musaraj and Xhaja.

Gramoz Pashko’s protests, complaints, and whining about the “irregularities,” “manipulations,” and “violence” allegedly committed during the May 26 elections, as well as his condemnation of democracy and his country by cozying up to the most extreme anti-Albanian ultranationalists, such as Nikolla Geixh, are the clearest proof that Pashko has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Pashko the son, wanting to resemble his father (Josif) as much as possible, has decided to stop at nothing in pursuit of this “lofty” goal. Just as his father (Josif) once kissed up to the Serbs and then signed on with them to kill hundreds of Albanians, the son too has decided that, to resemble him as closely as possible, he should cozy up to and flirt with the most extreme anti-Albanian ultranationalists, such as Nikolla Geixh, to the detriment of Albania and the Albanians. When Pashko (the younger) set off for the USA to flirt with the most anti-Albanian figures to Albania’s detriment, he was certainly well informed that Geixh is the sponsor of the terrorist organization MAVI, an organization that carried out the Peshkëpi massacre in Gjirokastër three years ago. He knew this very well and had plenty of additional information, including reports that Geixh’s senior officers had offered to destabilize the situation in Albania and exploit the circumstances that had arisen. Precisely because he knew all this, he rushed to Geixh and asked for support, concocting meetings with congressmen involving just two or three people and then presenting them as though, at these meetings, he had raised concerns about this regime with the authorities or even with the State Department. All these scenes, ideas, and arrangements, with Geixh’s own care and involvement, had been carefully worked out in advance by Pashko (the son). He had prepared predictions and a catchphrase to make himself look good in front of his own people, and then it would also be published in the untruthful “KU.” In this speech, Pashko (the younger) protests, complains, whines, pleads, and spins a fantasy, speaking out against democracy and against democracy in Albania, presenting himself as an opponent of Albania itself and of Albanian politicians. He portrays himself as living under a dictatorship far more brutal than Enver Hoxha’s, as the most persecuted person in the school, and at the same time as the symbolic embodiment of pure democracy. The delirious fantasies in his speech reach the point where he claims that on May 28 a large number of people marching toward “Skënderbej” Square were beaten and executed. And how many could this large number of people led by Pashko (the younger) have been, other than a few dozen like-minded companions by his side? Pashko (the younger) forgets to mention one simple fact in his speech: just one day earlier, his own side had descended upon more than 300,000 Albanians celebrating the victory, heading toward this empty square, led by the free will and ardent desire of the people to celebrate their final victory over communism. NDREKË GJINI

Debate on Albania scheduled in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels Page 2