Bashkim Kopliku wants to go to Greece over the refugees. But did Arbnori and Serreqi, who have just returned, fix things or make them worse? Why don’t they speak? At 7:30, as we were leaving «Evropa radio», Tirana began its news with an announcement that Mr. Bashkim Kopliku wanted to go to Greece to talk with his counterpart about sending our refugees back. This government official, presented as energetic, after putting the «great winter of 1992–1993» behind him, is setting out on another mission. The minister of public order will deal with the refugees. Nevertheless, let the state finally go and see its citizens scattered around the world. The bus on the route has fewer people than usual; there are more people from the city who go on Sundays to visit their families in the villages. With a friend of mine, an economist, I talk until we reach the place where each of us is headed. «You know,» he tells me, «that even the level of inflation we have, as high as it is, is sustained, preserved and balanced by the refugees’ money; otherwise, with these wages and these prices, ...» At 8:45 we are at the turnoff for Kakavijë. The road is quiet; cars pass in a steady stream. As we talk in the office of the command at the crossing checkpoint, the first bus of the day arrives with refugees. They get off, pass through the gates of the two states and come back the way they left. Since they come from villages and remote, impoverished areas, «The Albania that is leaving» is what we wrote and published in the newspaper on 28.4.92. They leave, then they go wherever they go and return. «Refugees return in police buses»—we wrote and published that again on 13.12.92. Albania opened up. But was this the opening we dreamed of and fought for? The hemorrhaging flow has continued unabated even after 22 March. But we do not say so. Now that the Greek police are carrying out «operations», we too «remember» the issue. But whose sons are they—the policemen’s or ours?! They say Meksi will go. But Serreqi and Arbnori have only just returned from Greece; what did they do, what did they fix and put in order? Why don’t they tell the people?! As was expressed and expected, emigrants were supposed to become a major new factor of friendship between the two countries, but instead they have become the first source of friction and misunderstanding, whims and hostility between the two governments, through police actions. Albanian-Greek relations, it seems, have not been as our diplomacy and journalism have presented them. There have been lights and shadows, good and bad, yes and no—but what are we doing today to remove them and build truly democratic, contemporary relations? THANAS DINO

February has just begun, and with it the high postal and telecommunications rates. As if the stratospheric prices of food and other goods were not enough, as if unemployment through emigration were not enough to complete the full picture of a new isolation, these increases in the rates for communications with foreign countries were also needed. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are in the West. There are even more of their relatives here, who miss them and need to be in touch with their own flesh and blood. From time to time, in their speeches, government officials also mention Albania’s «complete opening». By now, this opening exists only for a certain group of people, just as in the monist state—except that now it is a different team that cannot get enough of our airport. Some people—those who are unemployed, whose benefits are also running out, and who number in the hundreds of thousands—will find it difficult even to send a simple letter abroad. Here are some of the new postal rates: - A simple letter to European countries costs 16 lekë to mail, 33 lekë registered, and 60 lekë with acknowledgment of receipt. (We are talking about the new rates, so that the Meksi cabinet and the government newspaper do not accuse us of muddling the issue in non-aligned countries.) - If you want to send a letter to America or Australia, you can get it ready before putting your hand in your pocket: 44 lekë for a simple letter, 60 lekë for a registered letter, and 88 for a letter with acknowledgment of receipt. If the weight of the letter increases, then work out the higher amounts. - Just out of curiosity, we will also inform you of the rates for parcels you can send abroad. Ordinary parcels to Europe weighing up to 100 grams cost as much as 71 lekë; registered parcels cost 88 lekë, and with acknowledgment of receipt even more. To America, the same parcel costs 170 lekë at the ordinary rate. Depending on the weight, up to two kilograms, ordinary postage comes to 1,188 lekë, while registered postage is 1,210 lekë. To America, 3,289 lekë. That is not the end of our information. Be patient a little longer. There are also telephone rates, which have increased 2.5 times. Thus: - «Just five minutes», as the singers Agron Berisha say—so, just five minutes on the phone with your relative in Italy or Greece, from the post office’s telephone booths, costs up to 157 lekë (always in new lekë). The same call from your home phone costs 315 lekë. - We move on to Europe. If we have a relative or friend in (To be continued on page 2)

YESTERDAY AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT Yesterday morning, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania announced its ruling on the request by the Socialist Party parliamentary group to annul as unconstitutional the People’s Assembly decision of 23.10.1992 to lift deputy Ilir Meta’s immunity. As is known, the Prosecutor General’s Office requested that deputy Ilir Meta’s immunity be lifted following the events in Policin, claiming that it had exclusive authority over this matter and that such decisions are not subject to appeal or review by another state body.» Based on the reasoning above, the Constitutional Court decided to reject the request of the Socialist Party parliamentary group against People’s Assembly Decision No. 235, dated 23.10.1992, to lift deputy Ilir Meta’s immunity. This was the Constitutional Court’s decision. It is claimed that Ilir Meta’s actions do not contain the elements of a criminal offense and that he carried them out while performing his duties as a deputy. The Constitutional Court decision dated 8 February states that «Whether or not a deputy’s immunity is lifted, and whether or not authorization is granted to the judicial authorities to conduct an investigation against him, is a matter that depends entirely on Parliament’s assessment and ...» ... Court’s decision, and we do not wish to question it. It is now up to the People’s Assembly to answer the question: How much is a deputy’s immunity worth? Four months have passed since Ilir Meta’s immunity was lifted, and the body that requested it has still not declared him guilty or innocent of the criminal offense. The same thing is happening with deputy Azem Hajdari, whose immunity was lifted back in September of last year. Why does Parliament allow such delays? Or is it keeping the issue of lifting immunity as a means of blackmailing deputies? ...the Socialist Party parliamentary group, as well as individuals Arben Demeti, Preç Zogaj and Shahin Kadare, concerning the People’s Assembly’s alteration, on 27.8.1992, of the order of the multi-name list of deputies. The Constitutional Court’s decision, announced in connection with the above case, states: «There can be no doubt that one of the conditions necessary for a person to be a possible candidate on the electoral list of any electoral subject is that they be a member of that subject, or that they accept the program of the political party that placed them on its list.» This reasoning, which is not based on any legal provision, is nothing other than the reasoning used by majority deputies when they decided to skip ahead on the multi-name list. That this reasoning has no legal basis is also acknowledged in the Constitutional Court decision, which states: «It is true that the law on elections to the Assembly ...» With reasoning of this kind, without referring to any legal provision, the Constitutional Court concluded that the People’s Assembly decision did not violate the constitutional order or the election law. For these reasons, the parliamentary group and the requests of Arben Demeti, Preç Zogaj and Shahin Kadare. Looking closely at the reasons for rejecting this request—which is not supported by any legal provision—one is reminded of Don Quixote’s famous phrase: «The reasoning of unreason made into reason...»

Yesterday at midday, the Constitutional Court also announced its ruling on the case brought by the Socialist Party parliamentary group and by Arben Demeti, Preç Zogaj and Shahin Kadare, concerning the People’s Assembly’s alteration, on 27.8.1992, of the order of the multi-name list of deputies. Yesterday at midday, the Constitutional Court also announced its ruling on the case brought by the Socialist Party parliamentary group and by list of deputies. The Constitutional Court decision announced yesterday concerning a decision of the People’s Assembly does not mention this condition... Likewise, further down in the Constitutional Court decision it states that the Election Law “does not indicate, even indirectly, that electoral subjects do not have the right to make changes to the multi-name list after the elections have concluded”.»

On February 2, 1993, work was halted at the «Global - NPA» enterprise in Korçë by the workers in the sewing department. The reason? They disagreed with the way some of their fellow women workers had been dismissed and with other workers being brought in to replace them. Beyond this lay ongoing dissatisfaction with the management staff over several issues concerning the regulation of relations between workers and employers. After three days of stoppages, when the employers—specifically the «Global» enterprise, a Greek-Albanian joint venture whose president is Mr. Zisos Kapsia—had given no response, on Thursday, February 4, at 2 p.m., 62 workers, mainly young women, declared a hunger strike. The strike was also supported by the workers in the spinning department of the enterprise. On February 6, there were no workers at the enterprise. Mr. Baki Bregu, chairman of the independent trade union in the district, and its director, Mr. Thoma Peçani, appeared before the workers and tried to ... ... at this enterprise: (Regarding the narrow point of presenting the new director, while the workers’ fundamental and immediate demands concerned economic issues, namely improving wages and working conditions?) After 24 hours, the strike was called off because on February 6 a meeting was scheduled at the Korçë city hall with representatives of the Greek side, representatives of the district BSP and the local authorities. This meeting produced no result. The enterprise’s president refused to receive the workers’ demands there, asking instead that they be submitted officially by the trade union. A second meeting was held at city hall on February 6. This meeting also yielded no results, since the management did not consider the demands justified. What are some of these demands? - The status and contract of the joint venture must be announced and made known to the workers. - Legislation must be applied regarding the hiring and dismissal of workers; payment for temporary incapacity due to illness, annual leave, official and religious holidays, and maternity leave; as well as payment of the food allowance. - Normal working conditions and proper hygienic and sanitary facilities must be provided. The workers’ representatives stressed that their demands had to be met and that otherwise they would continue the strike. On Monday morning, February 8, when they came to the «Global - NPA» enterprise, the 45 workers in the sewing department again did not work. The workers insisted that their demands be met.

We are not in the habit of being broken by difficulties On February 4, 5 and 6, comrades Sabit Brokaj and Fatmir Zanaj visited several municipalities in the Vlorë district. At meetings they held with municipal mayors and chairpersons of PS area councils in Drashovicë and Kotë, in Brataj and Vranisht, and the following day in Orikum, they discussed the problems of coping with the difficulties caused and still being caused by economic reform in the countryside, especially the problem of easing conflicts over land division, putting unused economic resources into operation and protecting them from another wave of vandalism, issues of unity among the people and of cordial relations with opposing political forces, which in the Vlorë district have almost completely broken down. They also discussed the commitment of socialist leaders to ensuring seasonal work and supplying the people with food, providing people with employment, etc. There is great concern in the municipalities of Vlorë about the educational prospects being offered to PS members and supporters by the arbitrary changes that are being made...

For some time now, the Republican Party’s call for signatures on a petition concerning property has been known through the newspaper «Republika». It is well known that signing such a petition conflicts with the land law adopted by Parliament. But the newspaper «Republika», which published it, is no surprise, since after all it is the organ of that party. What is surprising is that Radio Shkodra, a state organ subordinate to the General Directorate of Radio and Television, has more than once broadcast the announcement of the district branch of the PR, which calls on former owners and other people to come and sign this petition at the branch office. Apparently, the managers of this radio station find it easier to leave the microphone open to broadcast unlawful calls than to make appeals for understanding. A listener

— Son of Selman, mother, whom should I mourn first, the one with the moustache or the secretaries?... — Paradoxes of the times we live in: DOES INCOMPETENCE BEGET INCOMPETENCE?!... — «Son of Selman, mother, whom should I mourn first, the one with the moustache or the secretaries?...» — For several days, residents of the Korçë district, in town and countryside, have felt very happy because at long last the appointments of local-government secretaries have arrived from the planet Mars. And, as always, within the deadlines set (not by law), but by the one who, to put it briefly, is ... turor, with knowledge of foreign languages, knowledge of the law, and so on and so forth, why, they are all members or supporters of the PD, PSD, PR! How could candidates who are members of the PS be appointed as secretaries, when, after the competition held on the planet Mars, it turned out that they shout: «Chairman of the Council of Ministers.» Remember: during the parliamentary interpellation of 6 December 1992, he publicly declared that local-government secretaries would be appointed in only 2–3 days. So, from his statement until the appointments of the secretaries in our district were announced, not just a few days passed, but a full 40 days. Nevertheless, we responsibly declare that during the period from 8 December 1992 to 18 January 1993, in the Korçë district, as in all Albania, the sun rose and set only 2–3 times; in other words, no more than 2–3 days had passed. You may ask about this at the PD offices too, where they will be convinced that the fact is true. First, this made people happy because the head of government had not lied to public opinion, as the crypto-social-communists and Sigurimi agents would have wished. Second, residents were overjoyed when they learned the names of the people who would serve as secretaries in the communes and municipalities—all with the appropriate reputations, a high educational and cultural level, knowledge of foreign languages, knowledge of the law, etc., etc., and, of course, all members or supporters of the PD, PSD, PR! And planet Mars, they turned out to be less competent than those from the PDPSDPR! Just compare them for yourselves: in the communes of Libonik and Lekas in the Korçë district, the candidates proposed by the PS had higher education, while those from the PD had only two or three years of schooling! In the commune of Maliq, the PS candidate has a degree from the University of Tirana, postgraduate specialization and foreign-language skills. The PD candidate, on the other hand, has completed a two- or three-year institute! We could also cite other facts to show just how deserving the PD representatives were of winning. That is why residents of the Korçë district have felt happy since 18 January 1993, when the winners for secretary posts and the councils were announced. Such minor matters as drastic price increases, lack of water and electricity, benefits and mass unemployment, lack of bread, and so on, no longer matter to them at all. Now our eyes are filled with the PD local-government secretaries, who will do everything to strengthen the party.

RD SWEARS AN OATH Oh God! Who remembers the PD rallies? Not even a single windowpane was ever broken at them. RD, 7 February 1993