The group of prosecutors orders the seizure of “Gjallica’s” assets 40 financial specialists from the State Audit are examining the company’s records, while state banks and private lending firms have been ordered to immediately freeze the deposits of all the directors and other employees of the commercial company “Gjallica” who are under investigation Page 2

The idea of a technical government, or of any kind of coalition with the Socialists, was completely rejected at a meeting held yesterday at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana between several of the country’s political forces. The roundtable was convened by the chairman of the PD, Mr Tritan Shehu, who said it was intended “to lower political tensions, avert conflicts, minimize the damage caused by the collapse of the lending firms, and minimize the further damage that the Republican Party, the National Front Party, the Legality Movement Party, the Christian Democratic Party, the Human Rights Party, and the Democratic Union Party could cause the country.” The Socialist Party, the Democratic Alliance Party and the Social Democratic Party did not respond to the PD’s invitation. According to PD chairman Mr Shehu, this “reveals these parties’ lack of desire for dialogue, as well as their indifference toward assuming even a little responsibility for overcoming the country’s grave situation.” The failure of these parties to attend the roundtable was strongly condemned by Mehdiu of the PR, Selfoaj of the BK, Durollari of the PLL, Bushati of the PDK, Melo of the PBDNJ and Starova of the PBSD. It was judged there to reflect the general spirit of boycott and intolerance displayed by these parties in the country’s political life. “Nevertheless,” PD’s Shehu said, “the Democratic Party will not abandon its responsibility to establish dialogue and maintain contact with every political force in the country.” The response given by Chairman Shehu to the three parties, as at the roundtable meeting with the President of the Republic, was described by the PD chairman as evidence of hypocrisy. Following this, all the parties rejected, several days ago, the President of the Republic’s invitation to a roundtable, as well as the meeting initiated by the PR on current issues. A technical government: a springboard for bringing the Communists to power The general conclusion of yesterday’s meeting was that the issue of forming a technical government or a coalition government does not arise in Albania. Sëlloja of the BK stated that “we will never cooperate with the Communists, as that would be unacceptable.” Mehdiu of the PR said that the National Council of his party had likewise decided unequivocally that it would never enter a coalition with the PS. Bushati, Durollari and Starova also took this position. Melo of the PBDNJ, by contrast, considered a “broad-based government, with representatives from the PS as well.” The representative of the PBDNJ, however, expressed support for a new PD government. Starova of the PBSD defended the Meksi Government. Regarding these parties’ calls for a technical government, Mr Shehu said that governing was not something any political force had the right to impose. But, according to Shehu, the situation called for the popular forces to show their sense of responsibility and for the country’s government to take a series of political measures. Everything will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the PD National Council. Finally, they again declared that the way must not be opened for the Communists to take power and undo the democratic achievements. A technical government or coalition was considered something that is, indeed, … Reduce tensions, avert conflicts, condemn terrorist acts On Friday and yesterday, PD chairman Shehu discussed at length the political, economic and social measures the government should take to overcome the difficulties facing the country. The Democratic Party emphasized the need for immediate “action, action, action”—energetic measures, I would say. Shehu explained to the party leaders the extensive measures proposed by the PD to reduce tensions. But this requires a compromise across society; people want their problems solved within a day. If the people lose patience, there will be threats; this is a popular reaction. You cannot turn your back on the thousands of people who were deceived into investing in pyramid schemes, nor can you expect them all to take to the streets at once. The roundtable calls on Albanians, and all its members and supporters, to reduce tensions and avoid conflict. Such acts, Shehu said, seriously damage Albania, not only economically, but also its image and its future development. Selfoja, Bushati, Mehdiu, Starova, Durollari and Melo called for dialogue among people and an end to violence. We are all Albanians, we are all brothers. We need unity, we need to preserve the nation, we need progress, and so on. “Two brothers who do not get along are like two hands hindering one another instead of helping one another,” says a proverb. We Albanians need to move forward. But we must leave behind conflict, fires and mistakes, and condemn criminals, thieves, terrorists and the like. This is the roundtable’s clear conclusion. It was said that justice must speak without fear. “A free nation obeys the law, and only the law,” says a distinguished philosopher. Transparency on the pyramid schemes; minimize the damage they have caused The leaders of the political parties called for greater transparency in resolving the pyramid-scheme problem and appealed to the government to do everything possible to minimize citizens’ losses of savings. The roundtable called on Albanian citizens to distance themselves from terrorists, mafiosi and criminals. This appeal was addressed particularly to the people of Vlora. Mr Shehu said that ideas were being discussed for Vlora, including ways to address its problems and take further measures to help its citizens. Through the PD, he also called on Albanians to return to work, creation and construction on a broad scale. In this connection, it denounced the extremist opposition for obstructing the revival of this city, whose progress is being closely watched. “It is very difficult to rekindle a love of work, but destroying this love is extraordinarily easy,” writes O. Lichtenberg. Albanians are suffering; they must forget the pyramid schemes and return to productive work MUJË BUPÇAPAJ At yesterday’s roundtable, economic measures that should be taken were discussed; political measures were discussed; social measures were discussed; and the many opinions of the representatives and assessments of the current state of the police’s work in general were discussed, without compromising the need to strengthen its work. The tendency toward certain terrorist and vandalistic acts, and political manipulation that unsettles the people, including by certain foundations, was also noted. The necessity of upholding the law was undoubtedly stressed. Illegal actions and rallies were condemned, while emphasizing that peaceful protests are part of democracy, whereas unlawful acts are its enemy. On the other hand, the political forces that attended were in general agreement that the issue of a coalition or technical government with the Socialists does not arise and cannot arise. Thus, I can say that this was undoubtedly a productive and responsible meeting, whose contributions will certainly improve the programme the government is adopting to protect citizens. It also addressed the financial and economic problems that have emerged and issued a call to the voters and supporters of our parties to distance themselves from terrorist and unlawful acts, and to respect the laws and order of the Albanian state governed by the rule of law. It was stressed that such acts not only damage Albania’s economy, but also eliminate any possibility of an economic solution and harm our country, democratic and social developments, and immediate actions with anti-national aims. This was clearly emphasized by everyone present at the meeting. Every political force makes its own political proposals for different solutions; every political force has the right to make proposals as it sees fit. We respect those views, consider and analyze them, always taking into account suggestions made in good faith to improve the situation, whether or not they agree with our views. The left- and right-wing opposition said in its statement that it would not take part in this roundtable, and, in a more absurd claim, said it had asked for a roundtable with the President of the Republic, even though they have refused to attend every roundtable organized by the President of the Republic. Their absence shows how their persistent refusal of alternatives and their destructiveness are intended precisely to exploit and politically manipulate the situation. This is undoubtedly rooted in their mindset of not contributing to normal developments in Albania. I want to say that this is not the view of the mass of Socialist supporters, who undoubtedly want a stable, democratic and developed Albania. These views expressed in the statement are those of the leaders who in fact dominate the opposition party. We are fully open to further discussions and meetings. We have never lacked the desire to talk with all opposition political forces, whoever they may be. The first condition, the removal of political rhetoric, seems to me entirely unfounded, since Tirana is completely calm and without police. As for the second condition, which says that criminal gangs must stop being used against opposition leaders: I see no criminal gangs. I say that the criminal gangs are those attacking state institutions in several cities. Thirdly, they demand the release from prison and dismissal of criminal cases against opposition leaders who are staying in private premises and not going to the police stations. This is a matter for the courts and the prosecution. I want to say one thing: everyone is responsible for terrorist and unlawful acts, and no one is above the law. Fatmir Mehdiu: Deputy chairman of the PR As the PR, we called for and stressed a civic compromise, with the aim of having the government establish contact with representatives of Vlora, creating a free economic zone in Vlora and providing tax concessions for other businesses operating there today, such as VEF A, Kamberi, Silvaja, etc., so they can better serve the city’s economic interests. Politically, we asked the Albanian government to make a statement or declaration about deepening relations with the United States of America and establishing direct contacts, because, as far as we know, the Albanian government has requested concrete assistance from the European Community and the United States of America. Hysen Selfo: Deputy chairman of the National Front At yesterday’s meeting we declared that we are absolutely opposed to violence, and that we call for peaceful and free demonstrations by all parties, without dividing the nation. We demand transparency from the Albanian government, through statements on television and in the Albanian media, about all the firms that have gone bankrupt and especially those that continue to operate. We want to know everything about the funds invested in these firms. The third point we insisted on and called for was the government’s resignation, and we do not accept a technical government. The government’s resignation is necessary to initiate discussions with the people about another government capable of leading the country through this situation of unrest. The new government should be formed by the party that emerges victorious—the Democratic Party. We, as the National Front, will not take part in the new government that is formed. Guro Durollari: Chairman of the PLL At this meeting we called for the government’s resignation. We are not in favor of a technical government, but of a government that resolves the political problems. At this table, we did not call for blocking the party’s efforts to hold a popular referendum on choosing political solutions before economic ones. We discussed and reached conclusions on several points, which were left for further discussion by the National Council of the Democratic Party. We called for the government’s resignation, but the new government that emerges should again be formed by the Democratic Party. Zef Bushati, Chairman of the Christian Democratic Party All the parties gathered yesterday called for the government’s resignation. We are glad that the Democratic Party, through its chairman Shehu, no longer regards the government’s resignation as taboo, and that it has agreed to convey this to the National Council; the most urgent matter is resolving the problem. Like many other parties, we too support forming a new government that emerges from the Democratic Party. Statements by the leaders of the parties who took part in yesterday’s roundtable Tritan Shehu, Chairman of the PD

Every day, examination of the records of the usurious firms is bringing to light their links with those who are now shouting and accusing the democratic government. We are presenting some of the facts, which are also supported by documents. 90% of foundation directors are opposition officials The justice authorities, which have taken possession of the records of the fraudulent foundations, hold the names of all the “small-time fraudsters” who plundered all of Albania, including the directors of other foundations. A quick check of these lists shows that 90% of the employees and directors of these foundations are opposition officials, including candidates for parliament from the opposition. Gjinushi and one of the “KJ” directors withdraw thousands of dollars from Gjallica At a time when Gjallica’s bankruptcy had been measured, and “KJ” published an announcement every day saying that Gjallica would distribute the money on 6 February, one of its principal directors withdrew 10,000 dollars from this account. This director set off for Vlora on 8 January after a telephone conversation with Gjallica’s directors, who promised to return the 10,000 dollars, which represented the principal and interest. Just two days earlier, PSD chairman Skënder Gjinushi had withdrawn money from the bank, but the amount he withdrew was smaller: 8,000 dollars. Kurt Kola’s 15,000 dollars A few days ago, Kurt Kola admitted in a press statement that he had received 15,000 dollars from one of the usurious firms to finance his son’s studies abroad. There is also another document in which Kurt Kolai confirmed that he had received “assistance” in dollars, though it is not known whether he withdrew this money or not. Kurt Kola is president of the Forum for Democracy, which accuses the Albanian government of stealing people’s money. “KJ” owes people 40,000 dollars A few months ago, shortly before the 26 May elections, the director of the newspaper “KJ”, Nikollë Lesi, received 40,000 dollars from one of the usurious firms “for his newspaper”. The 40,000 dollars were taken as a “loan” to be repaid within two months, but about ten months have passed and Lesi’s 40,000 dollars have not been returned. Thus “KJ” owes the people who deposited their money in that firm a full 40,000 dollars. Note: The facts above are documented, and very soon we will present them together with other facts and the relevant documents. E.PALOKA Page 3

Statement by the Albanian government The article “Why has Europe turned a blind eye to the corruption poisoning a people?”, written by Andre Gumbel and published in the British daily “The Independent” on 14 February 1997, contains distortions and ranges from inaccuracies to outright deception. Page 3

Rebuttal by the PD spokesperson The Democratic Party has had only lawful funding The newspaper “Koha Jonë” continues to spread falsehoods about the Democratic Party’s funding during the election campaign. Recently, it has published some worthless information that is far from reality. We therefore inform the editorial office of that newspaper that we will refer the matter to the judicial authorities. The Albanian Democratic Party has had only lawful and transparent funding.

No to a coalition with the Socialists The idea of a technical government is rejected. The PD government is defended