The President of the Republic ordered the return to their barracks of those military units which, by decision of the People’s Assembly, had been deployed to assist with public order.

The President of the Republic called for: Yesterday, President of the Republic Sali Berisha asked the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Aleksandër Meksi, to form a government commission to study the problems and difficulties caused in the city and district of Vlora by the failure of the pyramid firms, so that it could seek to determine concretely how to establish dialogue with representatives of Vlora’s political forces, local government officials and city and district councillors, as well as representatives of the creditors of the “Gjallica” firm, with the aim of jointly finding the best way to overcome the current difficulties.

Meeting of President Berisha with residents of the city of Lushnjë In his speech before around 700 people gathered in the cinema hall, [the source text is garbled] your splendid civilization and virtues, [someone] carried out a terrorist act against the Deputy Prime Minister and attempted to hold him hostage. This was a despicable act and does not represent, has not represented, and does not represent you; such people, unfortunately, [the source text is garbled]. Therefore, to allay or resolve any questions, you should establish a citizens’ commission. In this way we will achieve what is an absolute necessity, your fairest demand: full transparency from the government and the state regarding all of this. In his speech before around 700 people present in the cinema-theater hall, President Berisha presented a series of measures to help overcome the crisis and further develop the district of Lushnjë. Berisha mentioned as measures in this regard the removal of taxes for farmers from Myzeqe for two years, the declaration of a free zone in the district of Lushnjë, facilitating procedures for construction, and announced the rapid start of the privatization of the energy industry, telecommunications, Albpetrol, and the distribution of these assets to citizens in the form of securities. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Tritan Shehu, also greeted those present. Yesterday afternoon, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, accompanied by the chairman of the PDSH and Deputy Prime Minister, Tritan Shehu, held a meeting with intellectuals and residents of the city of Lushnjë. President Berisha was welcomed in the square in front of the city’s cinema-theater by more than 5,000 city residents, members and supporters of the PD, who were holding national and PD flags. The Mayor, district MPs, and others were also present. In his speech before around 700 people in the cinema-theater hall, President Berisha said: I have come here to greet you warmly, citizens of Lushnjë—not only those of you in this hall, but all the inhabitants of Myzeqe, especially those who lost their money in the pyramid schemes. I express my sorrow to them for the money they lost, my solidarity with them, and my full understanding of all those who protested as citizens of this country and with dignity; they did not get involved in the burnings and destruction and did not become tools of the bandits. I assure you and all Albanians that whenever they feel and suffer, they have the right to protest against the government. I have come here today because at no point have I lost my faith in your virtues, your spirit and constructive energy, or your democratic feelings and aspirations. I am a builder, and I have always been proud of your support. The support of Myzeqe has always been and remains precious to the Democratic Party and to Albanian democracy. Today I have come gladly to engage in dialogue with you, and I will go to tell ... [partly illegible] ... the Albanian citizens that under no circumstances and at no known moment have I lost faith in dialogue with La Pikëllidh and for this reason, in a difficult situation, because of your energy, I sent the chairman of the PD and Deputy Prime Minister Tritan Shehu to speak with you, the citizens of Lushnjë and inhabitants of Myzeqe. It is true that a group of adventurers ... [edge of text partly illegible] ... your excellent civilization and virtues committed a terrorist act against the Deputy Prime Minister and tried to hold him hostage. This was a vile act and does not represent, and has in no way represented, Lushnjë and Myzeqe, because unfortunately such people are found in every city, in every country in Europe and the world. But Lushnjë and Myzeqe have been represented with dignity by the young men of Lushnjë and Karbunarë, who protected the Deputy Prime Minister like a living shield, and I will decorate them. I have come to you because you are people who build, because you honor work, and because you have no connection with destructive groups. I have great faith in your free labor and free initiative, and I am convinced that all together, with an accelerated economic development program, we will make up for the losses and make Lushnjë and Myzeqe much more developed than they were four years ago. I also came here to acknowledge the mistake made by the government, the Democratic Party, myself, and state institutions in not warning people in time about the danger posed by high interest rates, and in not stopping the pyramid schemes in time. But I know that you have faith in the Democratic Party, which is a party that has made mistakes, but what characterizes this political force is the fact that it has committed itself to correcting them. It is very important to acknowledge responsibility. When I stated that the government had responsibility, I also stated that the PD and all the institutions would try to gradually alleviate the citizens’ losses. No Albanian can build on deception On the other hand, I have also insisted on the responsibility of citizens. A person must be honest with himself. If someone does not have the courage to be honest, to acknowledge the mistake they made, and to understand the responsibility they bear for an action of theirs, their future will be very difficult; it will be hard for them to find their way in a free space, because we are and will remain a free society. In this regard, I want to assure you that by dividing responsibilities in this way, we are fully determined to solve the problem as a democratic society and a democratic country. I know the character of Albanians very well. No Albanian wants to build on deception, on another person’s sweat, or at the expense of the prosperity of their family, their city, or their country. As a government, we are working seriously to provide as much relief as we can by taking emergency measures for housing, employment, small-business loans, etc. The government undertook to distribute the funds of the foundations after citizens had divided them in a way unfavorable to the lenders. The bankruptcy law, as applied in all countries, provides for a share for the state and a share for investors. We did not want the state to take a single penny. The state was entitled to its share at the same time, and this was why we decided that all frozen investments should be distributed to citizens. Here a problem arises: you who are here, and the others outside, are convinced—but not everyone is convinced. Therefore, I ask you, the citizens of Lushnjë, to establish a commission that will be in direct communication with me, made up of representatives of all political forces, and to inspect all the documentation of the two foundations and all the other schemes yourselves. I ask this because although I truly trust state and parliamentary bodies, you can be sure that I trust your commission just as much. Therefore, to allay or resolve every question, what is an absolute necessity and state regarding all this activity. We are determined to engage in broad dialogue with you and with all political forces. I have invited them and will invite them again. I will not lose patience in inviting all political forces to the table. What is honest and important is not to adopt double standards, as one party representative does when he says in Vlorë that the money must be paid, but at a press conference and when speaking with foreigners says that the money cannot be paid. We must have one standard, one position, and that position cannot differ from that of other democratic countries. I ask for your understanding. If we, as a government, were to undertake a different solution, I assure you that no one would trust the Albanian government, no one would trust this state’s institutions, no one would trust Albanians anymore, and no one would trust Albania. We would create a new model of deception.

Albanian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain Pavli Qesku meets Robert Barnett — Yesterday, Albania’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Mr Pavli Qesku, held a meeting with Mr Robert Barnett, Deputy Head of the Eastern Adriatic Department at the Foreign Office. Mr Barnett was informed that Albanian political and state figures and institutions would file a defamation suit over factual distortions against the newspaper “The Independent” if the newspaper refused to accept responsibility and retract all the defamatory statements made to date. Acknowledging the seriousness of the defamatory statements, Mr Barnett said that the Foreign Office was working on the response to be given to the motion and interpellation in the House of Commons on this issue. “Despite the difficult situation created recently, bilateral cooperation between the British government and the elected representatives of Albania will continue,” Mr Barnett said. He emphasized that the British government had offered assistance through the Know-How Fund, providing experts, as part of the request made by the Albanian government to the European Union and other international organizations.

What are we going to do to get out of this situation? I understand that the losses are very severe. I understand very well what it means for someone emerging from misery and poverty to want to build a better life. But I invite all of you, all the people of Myzeqe, to remember for a moment, for one minute, what we were like just four years ago. I understand how hard it is for a farmer, a resident of Lushnjë, or an Albanian citizen to lose money, but today the farmer of Myzeqe is four times better off than four years ago. I give you my word that they will pay no taxes for two years. Today I recommended to the Minister of Finance that the tax on chemical fertilizers and other items be abolished. So, one way or another, we are trying to ease the burden on the farmers of Myzeqe so that they can make up their losses this time as quickly as possible through their hard work and ingenuity. Rapid designation of free zones We will work with the residents of Lushnjë to create a tourist zone, and in this zone we will provide all the facilities needed to turn it into a powerful asset for your city and for Myzeqe as a whole. Also, here in the city, the municipality and the political forces should meet together and designate sites for free zones. We will develop free zones wherever the municipal residents wish to establish them. We aim at all costs to accelerate development through freedom. Free zones are areas with no taxes or with negligible taxes of up to 2%. In this way, in four years we will be much more developed than we ourselves imagined. Privatization of Telekom, Albpetrol and Energy Another very important measure in the citizens’ interest is accelerating privatization. Yesterday, I had a meeting with officials

PD Chairman Shehu speaks to “RD” Asked about his position following today’s statement by the Socialist Party regarding dialogue with the Democratic Party, Mr Shehu said: “I have issued an invitation for tomorrow, 19.02.1997, at 11:00, at the Palace of Congresses, to the senior leaders of the Socialist Party to sit together at the table for constructive dialogue without preconditions. I continue to stand by this position!”

In his speech before around 700 people present in the cinema-theater hall, President Berisha presented a series of measures to help overcome the crisis and further develop the district of Lushnjë.