Interview given to editor Hambi Jupë by Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, Dr. Kastriot Islami and MP Ylli Bufi, about the meeting organized by the President of the Republic on problems concerning local government. Question: In your opinion, what was the purpose of the President organizing this meeting? Was it a meeting prepared in advance, or a spontaneous one, in the sense of resolving problems? What prompted the President to organize this meeting at this particular time? Servet Pëllumbi: It is difficult for me to say what prompted the President to organize this meeting, or whether it was well organized or not. A meeting of this kind had been overdue for some time; indeed, I would call it somewhat belated. As a party, we have repeatedly insisted on unblocking local government, and have also made concrete proposals several times for a roundtable of the parties. Let me mention some other facts as well. We requested a special question session in Parliament to discuss the problem of unblocking local government with the Prime Minister, but, unfortunately, from the very first question the Prime Minister took the wrong position, saying: “Local government is not blocked.” And, in effect, all the answers he gave followed the line not of unblocking, but of further blocking local government. The second fact that brought the blocking of local government to the point where it could no longer be endured. Although by now the leaders of local government in the districts have asked to meet with the President, in order to present their demands and concerns. Under these circumstances, it seems to me that the President was compelled to hold such a meeting to discuss with the parties and parliamentary groups the ways and means of unblocking local government. Life itself, practice, will prove whether the President truly intends to commit himself fully to unblocking local government after this meeting, or not. Question: Do you think this meeting was also the result of the Socialist Party’s demand for the government’s resignation? Servet Pëllumbi: Yes, I think there is a direct connection. In the demand made by the Socialist Party for the government’s resignation, the issue of unblocking local government is one of the most important. In this case, we have proceeded from the well-known truth that if you want to know whether democratic processes are making progress, it is enough to look at the state of local government. Therefore, I think the government’s blocking of local government is an antidemocratic act. Unblocking it means addressing several centralizing tendencies, the political tension created by partisan conflict, the use of party criteria in appointing the administration, and the lack of local budgets. All the participants emphasized that local government bodies can be unblocked only if, through mutual understanding, genuine efforts are made to change the factors mentioned above. Nevertheless, it must be said that the meeting could have been organized better (I have the timing of the notice in mind), and was somewhat belated, because the situation in the functioning of local government has deteriorated considerably. Question: What observations did you make regarding the functioning of local government? Kastriot Islami: This is a problem that has been discussed and analyzed several times. Alongside the many factors, there is also a significant fact, which was acknowledged by the President himself. A large number of letters and requests for meetings are addressed only to the President or the Prime Minister. Our conclusion, also emphasized at the meeting, was: Local government is blocked, and centralizing tendencies are evident in attempts to set it in motion. Some of the main reasons expressed at the meeting were: First, the existence of partisan passions and tensions. nearly a year has passed since the elections of 26 July, the budget has still not reached the districts, municipalities and communes. The administrative structure was completed very late; indeed, in some areas it has still not been completed. In practice, therefore, local government has remained merely formal, and the pressure from voters, which is justified, has been strong and has continued to grow. Under such circumstances, socialist leaders of local government in several districts—specifically Fier, Ballsh, Kukovë, Berat and Skrapar—requested a separate meeting with the President, at which they presented all their accumulated concerns. The President, as has also been reported by the media, fully agreed with them on all the issues they raised. As he said at the meeting, many petitions had reached the President from many other districts as well (other groups of councilors— … in this case, we have started how much progress there is in democratic processes, government. That is why I think the government’s obstruction of local government is an antidemocratic act. Its unblocking, as soon as possible, is in the interests of democracy. As the opposition, it is our duty to say this openly and emphatically. Question: In what spirit was the meeting held? Ylli Bufi: The meeting itself and the positions of all the representatives of the parliamentary parties were constructive. Everyone tried to make a realistic analysis and assessment of the problems related to the functioning of local government. What is important is that, in essence, everyone acknowledged that local government is blocked, regardless of the word used. (Some used the word “blockage,” some “paralysis,” some “does not function.”) Both the President and the political parties argued and acknowledged that the reason is related to the failure to complete the legal framework for granting powers to local government, … by was: Local government is blocked, and centralist tendencies are evident in attempts to get it moving. Some of the main reasons stated and tensions; second, the absence of a legislative foundation; third, inconsistency in the implementation of laws passed by the Assembly and the distortion and blurring of powers through government decisions; fourth, misguided policies in appointing administrative staff and reducing departments’ staffing levels; fifth, the lack of a local budget. Question: What concrete proposals did you make? Kastriot Islami: Regarding the easing of partisan tensions, while welcoming the initiative to hold round-table talks, we stressed the need for genuine respect for the opposition. We called for the logic of finding solutions to important problems through consensus to prevail in drafting and implementing laws, while making maximum efforts to eliminate the mere use of majority power. Regarding the government’s shortcomings in implementing laws and issuing its decisions, we stressed that (Continued on page 4)

- For work to resume, 400 million lekë are needed, and these have not yet been secured. - But where will Mr. Meksi find the 100 million dollars? - Nobody is working at Banjë to this day. Faced with the country’s difficulties and the PD’s empty promises, the Meksi government is going through some of its hardest moments. Widespread poverty is made even worse by the incompetence of the government team, accompanied not only by mediocrity but also by corruption and organized theft. It is now giving and taking with a dose of the “serum” it gets from certain other things, which are intended to pull the wool over the eyes of the people left stranded in the middle of nowhere. In recent days, the start of work at the Banjë hydroelectric power station has been trumpeted on an unimaginable scale. RTV has talked about it and RD has written about it so much that readers have been given the impression that something extraordinary is happening at Banjë. Truly, this is propaganda on a scale designed to deceive people at a time when they are experiencing the hardest times. What is the truth? The truth is that all these promises are nonsense, government lies with a long tail. We went to Banjë and saw everything with our own eyes. The director of the hydroelectric power station construction enterprise, Ilia Zoto, told us they had barely kept the enterprise going and were still struggling to keep it going. Nobody was working there, not a single machine or worker. Everything was bleak, nothing but bleak. The director’s secretary, who had previously been in charge of the heavy machinery department, told us that the machinery had been wrecked. Out of 80 units, perhaps only three were in working order. But the director, Ilia, told us that six—not three—were working (!). The government is lying; not three, not even one, and the rest are worse. There can be no hope of work resuming at Banjë. We say this because starting work requires investment, it requires money. And that money cannot be squeezed out of a budget with holes in its pockets. So far, it is entirely lacking. Nobody knows where it will come from. Neither the ministers nor the Prime Minister. Nor the director of the hydroelectric power station construction project. The latter told us about two possible alternatives, which, it seems, Mr. Meksi had mentioned to them when he briefly returned to Banjë from Greece. According to him, the first option envisaged a need for 400 million... (Continued on page 2)

More than two thousand people took part in the rally organized by the District Trade Union Council of the Confederation in Korçë on Thursday, 11 March 1993, at the sports palace. The chairman of the Confederation of Albania, Mr. Kastriot Muço, also took part in the rally. Several political parties from the country and the district were also invited. The discussions at the rally focused on the severe economic situation facing working people, both in the city and in the countryside. In his speech, the chairman of the district trade union council stressed the difficult situation of intellectuals and their discrimination. Meanwhile, the chairman of the trade union at the sugar combine in Maliq said that those in power were achieving their aim by splitting off the combine and leaving the citizens of Maliq stranded in the middle of nowhere. The representative of the pensioners’ union, Nuçi Kita, stressed the worsening, difficult and discriminatory situation of pensioners and called for the respect expressed for them in words to be turned into action. At the end, the chairman of the district trade union council, Mr. Muharrem Koci, focused on the negative consequences of implementing the reform amateurishly. Afterwards, Mr. Kastriot Muço spoke about the position of the Confederation of Albania in these very difficult economic and social circumstances. And leaving the citizens of the highlands even more stranded. The representative of the pensioners’ union, Nuci Kita, stressed the worsening of the union council, Mr. Muharrem Koci, read the protest issued by the rally, addressed to the President, Parliament and the Prime Minister. This protest was fully approved by the people present. Correspondent of “Zëri i Popullit”

According to well-informed sources, the celebration of Summer Day in Elbasan was planned to be very grand. Work groups from the municipality and the district council had apparently been working for days on this traditional folk celebration. The celebration, with hundreds [of people], who had been sent from Tirana and the district. Diplomatic representatives accredited in Tirana had also apparently been invited. They say the celebration for the ambassadors had been planned on a much more “extended” scale. Both to present the city of Elbasan to them and to persuade them that the governments and states they represent might make some investment in Elbasan, since this city has thousands and thousands of workers on welfare assistance, and thousands more unemployed. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the day of the celebration, at 16:00, TV announced that President Berisha himself had also gone to Elbasan. Indeed, TV invited its viewers to watch the full report on the celebration and the President’s participation in the evening news. But... In the 8 p.m. news and in the late-evening news, the report on the celebration was indeed shown in full, except that the President was missing. As we are informed from Elbasan, around the “Turizmi” hotel, from 9 in the morning until 16:00, security measures had been taken re- (Continued on page 4)

Regarding the article in the Greek newspaper “ELEFTHEROS TIPOS,” published by the newspaper 24 orën, which states, among other things, that Bashkim Kopliku asked the Greek army to enter Albanian territory to prevent refugees from entering Greece, we approached the Minister of Public Order, Bashkim Kopliku, who gave us the following statement: The Office of “Zëri i Popullit” I am prompted by your article of 14.3.1993 in your newspaper, in which you write that it is a scandal, under the headline: A new scandal of the Government of Albania. We are in the opposition. Fine. There is nothing wrong with that so far. But I sincerely hope and wish that both sides are Albanian. Do you really have any kind of doubt that I called on the Greek army to enter Albanian territory… It is difficult for me to believe that you do not know what has happened, or that something has been written by someone which is … if something has been written by someone … Please forgive me, but you have a signed statement in your newspaper … Here you decide whether I answer when they attack me personally or my relatives. But, as the truth says, Albania, the Greek-Albanian lie on Albanian soil, and in cases where the truth is in Greece and our people are in Albania. The end must not justify the means. There is no great harm when they criticize me for everything. But not with such slander, gentlemen. Many of you are young now. In the hope that we will be able to engage in dialogue as principled opponents. Minister of Public Order BASHKIM KOPLIKU 15.03.1993 EDITOR’S NOTE: The editorial staff of the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit” thanks Minister Kopliku for finally deciding to make a public statement in the pages of our newspaper, and sincerely hopes that what the Greek newspaper wrote is not true. However, we cannot help recalling Mr. Kopliku’s statements about the situation of Albanians in Macedonia, statements that were received with great indignation by Albanians in Macedonia. At that time, too, Minister Kopliku declared that they were nothing but slander... As an editorial staff, we have taken all necessary measures and will make every effort to uncover the truth and inform our readers about everything. We hope that the relevant state bodies will also make every effort, because this is not an ordinary statement by an ordinary person. … how to criticize me for everything. But, gentlemen, no more such slander. Many of you are young now. I hope we will manage to engage in dialogue as fair-minded members of the opposition. Minister of Public Order BASHKIM KOPLIKU 15.03.1993 EDITORIAL statement in the pages of our newspaper, and we sincerely hope that what the Greek newspaper writes

The parliamentary group of the Socialist Party requested that the Chairman of the Special Commission for drafting the Draft Constitution, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, come to Parliament to report why the deadlines for drafting the Draft Constitution had been missed. This report is expected to be delivered today at 11:00.

To Mr. Sali Berisha, President of the Republic of Albania I, who am writing to you, Mr. President, am called Adem Myftar Vokshi, and live in the city of Shkodër. It has been a full 57 years since my father left the ancestral home in martyred Kosovo, driven out by the regime of the Gjeorgjigëve, and came to Albania for reasons that are now known to everyone. I am not from one of the families of former political prisoners in Albania, but from the well-known Vokshi family, the family of Sulejman Vokshi, Asim Vokshi and many other brave men who gave their lives for Albania. I am proud of all this, just as I am proud of my honest work in the service of my homeland. However, while my parents were forced by Serbian genocide to leave the home of their forefathers, the actions of today’s “democratic” rulers are aimed at doing the same thing. On 31 December 1992, my telephone service at home was arbitrarily cut off, and months later, specifically on 2 February 1993, I received an administrative order from the District Council of the Municipality notifying me that I had to vacate my home on 3 February. But that was not enough for them. On the morning of the 3rd, at exactly 8:15, the security forces arbitrarily and unlawfully broke down the door of the house and, without any reason, put the household belongings out on the street, giving me not even 24 hours’ notice. The police brutality inflicted on my family is not the only such incident in Shkodër, which seriously compromises democracy. That is precisely why I am writing to you, because apparently you do not know what is going on. I referred everything that happened to the justice authorities. On 17 February, the District Court, acting in accordance with the law, annulled administrative order No. 156, granting me the right to return home, but the Municipality still does not enforce the court’s decision. I and all honest people know this. Everything is done solely because of political beliefs, because if I had joined the PD, I am sure nobody would bother me, even if I had 14 rooms. From 1973 to 1980, my family and I lived and worked in the most remote villages of the Shkodër district. Later I worked in Mjedë, Gur të Zi, Koplik, for 18 months at the District Party Committee, and from there back to the countryside, in Velipojë. Today, however, I am unemployed, thanks to your reform; I am left out on the street, thanks to the humane qualities of your people; I have been forcibly thrown out of my home in violation of all the laws. Just as if my parents had been treated this way many years ago under the Serbian regime. I know that even after you read these lines in the newspaper, nothing will change. Nevertheless, I decided to write to you, to give you yet another fact about the violations of laws and human rights that your people are committing at every turn. Because it is not my fault if what happened to my parents 57 years ago resembles my case in the time of democracy like two drops of water. People like you have done the same thing, with the same hand. ADEM VOKSHI, Shkodër