The Prime Minister of the Government of National Reconciliation, Bashkim Fino, has begun to raise his voice, going so far as to issue threats and inappropriate ultimatums for a Prime Minister—and absurd ones for a Prime Minister who heads a Government of National Reconciliation. Mr. Fino, who was appointed Prime Minister under the agreement of 9 March, cannot be said to have had any merit in bringing about reconciliation of any kind. As a former mayor accepted as a compromise solution, he should naturally bear this fact in mind as a fundamental consideration in his work, and at the very least avoid misusing and compromising the name of the Government. When Mr. Fino threatens to resign, he should bear firmly in mind that he does not represent the substance of the political agreement, but is simply one of its instruments. If he thinks otherwise, he is making a serious mistake and, first and foremost, doing his own party a disservice. The Prime Minister of the Government of National Reconciliation may announce his resignation and may submit it if the points of the agreement under which he was appointed Prime Minister are not fulfilled. For example, if his Government does not restore… order, create the right environment for normal elections, prevent further destruction of the country, and succeed in conveying the spirit of national reconciliation for which the political parties entrusted it with this task and for which it won Parliament’s vote of confidence and the approval of the Albanian people. In any other case, Mr. Fino departs from his technical role and becomes a political instrument. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has shown his preference and conscious choice for the latter. From the outset, when faced with a choice between the committees and local government, he chose the committees; between dialogue and cooperation, he chose ultimatums; between his role as Prime Minister of the Government of National Reconciliation and his role as Prime Minister of the Socialists, he chose the latter. For now, the reasons behind this choice, and the factors and people encouraging it, are unknown. Meanwhile, however, it has become clear that choices of this kind are leading to the failure to carry out the Government’s duties and programme. If Fino wants to transform himself from a former mayor into a Socialist leader competing for Nano’s position, then that is a different matter. The Prime Minister’s threats to resign do not enhance his standing in the public opinion of this country or abroad; on the contrary, they diminish it. His ultimatums may please only certain people whispering in his ear, but they never demonstrate anything more, whether he presents himself as the boss of the political parties that signed the agreement or as the PS’s chosen candidate. In every case, Mr. Fino must understand that what is essential during his short time as Prime Minister is not threats, nor extravagant epithets directed at people with primary-school education in the committees and at intellectuals, nor attempts to bring under his personal or party control matters that are not his to control, nor efforts to prevent the normal resumption of local government operations where it has been terrorized and rendered dysfunctional by his intellectuals. All these things, and others, are the most negative results of his work and help him even less. To remain Prime Minister of the Government of National Reconciliation, Mr. Fino would do well to make fewer statements, issue fewer threats, strike fewer poses, offer less praise, and exchange fewer embraces with Gjolekë Mulaj and his associates, and do more work in accordance with the programme approved by the Agreement of 9 March.

Mrs Leni Fisher writes to President Berisha . The Council of Europe will observe the elections in Albania and send a delegation to the country as soon as possible, made up of the chairpersons of the political groups of the Parliamentary Assembly and the rapporteur for Albania on the Committee on Political Affairs. She also informs President Berisha that she has recommended that the Committee of Ministers approve the resources needed to step up the efforts of European international institutions to help Albania.

Socialists want to devour the administration The Democratic Party expresses its concern over the growing pressure that representatives of the Socialist Party have been exerting in recent days on local government officials in several municipalities and districts across the country. Socialist representatives are seeking to change the local government administration and appoint it according to the formula used to form the Government of National Reconciliation. On this occasion, the Democratic Party once again emphasizes that there is no political agreement that would allow such changes, which undermine local government elected by the free vote of 20 October. The relevant laws alone must govern the appointment of the administration and the functioning of local government at every level, not pressure from party representatives. Mayors, heads of communes, and other local government officials representing the Democratic Party will rigorously uphold the law. “The Socialist Party’s push for power not mandated by the people’s vote is yet another expression of this party’s repeated efforts to undermine the principles of democracy and the rule of law,” the statement of the Albanian Democratic Party says. Tirana, 2 May 1997

The chairpersons of the political groups of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly will meet in Tirana The six chairpersons will meet with senior Albanian officials to encourage political dialogue STRASBOURG/AFP—The six chairpersons of the political groups of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will meet in Tirana on Sunday and Monday to encourage dialogue between the parties ahead of the Albanian elections scheduled for June 29. This visit follows recommendations adopted by a Parliamentary Assembly during its spring session last week, according to a statement by the pan-European organization published in Strasbourg. All the chairpersons will hold talks with the political parties that signed the March 9 Agreement, the Speaker of Parliament, President Sali Berisha, the Prime Minister, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Interior, and Justice. The Assembly believes that certain “essential” conditions must be established for the proper conduct of the Albanian elections: security and freedom of movement throughout the country; the establishment of authorities in legitimate local and regional government bodies; freedom of assembly; and access for political parties to the media. Albania has been a member of the Council of Europe since June 1995.

Statement by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Albanian Government has recognized, and continues to recognize, the contribution of the multinational force in Albania. Within the force’s mandate, the Government and its structures have provided, and will continue to provide, all possible cooperation. The Albanian Government has not requested an extension of the multinational force’s mandate in Albania. Reports in the foreign media claiming that the Albanian Government has requested an extension of the military force’s mandate do not reflect reality.

Fino shuts off the financial tap for RTSH of such a nature as to undermine the local government elected by the free vote of October 20. Regarding the appointment of the administration and the statement of the Albanian Democratic Party. Tirana, 2.05.1997 Blackmail and an open investment in the interest of the PS’s election campaign After the draft law to bring Albanian Radio and Television, an institution accountable to Parliament, under control was submitted, Prime Minister Fino yesterday blocked the payroll funds for all employees of Albanian Radio and Television. Thus Prime Minister Fino’s retaliation has left more than 1,200 employees of this institution without pay, on the pretext that the State Budget had not been approved—a claim applied only to RTV. From the very beginning of its work, the Government of National Reconciliation has sought to take control of several of the state’s most important institutions, such as SHIK, which he claims to have dismantled. Then there is RTV, whose advisers, such as Bufit and others, know all too well what it means to leave 1,200 employees without salaries. Just as Fino knew very well that the dismissal of General Agim Shehu was neither within his power nor his or the PS’s wish. But what is driving the Prime Minister to make decisions that are both aggravating and clearly loaded with subtext? Fino has formally ordered [unclear]—it is the PS and its armed wing that ordered Fino to take this blackmailing action, which undermines the March 9 Agreement. This act aims to turn the 1,200 RTSH employees into puppets or parrots, so that they memorize and repeat as propaganda the old and new fairy tales of the PS’s Nano, Fino, Bufit, and their comrades, the bosses of criminal gangs in southern Albania. BASHKIM RAMA

Messages from democratic Shkodra Page 4

Crime keeps the cities of southern Albania under attack Page 2

Blackmail and an open investment in

Fino admits Vukaj’s inability The army cannot guard the ammunition depots The Government seeks an extension of the mandate of the Multinational Force Page 3