Interview with the Secretary General of the DP, Besnik Gjongecaj PAGE 3

Rank-and-file Socialists accuse the center PAGE 3

Tirana Mayor Albert Brojka was sworn in . Tirana Municipality—a new structure, capable people. Sali Kelmendi first wished the new mayor success after they signed the document confirming his legitimacy together. In his remarks, Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi, after congratulating the new mayor, pointed out that the new municipal council is larger precisely because Tirana’s problems are growing, just as the capital itself is growing. The Tirana of the 21st century needs infrastructure, housing and sanitation, the prime minister emphasized, calling on the new municipal officials to work honestly and address problems effectively. After taking the oath, Brojka described his new position as a major responsibility: to lead efforts to resolve citizens’ concerns. The priority of Brojka’s program remains urban planning, through implementation of the legal document drawn up in close cooperation by the Republic’s Territorial Planning Council, the Institute of Urban Planning and Tirana Municipality. Supplying water to the tertiary networks by the end of 1997, providing electricity to two-thirds of the homeless population by the end of 2000, reducing unemployment to 8%, and exercising stricter oversight of the capital’s cleaning companies are, he said, the basic elements of his platform set out so far. Highlighting the priorities for the anticipated development of Tirana and its municipality, Brojka wants to establish a new administrative structure staffed by capable and honest people. “I will fight corruption, which is talked about so much today, but first let us investigate properly and not rely on hearsay,” he said. Meanwhile, for Brojka, the 500 kiosks built in Tirana over the past four years without an urban plan that had been studied and legally approved are the only livelihood of thousands of families in Tirana; demolishing them would cause social hardship that serves no one, he said, acknowledging that no more permits would be issued to build kiosks where there is no further need, while he hopes the existing kiosks will eventually be put out of business by the market economy itself. On the other hand, the state will invest more in restoring lost greenery, while citizens themselves should do more to keep their surroundings clean, he said. To support his strategy for the next four years, Brojka intends to open two new public service offices at Tirana Municipality. One will serve the 15 MPs from Tirana District, and the other will receive members of the public and provide access to a lawyer, who will guide them toward the right solution to their problem, he said. S.N. stricter oversight of the capital’s cleaning companies are, Brojka far. — of families in Tirana, and

. The Socialist press yesterday announced a purge in the ranks of the Socialists. Thus, if responsibility is traced from the top down to the grassroots, it is thought that the purge will remain confined to the top. The type of purge has also been announced: this time, unlike the one at the second congress, it has been dubbed a purge of the two-faced. Although the announcement says it is difficult to identify individuals in the SP who embody this phenomenon—which is true—they will nevertheless carry out a one-by-one selection. First and foremost, they will remove from their ranks those who are Democrats or, as they themselves put it, those who did not support the SP in the elections and even voted for or campaigned for DP candidates. This comical aspect of the purge has never been heard of before. Party suffocation of their own people, as well as such extensive dissent, leaves no room for expulsions, since they have expelled themselves, to use the Socialists’ vocabulary, or have actually abandoned the SP. If this concerns the grassroots, the party’s purge of Democrats was carried out long ago, without any need for Socialist leaders to sharpen their swords. Perhaps this remains to be done in the SP’s leadership, where, it seems, we will see another round of beheadings. It is unclear who is meant—or, rather, who has practiced the second face in the SP more legally or illegally. So far, the prime suspect is Socialist leader Fatos Nano. A petition with signatures collected to support his removal as party leader was a warning of what was also said publicly yesterday. It is unknown how he may have committed the anti-party offense of being two-faced, but he has often been accused of collaborating with Berisha, as well as of collaborating with the Socialists. Another two-faced person is Dokle, who is sometimes with Nano’s motion supporters and at other times with party dissidents such as Meta, Pëllumbi and Hajdaraga. This is quite verifiable in Dokle’s case, just as it is in Mejdan’s, though according to a different pattern. Mejdan’s faces have appeared, on the one hand, in his ties with the former bloc and, on the other, in his attempts to assume the position of a moderate politician in the SP. Islami, too, could be judged two-faced. He is both for and against Nano, and both for and against Poli’s alternatives. So far, we have never had the opportunity to know his consistent position, which could turn into a real disaster for his political career. As for Meta, he is closer than anyone else to facing the charge of duplicity and being punished for it. He pretends to be both a Socialist and a Westerner. He is supported both by Albanian Socialists and by the Socialist International, which means that he does not present one face but two, both before Albanian Socialists and before European Socialists. This cannot be forgiven. In any case, we wish the Socialist Party success in identifying the two-faced, while we ourselves will help as much as we can to identify them accurately.

Supplying water to the tertiary networks by the end of 1997, providing electricity to two-thirds of the homeless population by the end of 2000, reducing unemployment to 8%, and exercising stricter oversight of the capital’s cleaning companies are, Brojka said, the basic elements of his platform set out so far.

The High Council of Justice paves the way for the launch of the School of Magistrates With the appointment of the remaining board members, the school’s governing bodies will be elected and work will begin on the professional training of magistrates.

Last night at the National Gallery of Arts PAGE 5 Exhibition by the People’s Painter, Agim Zajmi, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his birth

Minister Zhulali left for an official visit to Poland

The bilateral military cooperation agreement will be signed PAGE 2 Minister Zhulali left for an official visit to Poland Ob… partner…

Labor Inspectorate: 30 fines in the first nine months of ’96 This year, the production businesses violating labor law have changed. Until yesterday, the construction sector was the most talked-about; today, it is garment factories and processing lines

Meetings to constitute the newly elected local government bodies continue Yesterday, meetings of district and municipal councils were held in Durrës, Devoll, Elbasan, Tropojë, Fier, Mirditë, and Malësi e Madhe. A meeting of the Tirana municipal council was held in Tirana. Meetings of municipal councils were also held yesterday, where the newly elected officials took their oaths as the local government was constituted, before the State Secretariat for Local Government. The local authorities that emerged from the October 20 elections completed their oath-taking ceremonies yesterday, pledging to defend the Constitution and the laws and to be guided in all their activities by the interests of the state. This formula was adopted by the municipal councils and selected by the district and municipal councils in Durrës, Devoll, Elbasan, Tropojë, Fier, Mirditë, Malësi e Madhe, and by the Tirana municipal council. As reported by the State Secretariat for Local Government, the Council of Ministers delegation attended this meeting: A. Meksi, N. Kosovaçi, H. Shamçja, Ridvan Bode, Sokoli Bejleri, B. Gjoncaj, H. Halili, Roza Pati, and A. Babameto, as well as those elected from the respective prefectures. The attendance of the aforementioned officials at all the oath-taking ceremonies was organized and arranged by the respective prefectures. This formula reflects the seriousness with which the elected officials, a responsible local government, and the central government will fulfill the PD’s obligations to provide local government that addresses people’s problems. As mentioned above, while in Tirana only the municipal council meeting took place, attended by Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi. The meeting of the Tirana district council, as is known, was held two days earlier. As reported by the State Secretariat for Local Government, what is important is that these open meetings were marked by a constructive approach to resolving problems, including those concerning local government, and by engagement with citizens and ordinary people, to identify once again the problems affecting their lives and the service with which the PD’s elected representatives are beginning their new work in the service of the people. M. BUÇPAPAJ

PD reaffirmed in Përmet In the elections held yesterday for the chair of the district council and the municipal councils of Përmet and Këlcyrë, the candidates proposed by the PD triumphed. “The best candidates won,” declared district MP Cenë Pollo, who attended the ceremony, where the government was represented by Interior Minister Halit Shamata and Prefect Fatos Gjirëzi. In the contest for district council chair, Edmond Theodhori won clearly against Socialist candidate Thoma Purrigji, with 15 votes out of 23 in total. In addition to the PD votes, he also received the support of all the small parties, from the Pole of the Center to the Republican Party. Magje also appeared pleased with his victory, as did the Socialist councillors. In Këlcyrë, the PS put forward no candidate against Maliq Mucenji, who was unanimously elected chair of the municipal council. Muhamet Iliazi was elected head of the Përmet council; like the other two elected officials, he is a member of the district PD leadership. “Democracy in Përmet has undoubtedly scored a complete victory,” Minister Shamata commented on the result. The PD has indeed achieved a sweeping success in this district, where the Socialists consider themselves strong. Following its victory in the May elections, in the October local elections the PD won the chairs of both municipalities and five of the seven communes. “This confirms the tradition of the people of Përmet,” Mr. Pollo said at the procedural meeting. “Now we must all use our mandate to move the region forward and set its development in motion. The opening of the Tre Urat border crossing and the road to Berat will be important milestones in our efforts.” Yesterday’s PD victory heralds similar developments in upcoming elections for commune councils.