Once again, I must stress that you decided to defeat the constitutional order and Albanian democracy through an armed rebellion, and you created a very great problem for the country. I call on you to hand over to justice your leaders who were involved in organizing it. On this occasion, I call on you to urge the rebels to hand over their weapons. Yesterday, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, received at a meeting the Secretary General of the Socialist Party, Mr. Rexhep Mejdani, and Secretaries Namik Dokle and Pandeli Majko. Also present at the meeting were Messrs. Tritan Shehu and Kolec Topalli. The leaders of the Socialist Party asked the President for: the declaration of a state of emergency; the creation of a nationwide technical government, that is, one in which all political parties would be represented; and the organization of a round table with all the parties. They told the President that the disagreement at the afternoon meeting on 1 March had been a misunderstanding. President Berisha told those present that, at the morning meeting on 1 March, he had offered them the maximum political solution as an option, in order to avoid bloodshed. But, the President continued, you took this as a sign of weakness or of the state institutions’ capitulation in the face of violence and terror. My offers of the maximum political solution, but without changing the constitutional laws, were made out of my determination to prevent bloodshed, which you interpreted very wrongly. You refused the meeting that we had jointly agreed upon and scheduled for the afternoon of 1 March 1997, and instead responded by organizing an armed rebellion. For this, it will be the laws of the democratic state that determine each person’s responsibility. To you and those advising you, I wish once again to make clear my unwavering determination to fully respect the constitutional laws. Extending the presidential term, which you insisted on, may happen in republics where presidential coups take place, but this will never happen in Albania. Any attempt to project this country outside the European space in which it was born will fail. I offered you a political solution in the name of the greatest interests, whether by not standing for a second term or by giving you the public guarantee I have given before: if you win the elections, I will not agree to remain in power with you for even four days. And then you can elect the President you wish. As for the technical government, you are saying something different now from what you said at the meeting on 1 March. At the last meeting, you said that you neither sought nor accepted a coalition with the Democratic Party, whereas now you tell me that by a technical government you mean a nationwide government, a government with all the parties, in which you would also be present. The Socialist Party representatives stated that their presence in this government would not mean a coalition. You have the concept wrong, President Berisha emphasized, because a governing coalition always means a government made up of representatives of more than one political force. Under this country’s constitutional laws, the President does not form the Government, but appoints the Prime Minister. I cannot exceed my powers, nor can I impose principles on a party about whom it should form a coalition with, and I am against a Democratic Party–Socialist Party coalition. I will observe this country’s constitutional laws with the utmost rigor. I remain entirely open to dialogue, but dialogue cannot take place outside the constitutional legal framework. I support the idea of a round table of the parties, but as President I have no legal authority to chair the parties’ round table. I will always remain open to meeting and dialogue with you and the other forces, but the parties themselves must organize the round table. But over their weapons. Regarding the suspension of the state of emergency, the President stressed that restoring the constitutional order and ensuring the country’s integrity are the most urgent current objectives, and that he would respect the decisions of the Albanian Parliament to the end.

From reports by the Prefecture In Fier there are The Italian press on Albania The Communists shamelessly

The Albanian ambassador in London tells the media LONDON, March 4 /AFP/ — Albania’s ambassador in London, Pavli Qesku, assured the BBC on Tuesday that “there are no restrictions on the foreign press” in Albania. “I am authorized to say, and I ask all international media to understand this clearly, that there are no restrictions whatsoever on foreign correspondents and reporters in Albania. They can broadcast whatever they want, without restrictions,” he said in an interview. Asked about the conduct of the Albanian secret police, accused of mistreating foreign journalists on many occasions, Qesku replied: “If you are in possession of accreditation, you have nothing to fear..., but if you don’t have it, how can they recognize you?”

Around 3,500 weapons have been collected in Fier Page 3

Tropojë: Funeral ceremony held for SHIK employee Lek Çokaj BAJRAM CURRI — Yesterday afternoon, in the village of Cermicë in the Tropojë district, the funeral ceremony was held for SHIK employee Lek Çokaj, 32, married and with one child, who fell in the line of duty while defending the constitutional order. Besides his family and relatives, residents of the town of Bajram Curri and the surrounding villages also attended the ceremony. Present were the commander of the unit in this area, Brigadier General Ndue Mjekaj, local government officials, and representatives of SHIK. After the religious rites, the chairman of the district council, Xhevdet Hoxha, spoke over the grave. The victim’s father, Fran Çokaj, said that he was proud his son had fallen while defending the constitutional order. The ceremony was accompanied by a volley of shots fired by a squad of riflemen.

Italian authorities say: The first to put forward the idea of a Marshall Plan for Albania, three days ago, was Antonio Martino, former foreign minister in Berlusconi’s government. Since then, consensus on this proposal has grown so much among both the right-wing and left-wing forces of the Italian political spectrum that it can now be considered a prevailing position at every level. Page 2

Notice from the General Directorate of State Reserves The General Directorate of State Reserves is authorized by the Government to make the following public: Sufficient quantities of wheat are available to guarantee the country’s bread needs for many months. The processing factories in all districts of the country are supplied regularly every day at a highly advantageous price, which significantly helps keep the price of bread unchanged and does not justify traders raising prices. Not counting private imports of wheat and flour, the State Reserve guarantees uninterrupted supply at any time and within the day, especially in the southern districts.

President Berisha received representatives of the Socialist Party, Mejdani, Dokle, Majko

The freedoms and rights provided for by the Constitutional Law are guaranteed The President of the Republic assures that the law restricting the press will be applied minimally and does not apply to foreign media Yesterday, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, stated that he had undertaken to ensure that implementation of the law on the state of emergency would take place without any restriction on freedom of the press, and that all media would be informed about the events taking place in the country and that the parties would not be obstructed during this period. The forces suppressing the rebellion will carry out a screening process to protect the civilian population and save their lives and property. to foreign media.

The Communists have shamelessly fanned the flames Page 3