ALBANIA IS PRACTICALLY WITHOUT GOVERNMENT ONCE AGAIN: - We are the only country in the world with a government that has no program - The sooner the incapable and corrupt people leave the leadership of the country, the better it will be for the people For months now, the demand for a change in the country’s government has been on the table. This is no longer a demand made only by the Socialist Party, but also by many other political forces that realistically assess the development of the country’s internal situation and our country’s relations with the world. The all-round collapse in every sector of life is apparent to every sensible person. The lack of hope and prospects for emerging from this situation is creating in people a psychology of fatalism and of seeking salvation only by leaving their homeland. What is most worrying is that the Democratic Party in power is unable to analyze situations realistically and is leading the country down a dead end. Under these circumstances, it is essential for the genuinely democratic forces and all sound Albanian public opinion to raise their voices and draw public attention to the need for positive changes that must [text cut off]. years. But these enterprises are being allowed to fail artificially, so that today’s [unclear: pëdëls-?] officials can buy them as worthless enterprises. There is no other way to explain why we used to have soap factories and not one of them is operating, while soap is bought with foreign currency from abroad. We have breweries, but not one of them produces beer, because someone is interested in Albania buying water from Macedonia. This is not merely called corruption, but also sabotage of national interests. We have many factories and production lines for processing fruit and vegetables, at least for the domestic market. But our market is full of foreign goods, often expired. There is talk of increasing agricultural production, but no measures are taken to collect produce from farmers for the market. Matters go so far that farmers deliver milk to dairies for 10 lekë per kilogram. Absurd official propaganda cannot conceal the situation facing [text cut off] today’s farmer. One consequence of the government’s failed policy is that this government is unable to put to work for the country the 400–500 million dollars a year that come from the sweat and blood of emigrants. This foreign currency either goes to stimulate the economies of Eastern countries, is blocked in foreign banks, or is kept in people’s homes, where people do not know how—and have no means—to invest it. The government’s latest decision to privatize 500 economic enterprises expresses in the clearest possible way its lack of responsibility toward the country’s interests. We do not believe there is any country that has ever known such a method of privatization. After destroying the assets of agricultural enterprises through one of its amateurish decisions, the government is now embarking on another, far greater adventure, at the expense of hundreds of thousands of Albanians who will be left empty-handed by the unlawful looting of national wealth by the servants of today’s regime. Those responsible for these unlawful actions, whoever they may be, will answer before the law. But what value would that have after everything had been destroyed and stolen… [Part of the article cut off at the top edge] ...the fatalistic outlook and the search for salvation solely through leaving the homeland. What is most troubling dead-end path. Under these circumstances, it is essential that the genuine democratic forces and all sound-minded Albanian public opinion raise their voices to make Albanian public opinion aware of the need for positive changes in the country’s governance and to find effective ways out of the extremely difficult situation. The general view today is that the current government is unable to deal with any of the major problems before it. Professional incompetence, combined with the party’s political prejudices, has left the government exposed before the people. It is now a well-known fact that, after a year and a half in power, it still has not presented a clear and concrete program setting out what is to be done in Albania. This is not a question of its lack of accountability to the highest body, Parliament, because Parliament has in fact been reduced to a puppet without prestige. The government’s lack of a program is an expression of the DP’s nefarious intentions to act beyond the people’s scrutiny and control, in the service of certain political groups and clans. We are the only country in the world where the government has no work program approved by parliament. The arrival of this policy in the country’s governance has brought about the country’s complete economic paralysis. Albania today produces almost nothing. Around 40–45 percent of our economic enterprises, with market prices liberalized, can survive in a ... [The article continues beyond the visible fragment]

- Residents of the capital pay their final respects to Professor Aleks Buda Yesterday at 10:00, the coffin containing the body of Professor Aleks Buda was placed in the hall of the Academy of Sciences in Tirana. Hundreds of residents of the capital—friends and relatives, comrades-in-arms, artists and writers, researchers, people from the worlds of science and culture, academicians and former members of the Academy of Sciences—bowed respectfully before the body of Professor Aleks Buda. Those who came to pay their respects at the Academy of Sciences included the deputy chairman of the Socialist Party and MP Servet Pëllumbi, PS [Socialist Party] Namik Dokle, members of the PS Presidium, the secretary of the PS KD [unclear abbreviation] Gramoz Ruçi, Dhritëro Agolli, Mak-Lakrori, Etem Ruko, as well as other MPs from this group, who also expressed their condolences to the family members. President of the Republic Sali Berisha, Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi and other members of the government also paid their respects. Representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana also paid their respects. At 11:15, the coffin containing his body, carried by hundreds of [text cut off]

. The return of the gold to Albania has still not taken place. At least, we know that not a single gram of the gold blocked in England has entered our banks, said Fahri Hoxha, director of the Treasury at the Bank of Albania. The matter is being pursued at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the lawyer [text cut off] Qirjako Qirko, a member of the Albanian delegation in the latest discussions held on this issue in Tirana with specialists from the American state parliament and Treasury, undertakes to clarify the matter as far as state-secret restrictions allow. Twenty-three crates of gold bearing the mark AL were sent to London, he said, after the Second World War, when the great powers—the United States, England and France—laid claim to the assets looted by Germany. Various states claimed more gold than had been found in German banks, so a commission of the great powers reduced the quantities of gold found for each state. Although Albania had physically deposited all 2.4 tons of its gold, it was recognized as having a right to approximately 1.5 tons. As the final decision of the tripartite commission was awaited, the Corfu incident occurred, creating a rupture between Albania and England that lasted forty years. In April 1992, a solution was found in Rome, says Mr. Qirko. England would be granted compensation and the remainder would be returned to Albania. However, as one of the commission’s members, America’s opinion also had to be obtained. I was in a meeting with the Americans in Tirana, but I cannot give details about the technical issues making it difficult for the American side to sign. I can only say that the matter concerns the return of property to former owners who are American citizens, Qirko said; [the discussions] took place before the law on the return and compensation of property to former owners was approved, and the American side did not say that it had a claim. The French opinion has not been obtained, he said. Qirko rejected rumors that the gold would not be returned to Albania without the permission of the royal household. He estimated the value of Albanian gold in London at approximately 18 million dollars, on which no interest can be calculated, since, Qirko said, this type of deposit does not earn interest. I do not think, Mr. Qirko said, that the blocking of Albania’s gold is [unclear: hesh[t]ur përak...; text unclear and cut off] ... heqës. BBC, 6 July 1993

The President versus Idajet Beqiri - In the courtroom: 8:30 a.m. - Yesterday, armed police appeared at the offices of the Party of National Unity, where Idajet Beqiri is under house arrest, to take him to the courtroom. Neither the defendant nor the prosecutor in the case knew the date and time of the trial. The hearing was therefore postponed until 8:30 a.m. It is not clear who will defend him as his lawyer, because according to the information available so far, the President of the Republic has declared that he has not brought charges against the chairman of the Party of National Unity. Others say the Prosecutor’s Office itself took the initiative to defend the President’s dignity. This has further increased curiosity about this trial, which appears to ... [the rest of the text is illegible/cut off] Spokesperson for PUKSH

- Thousands of kilograms of beans are exported at a loss. - Thousands of other kilograms are kept in warehouses while the people go hungry and the treasury is seeking aid. - The state pays the “losses.” - The directors appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food are back on the scene. Following an inspection at the Fier Grain Enterprise, completed on 19.06.1993, it emerged that the misappropriation of state property, created through the people’s labor, is enormous. Although the purchase price of the 873,500 kg of beans collected reaches 30 lekë per kg, the sale price to a Greek company is as low as 23.14 lekë per kg. It is strange that, although the enterprise has not found a market for sales, bean collection has continued at prices higher than the market’s sale price, ... [lines illegible] Also striking is the fact that this entire quantity is being kept in storage, even though we have received aid from various donors in this same product, and the whole remaining quantity is at risk of becoming unusable. For the 127,700 kg sold alone, the loss amounts to 332 thousand lekë. The audacity of the enterprise director, Frosina Tuzi, a prominent PD activist, goes so far that she sells 669 kg of beans to foreign and Albanian companies without a price. If the money is eventually collected at a belated price, will the director pay the lost profit? This money, being thrown away under such circumstances, could be used to pay for the wheat delivered by farmers; for the latter, the director is asking the state for an unsecured loan? A response from Mr. Kalakula is expected. He will either dismiss the director, which will put him at odds with PD Fier, or remain silent and answer for abuse of office through inaction. HARILLA KECI

It has been announced that Finance Minister Mr. Genc Ruli will soon appear in the courtroom. He has brought a lawsuit before the justice authorities against Panajot Zoto, the “People’s Voice” correspondent for the Sarandë district, accusing him of “defamation” in connection with an article by the latter entitled “Why did Genc Ruli go to Janina in a state of concern?”, published in the newspaper “The People’s Voice” on 18 June this year. The article says that Mr. Ruli was seen in Janina trying to unblock some consignments of cigarettes that had been blocked by the Greek side. Asked about this defamation accusation, correspondent Zoto told our journalist that he is preparing to defend himself with dignity in court, because there is no shortage of evidence of corruption in the cigarette trade. It seems that Mr. Ruli is trying to hide his head like an ostrich, claiming that he was not in Janina. We would like to recall that some time ago Mr. Ruli declared in Parliament that “to his misfortune, he has never been to Paris.” But the facts published later said otherwise. Moreover, as Finance Minister directly responsible for financial policy and customs, Mr. Ruli cannot escape direct responsibility for the scandal that has erupted in recent days over cigarette smuggling in Albania. The chairman of the State Control Commission, Blerim Çela, also spoke publicly about this scandal in “Gazeta Shqiptare” on 7 July. In this way, Mr. Ruli could go from accuser to accused in the courtroom. Thus, the Albanian press, short of sensational stories during the hot summer days, could keep its circulation up. “People’s Voice” correspondent

On Wednesday, during the 8:00 p.m. television news program, Albanian Television broadcast a report about the Mining, Geology and Energy Trade Union Federation’s separation from the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania. In connection with this report, our newspaper’s correspondent approached the Confederation’s spokesperson, who said: At its meeting on May 7, 1993, the National Executive Council of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania expelled from its ranks the chairman of the Mining, Geology and Energy Federation, Mr. Mexhit Zogu, and the chairman of the Construction Federation, Mr. Ylli Umeri, for anti-union and unlawful activities, which they carried out by abusing the union functions they held as chairmen of these federations. The Confederation’s National Executive Council is in the process of preparing meetings of the councils of these federations, which will be elected for the Construction Federation on July 9 and for the Mining Federation on July 12. This action taken by the chairmen of these two federations is nothing more than a continuation of their deceptive, individualistic and careerist positions, and does not represent the will of their executive councils, which are the sole authorities empowered to act on behalf of the Federation. Correspondent of «Zëri i Popullit»

Statement By the Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania Several days have passed since Albanian public opinion learned with concern of the decision to place Mr. Idajet Beqiri, chairman of the Party of National Unity of Albania, under house arrest. The Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania strongly protests against such a decision and calls for its immediate annulment. Albanian public opinion has already witnessed numerous cases of judicial persecution of journalists who have dared, through their writings, to inform people and criticize the wrongful actions of those in power. The arbitrary persecution, for the same reason, of the chairman of an opposition party marks a new escalation in the censorship of the press and freedom of speech. This is an extremely dangerous precedent on the path toward political revenge and revanchism in Albania. The Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania declares that an unlawful attack against a party or pluralist system as a whole; it is evidence of the advance of the fever and practices associated with the revival of a totalitarian political system, which uses democracy and pluralism as a deceptive façade. We call on all progressive political forces to say “stop” to this real danger! Thanks to Mr. Beqiri’s energetic and responsible activity, the Party of National Unity of Albania, whose strategic objective is to achieve national unity and the unification of all Albanians, has gained and continues to gain thousands of allies every day, both inside and outside Albania. Therefore, restoring full civil rights to Mr. Idajet Beqiri would help strengthen the spirit of understanding and unity among Albanians, whose security and peace are now at risk. The Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania calls on the President of the Republic, who is also chairman of the High Council of Justice, as well as the Republic’s Prosecutor General, to examine calmly and responsibly the absurd decision imposing a punitive measure against Mr. Idajet Beqiri. By firmly demanding the immediate lifting of the house-arrest measure and the restoration of freedom to the chairman of a progressive party, the Presidium of the SPA is certain that, among other things, this would help create people’s trust in state institutions and legal bodies, in tolerance and the ability to build a genuine state governed by the rule of law, to guarantee the realization of fundamental human and civil rights, and to make genuine progress in Albania toward establishing and consolidating true democracy. The Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania Tirana, 08.07.1993.