Yesterday at noon, President of the Republic Sali Berisha received the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, led by the Deputy President of the Committee, Mr. Vito Leceze. President Berisha received the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Parliamentarians foster friendship between the two countries Yesterday at noon, President of the Republic Sali the Italian Chamber of Deputies, led by the Deputy President of the Committee, Mr. Vito Leceze. President Berisha praised this visit and the contribution Italian parliamentarians have made and continue to make to friendship and cooperation between our two peoples and countries. He spoke about democratic developments in Albania and the efforts being made by the Democratic Party and Government to develop dialogue and cooperation with the various political forces. Regarding the situation in Kosovo, the President stressed the need to find a solution in order to avert an explosion that would be dangerous for the entire region. The Italian deputies undertook to work to strengthen friendship and increase the spirit of cooperation between our two peoples and countries.

Working meeting of President Berisha with the leaders of the People’s Assembly and the Albanian Government Following the meetings held over the past few days with the highest-ranking government officials, yesterday President Berisha held another working meeting, attended by Speaker of Parliament Arbnori, Chairman of the Council of Ministers Meksi, Prosecutor General Dragoshi, ministers Bode, Shamata, Pëçi, Halili, State Secretary for Local Government Kosovrasti, Governor of the National Bank Luniku, bank executives and his advisers. At this meeting, President Berisha called on officials at every level to be close to the people affected by the fraud and to explain to them, through clear and convincing dialogue, that the Government’s decisions, Parliament’s laws, and the effective interventions of the Prosecutor’s Office, the police forces and the National Intelligence Service had effectively and successfully averted a disaster on a very wide scale that the pyramid schemes would have caused, and had saved from being looted the money of hundreds of thousands of Albanian families. Thus, solely from the timely freezing of 25 ... [?] ... they, together with bank interest, will be returned to them. - A commission should be set up with ... [?] throughout the country to identify the families most seriously affected and determine immediate measures to help these families. ... no alternative other than bankruptcy, then their bankruptcy should be carried out through transparent legal procedures, and the values of ... [?] The effective interventions of the Prosecution, the law-enforcement forces, and the National Intelligence Service have efficiently and successfully averted a disaster on a very large scale that the pyramid schemes would have caused, and have saved the money of hundreds of thousands of Albanian families from being plundered. Thus, simply by freezing 25 billion lek in time—money that, under the fraud scheme during February, would have had to be distributed to only one third of the creditors, while the other two thirds of the lenders would have been left empty-handed, victims of fraud, because interest rates of 300% had been set—all lenders would now benefit by receiving money from the distribution of the frozen funds. President Berisha also called for: - Lenders to be reimbursed, since all the money deposited in the banks is their money and it, together with bank interest, will be returned to them. - A commission of lawyers, depositors’ representatives, and banking-finance experts to be established to determine the various concrete ways of returning the money and other assets to the lenders. This commission, which will work under the Government Commission, should submit its proposals to the Government, which will draft a law for this purpose and present it to Parliament. Then, through a fully legal and transparent procedure, it will begin paying out the money. - All communes and municipalities to identify the most severely affected families and determine immediate measures to help them. - The Government Commission to begin dialogue with companies that, in addition to their usurious activities—which they must exit—also have other economic activities and investments in various fields. Once experts have assessed their economic capacity in relation to their obligations, decisions should be made, always in the interests of the lenders and to reduce their losses. - In cases where there is no alternative to bankruptcy, the companies should be wound up through transparent legal procedures, and the proceeds from this process, in accordance with transparent laws and decisions, should be transferred to all the lenders of these companies. - In all other cases, transparent government decisions and, where necessary, specific laws should establish state measures to ease these companies’ difficulties so they can overcome their current problems and increase profits, first and foremost in order to repay the debts they owe to lenders. All these measures make it possible to implement this fairer proposal, which sets out all the methods for returning the money. Secondly, there is considerable speculation in the press about the restrictions imposed by our bank on payments to depositors of no more than 30 million lek per day. I believe such a measure is vital. First, for the depositors themselves, because if the banks in Albania were to freely release these depositors’ money within a short period, leaving hundreds of thousands of their deposits... this would cause immediate, runaway inflation. Secondly, it would immediately undermine living standards throughout the country and destroy institutions that, alongside their usurious activities—which they must leave—also have other activities and significant economic investments in various fields; an intensive dialogue should be established with them. legal provisions in force, should create every possible facility and take all possible steps to reduce the losses of borrowers in every case where firms have the capacity to do so through their profits. In other cases, the familiar, classical method of bankruptcy will of course remain, together with securing the monetary assets that will be returned in full to Albanian lenders.

Statement by President Berisha to Albanian Television In conclusion, I can say that at this meeting I once again asked the Government, Parliament and all institutions to take vigorous and rapid measures to minimize, as much as possible, the damage caused to Albanian lenders by the bankruptcy of the pyramid schemes. In this regard, I consider it very important, first of all, to establish intensive dialogue between officials and citizens in order to explain clearly the effectiveness of the recent actions. I see that there is a misunderstanding and a tendency to manipulate other people’s misfortune. I understand the citizens’ protests and their anger and sorrow, and I do not condemn them at all; those who try to manipulate them, however, should be told—the Vllahosovs—that there is no longer a proletariat in Albania. These citizens have indeed suffered a misfortune and a loss, and the Government will make every effort to alleviate it, but it is essential to understand certain measures that were taken. Take the freezing of funds: 25 billion lekë, which were frozen in the last two foundations, now belong entirely to their lenders. Had these not been frozen, with 300% interest they would have been paid out by May, in short, to ... [?] ... lending and borrowing, and they should propose to the Government as soon as possible that it require all the small firms operating in Albania to do so. No country and no bank can undertake such an action, which would be destructive for all the firms and investors. Therefore, their gradual payment, always including interest for the delay, is the only way—the safest way—to overcome these difficulties. At this same meeting, I asked the Government, the government commission, Parliament and all institutions to establish intensive dialogue with the usurious firms (from which ... will emerge), as well as with the important usurious economic investments (which may emerge from them), in various fields. The Government and the institutions, making use of all the legal provisions in force, should create the necessary facilities ... [?]

Meksi establishes two technical subcommittees to address the borrowing problem The way the frozen money will be distributed will be determined within a very short period. Our wish is for this distribution to begin as soon as possible, to avoid any misunderstanding or misinterpretation. The money belongs to those who gave it to these fraudulent, criminal foundations. It will be returned to its owners as soon as possible—in the shortest time technically feasible. So we will find a suitable structure for administering the money so that it can be distributed as soon as possible. The Minister and Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Aleksandër Meksi, in an interview given to television yesterday after a meeting of the Government Commission on borrowing, announced the establishment of two subcommittees, which will complete the process of returning the frozen money and ensure transparency regarding the problems and their resolution for investment companies that also have borrowings. The Government Commission met to implement several instructions given a few hours earlier at the meeting with President Berisha. The Prime Minister began the interview. “The purpose of today’s meeting is to establish two subcommittees,” he stressed, one of which will deal with the issue of

Violent gatherings in the city of Lushnjë Although none of the participants in the illegal gatherings was injured, three police officers from the rapid intervention forces are reportedly hospitalized in serious condition, and 12 others have minor injuries Page 2

Prel Martini refutes “KJ” The indictment was filed by the National Intelligence Service Mr. Prel Martini explains: “As is clear from the verification carried out yesterday at the presidium of the Tirana District Court, this civil case file, in which, as stated above, the plaintiff was the National Intelligence Service and the defendant was Rrapush Xhaferri, was held by the judge handling the case, Luan Daci, from 30.IV.1996 until 2.10.1996.” Page 3

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