The socialist position has weakened the crisis of confidence. It cannot resolve it because it represents pensions, social assistance and salaries. Socialist Minister Malaj did not promise anything good in terms of easing this social problem. He only warned of a deepening of the crisis on the ground, while warning of an attack on the company VEFA. The socialist position is incapable of resolving the crisis. It seems to be ready only to create one crisis after another. The country has been ruined by socialist militants and its armed wing. The Albanian economy, liberated through developments in Eastern Europe in the last 4-5 years, has fallen into complete collapse. Foreign investments have been halted, and many of their facilities in Albania have been burned. The socialist position has not presented any programme for overcoming the crisis and for the recovery of the Albanian economy. They have no development plans, no international funds, no ability to renew Albania. This was shown by the Albanian economy, which has proven that only the Democratic Party and its government can do it. The Democratic Party has a programme, has international funds, has the necessary guarantees from major financial partners and the necessary confidence. Proof of this are the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that came to Albania from the EU, IMF, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The socialist opposition cannot solve the Albanian crisis. It only knows how to create crisis.

Starova in Germany: Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arjan Starova, began an official visit to Germany at the invitation of the German Foreign Minister, Kinkel. During yesterday's day, Starova held meetings in the German Parliament with Mr. Hakm, member of the Committee for Albania, and with member of the Council of Europe Assembly, Mr. Albert Fu. He also held a meeting with the Foreign Minister and German member of parliament, the well-known figure of German politics, Hans-Dietrich Genscher. Starova was received by the Minister of State at the Federal Chancellery and member of parliament, Mr. Bernd Schmidbauer, who said that Germany would continue to give its contribution to the comprehensive recovery of Albania. The Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation, Mr. Herdel, promised that not only would the implementation of existing projects continue, but that the needs for new projects and programmes would also be expanded.

A delegation of the Democratic Union today in Tirana The delegation will hold talks with PD chairman Shehu, President Berisha, the center-right and right-wing forces in Albania, and will also observe the situation in order to help democracy in our country A broad delegation of the European Democratic Union arrives today in Tirana at the invitation of the chairman of the Democratic Party, Prof. Dr. Tritan Shehu, including the secretary for International Relations, Mr. Leonard Demi. The delegation is headed by the Executive Secretary of this Union, Mr. Alexis Wintoniak, who is also the International Secretary of the Austrian People's Party. Mr. Demi said that the delegation also includes Henrik Toremaki from Carl Bildt's party in Sweden, who is coming to Albania not only on behalf of his party (PM) but also as a representative of the European People's Party (PE). Jose Maria Robles Fraga, MEP, secretary for external relations of the Spanish People's Party of Prime Minister Aznar. Christos Vallatoros, head of the Department of External Relations of the New Democracy party of Greece. Mathias Peterlik, Secretary General of DEMYC, the youth organization of the European Democratic Union. Mr. Demi went on to say that the agenda of the talks is quite full. The delegation of the European Democratic Union is coming to Albania with a fact-finding mission to our country, in order to reach a precise conclusion on what the situation is in Albania and what should be done to help this democracy in Albania. Besides Mr. Shehu, the delegation will have a meeting with the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, with the secretary of the PD presidency, etc. The Secretary for International Relations of the PD, Mr. Demi, also said that the high-level delegation will hold a round-table meeting with various center-right and right-wing Albanian parties. With Prime Minister Fino and with the chairman of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano. At the end of the two-day visit, as Mr. Demi stated, the delegation of the European Democratic Union will give a press conference.

The 1997 tour like the one in 1991 The defeats of the former Albanian communists continue to deepen on every level. After the failure of the military coup to overthrow power by force, the former convict for theft, Fatos Nano, together with several other political adventurers, set off across Europe in order to secure at least international neutrality for what they are trying to do. But the trip to Europe was yet another failure, even greater than the failure at home with the organization of the coup d'état. Fatos Nano, with his two mannequins, Gjinushi and Ceka, tried to find one in Strasbourg, Brussels and other European capitals just as he had done in 1991 in London. No one has forgotten how triumphantly Nano, then prime minister under Alia (who also stole humanitarian aid), set off in order to recover at least a little of the pompous face of Albanian Stalinism, and how he came back with his tail between his legs, after civilized, democratic Europe had had enough and drove out Alia's bastards. Repeating that first international scene, Mr. Nano is suffering the same fate in Europe. In a desperate attempt to convince Europe that his party is not the organizer of the costly Leninist coup, Nano and his mannequins are met with contempt, indifference and the complete disregard of the civilized world. Mr. Nano began his spectacular career of failures in Greece, where, despite his wife's help, he was rejected by Prime Minister Simitis, and deepened this career in Brussels, where he and only a few theoreticians nostalgic for various communist movements were received and listened to, people who were more interested in the way stories were told about the beloved Dimitrov, to which Nano referred with the "sufferings of resistance" in capitalist prisons, than in the proletarian revolution prepared and applied by the party he leads at the end of the 20th century. The overall picture of this political failure, after the failure of the revolution, would not be complete if we did not also mention the two figurative mannequins, Ceka and Gjinushi, whom Europe has ridiculed and despised when it heard from their mouths ridiculous accusations against European politicians, diplomacy and various personalities of Europe. Nano's current defeat is even more fatal than that of 1991, because then Nano failed in an attempt to present Ramiz Alia's rule as democracy, whereas now he suffered a complete catastrophe together with Ceka's and Gjinushi's satraps, in trying to convince Europe that the Democratic Party and Sali Berisha are against democracy in Albania. In fact, it must be said that Mr. Nano, together with his helpers on their European mission, has done a very valuable service to the Democratic Party and Berisha, because civilized Europe, and its politics and diplomacy, have confirmed from the very organizers and leaders of the coup d'état the fact of who organized the destabilization of the country and what goals were behind such a primitive initiative. According to available agency sources and circles around Nano and his two companions, various European politicians and diplomats have said that with such people representing the Albanian left opposition, Berisha and the Democratic Party always have victory guaranteed, as if elections were held in Albania every month. This is probably why Mr. Doke, during his stay in Strasbourg, felt desperate, while at the same time in the PS press, the loudmouth and arrogant chatter, whether from Alla, was not reported with fanfare the failed trip that Nano undertook together with Ceka and Ahmeti. The silence of the PS press and of the leaders themselves about this mission that has failed completely means that the PS and Nano not only failed to convince Europe, but are seen in the same light as in 1991 in London and several European capitals where the former prime minister who stole humanitarian aid travelled. In all these fatal trips by Nano, one interesting detail is worth noting: at the height of the meetings in De Mikellis, one of his aides and oracles, with whom it is understood they discussed the drowning of the old figures of the joint opposition in Brussels that they carried out.

Vukaj and his generals have no strategy for rebuilding the Albanian army Around 1,500 ammunition depots, many of them near large towns, will continue to pose a serious threat to the lives of thousands of citizens TIRANA - The Minister of Defence, Shaqir Vukaj, and his generals embarrassed MPs yesterday when they stated that the situation in the Albanian Army remains almost the same as what was left by his predecessor, the head of the deserters, Safet Zhulali. Around 1,500 ammunition depots, many of them near large cities, will continue to pose a serious threat to the lives of thousands of citizens, since the generals and Vukaj still do not have a clear platform, let alone a concrete one, for rebuilding the Albanian army. The Minister of the Government of Reconciliation was harshly accused and interrupted several times during his speech by many deputies amid hysterical propaganda in open support of his former communists. Vukaj was put in a very ridiculous position when he faced the insistence of Democratic deputies and denied the existence of any military operational plan for bombing the cities of the South, or the use of poisonous warfare agents against the population. He said that no official document had been presented to him to confirm the lies of the left-wing newspaper Koha Jonë, or those that he himself had from the propagandistic agencies. At the same time, the minister gave an alarming account to the Socialists, clearly denying that in the event of a possible intervention by some multinational army, it would threaten our freedom and independence, as in Croatia and Slovenia. The members were upset; Profrok Çupi told him that he should not write, because one could ask for a "Greater Albania". Minister Shaqir Vukaj, after taking a very close look at the reform programme put forward by the Democratic Party governments for improving its structures according to NATO army standards, warned that a new wave of cuts will soon affect the Albanian army. It seems that the Socialist Vukaj and the PE-PS commissar he has gathered around him are still preparing new lists of soldiers to replace them with free military men who organized and led the destruction of the Albanian army throughout the country. The alibi that will be used for their return to the army was also given by Vukaj when he declared that, according to his own services, he has no information that several political commissars were involved in the armed revolution. The Socialist minister seemed afraid to state publicly that he had met with people from the communist-mafia military committee in Vlora. He said he had only met with the elected local council of the city and with two or three people whose identities he could not remember. Vukaj claimed that during the time he has been minister he has not made any arrests over the ammunition in Berat, Laç and Gramsh, and he constantly attacks the previous government for the loss of heavy weapons from the citizens. Unidentified sources claim that he is being sent from within Albania, illegally carried out by the weak armies of neighbouring countries. MP Hadjari and Gjanja strongly opposed the Socialist propaganda of Minister Vukaj. Gjanja said he was not at all surprised by Vukaj's answers, who from accusing the American Embassy of selling visas, then a week later holds official meetings with its staff, a man who runs away from politics after making a perfidious defence before the court, a man whose duty is to rebuild the Albanian army and went to meet those who brutally destroyed it, calling into question even its existence. Gjanja asked the minister that before doing the politics of his party, he should do the politics of Albania, gather the tanks, cannons and other armaments from the streets and fields, and hold all those military men responsible for violating the oath to the national flag. Hadjari, for his part, stressed that the destruction of the Albanian army was in the interest of those who had subjected the people to the terror of the committees. The Valbona MP and afterwards a discussion took place about the need to rebuild the Albanian army. ARTUR KOPANI

Asked about the issue of salaries for employees of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Viktor Hysa, head of the Budget Section in this ministry, explains: In the middle of March, the Albanian police were given, by the Fino government, through the television, the right to receive three salaries. Police employees received three times their salary by signing the payroll, as they had done before, and also received a bonus. So the police received both a salary and a bonus. For this, we have referred to decision of the Council of Ministers No. 137, dated 15.3.1997, which states that "Employees of the Ministry of the Interior shall be rewarded up to three times the existing salary". So the Government decision establishes a bonus and not a salary. In this regard, in the Budget Section of this Ministry we made the relevant request on the basis of the budget figure that we determined at 2.5 times per month, above the existing salary level. But this request was rejected by the Ministry of Finance, only as to the amount above the existing level. More specifically, from 200 million lek, which was the monthly fund allocated, only 400 million lek is given as a bonus for the entire police force. Point No. 2 of this decision stipulated that the Ministry of the Interior determine the amount of this bonus in relation to the degree of engagement of the forces in establishing public order and peace. This bonus amount will continue until a revision of the salary table is presented.