The monetary market in the country is in turmoil ON PAGE 5

AMC fills the Savings Bank’s coffers ON PAGE 4

Mayor Goreja: KESH is to blame ON PAGE 5

The Italian side has sent back the lists from the Ministry of Labour: “The Albanian government has abused its position”

The Nano Government’s alternative for small businesses

Televised debate on Kosovo: the government is outside the Western diplomatic current The televised debate on Kosovo two nights ago helped people see more clearly the irresponsibility of the Albanian government concerning the greatest problem of the Albanian nation: resolving the Kosovo question. The Democratic Party’s representative, former Albanian ambassador to France Besnik Mustafaj, made clear that Albania’s diplomatic positions reflect the scale of the problem—which is especially evident in the Albanian question, but encompasses the entire state level. He sharply criticized Nano’s statements concerning the issue and highlighted the profound irresponsibility that is taking root in Albania, including with regard to Albania’s position within the framework of European diplomacy. Mustafaj also sharply criticized the so-called “moderating” position of the Albanian government, stressing that the term “moderator” is outdated in relation to the Kosovo question and offers no help whatsoever in resolving the problem. Mustafaj also emphasized that Albania is in a minor position regarding Kosovo. He stressed that at least other states… He said that the Albanian government should openly adopt the US position, although he also finds the opposition… [The following passage is garbled in the source:] for the Albanians does not correspond to what the Albanians of Kosovo have demanded in the two elections they have held for their republic. The chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee expressed much the same view, saying that the Albanian government not only fails to adhere to the position it should take regarding Kosovo, but has also generally failed to consult Parliament. Godo said the government cannot depart from the decision taken by the Albanian parliament in 1992, which recognized Kosovo’s independence. The Kosovo debate, together with the insistence of PS representative Vladimir Pashko on putting a “rosette knot” over the prime minister’s actions on Kosovo, as well as the government’s actions concerning Kosovo, demonstrates this government’s lack of national consensus at the crucial moment when the Albanian national question needs to be set on the right course. Pëllazhi himself witnessed during the debate just how great the difference is between the government and the political opposition in Albania. Prime Minister Bukoshi’s intervention during the debate made this even clearer when he asked for even greater assistance from the Albanian government, although, as he said, it was unable to provide it, bearing in mind the expulsion of the current Albanian state from imposing itself. However, many Albanians had the opportunity to see what had happened with this government’s policy on the Albanian government’s foreign policy, from the Crete meeting and its criticism of Albanian terrorism in Kosovo, to Nano’s lies and the government’s statements on the state borders that Kosovo supposedly has—attacks on President Rugova and on the efforts toward self-government by the people of Kosovo. R.D.

Berisha: Cabinet changes are this government’s swan song “The Prime Minister’s Office is a major cause of the government’s failure. Socialism and high taxes: a poverty-producing pair” ON PAGE 3

Radio “Free Europe” quotes a Council of Europe official Radio “Free Europe,” in its broadcast of 28 March ’98, quoted a senior Council of Europe official who expressed concern about the independence of the judiciary in Albania and said that “the Council of Europe may consider suspending Albania’s membership.” According to Radio “Free Europe,” one of the Council of Europe’s senior officials is said to have expressed concern about judicial independence, which has been under repeated attack in an effort to bring it under the tutelage of the political establishment in power. This statement is a serious warning to an irresponsible government which has not only sought to eliminate judicial independence by force—as in the act against the president of the Constitutional Court and against the very legitimacy of that court—but has also shown disrespect for decisions and disobedience toward domestic institutions and international bodies, of which Albania is a member, such as the Council of Europe, to which it has obligations that it must faithfully observe.

The chairman of the Court of Cassation holds the Prosecutor General’s Office responsible Notary Mimoza Shehu writes to Kondi: The Ministry of Justice inspections were carried out with a specific agenda ON PAGE 3

Tele-Nano shuts the opposition out of the screen The increasing censorship by the shameful TV channel against the DP is connected to the government’s growing panic over the success of its activities at every opportunity, trampling all the laws and rules that define the status of institutions. With shamelessness worthy only of the Nano chairman’s eager servants, the staff of Radio-Television Tirana continue to boycott opposition activities deliberately, censoring its voice by every means. All this censorship is nothing but the panic that senior government officials feel about the opposition’s voice. The successful actions of the Democratic Party’s political activity, especially lately, are firmly established and seem to be bringing about the consolidation of its political platform, which its activists are also promoting. The shameful TV channel of Fatos Nano and Eduard Mazi sees no reason to cover the Democratic Party’s press conference, let alone its warning about the risks facing small businesses and the Albanian economy in general because of the government’s irresponsible policies. The same goes for all DP activities, which are either not covered at all or are presented in such a way that their substance is concealed. The opposition’s views on an issue as important as the future of small businesses were censored, while television devoted a full 28 minutes of its main news broadcast to the visit to Albania of the Council’s Foreign Policy Committee. Albanians are increasingly abandoning Nano’s television. There are no variety shows, no cultural programs, and they have put charlatans such as Ylli Pango in the studio, who irritate even people seeking the truth. The fact that Albanians are abandoning the screen more and more every day is all for the best. By now, in all the cities where other private, non-state networks can be received, the problem has been solved by the availability of good television channels. Since what is broadcast on television is so clearly partisan, which television do Albanians choose as the more trustworthy? If there is one channel Albanians have chosen to watch less, it is Nano and Mazi’s television. RD

Extensive meetings of senior DP leaders in Sarandë and Delvinë ON PAGE 2

The local DP chairman denounces the provincial outlook of left-wing governance ON PAGE 3

Seven years after the second of April ’91 ON PAGE 2

The seasonal-employment pyramid scheme in Italy collapses. A major state-run scam. March emigrants are removed from the lists; the others have paid money.

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