Today’s rulers, incapable of governing the country and of making way for major economic business, are promoting the business of political trials in order to eliminate their opponents. Unable to revive the country’s economy, they are reviving violence, terror and prisons. In this way they seek to hide the traces of real corruption and cover up their own complete incompetence and failure . [At no time has Tirana prison held so many former high-ranking officials inside its cells all at once as it does today. Meanwhile, the reports from courtrooms filling the opposition and independent newspapers bring to mind the first postwar years, when trials seemed never to end. And Albanian democracy has been left an orphan. The beautiful dream faded, was stolen, was killed. Along with it, the main protagonists of the transition phase were also “killed”; today they are imprisoned as in no other country of the former communist East. It has been 18 months since the Democratic Party took the seat of government in Albania. At least de jure this is true, just as it is true that it has merely occupied the seat of government under the famous slogan “We govern, the world helps us”] ? [But today all Albanians are witnesses (regardless of the fact that PD members do not admit it aloud) that PD governance has been effective only in imposing its will on the justice organs, which are not heading toward bankruptcy, as MP Legjisi says in one of his articles, but toward distortion; degenerating into organs of lynching, violence and pressure. They have abandoned the law, and everything in their activities is directed by the orders, instructions, whispers and decisions of the Democratic Party. The most unique and flagrant case proving this is that of former Prosecutor General Maksim Hixha, who was not only removed from his post by a vote of parliamentarians from all parties, but was also taken to trial, declared guilty despite being innocent, and sentenced by the press’s hired executioners. His was the first trial, which would later be followed by a whole dozen more, thus creating the business of trials, with the aim of diverting public attention from the many hardships and difficulties toward stale fabrications staged under the Party’s directive. The trial of Maksim Haxhia foreshadowed what would happen next. The person who replaced him as Prosecutor General, a professionally incompetent man and a direct perpetrator of human-rights violations, would show how the number-one official of an institution that should protect the rule of law can become a puppet and obedient servant, by signing arrest warrants in the most irresponsible manner-] ? LUAN M. RAMA (continued on page 2)

Yesterday at midday, the Presidium of the Socialist Party held a constructive marathon meeting with the chairpersons of the district communes and municipalities where the Socialists had won. The main subject of discussion was raising the standard of work of Socialist local officials in order to unblock local government and do justice to the votes the people gave this party on 26 July last year. The meeting was chaired by the deputy chairman of the Socialist Party, Dr. Prof. Servet Pëllumbi. Both in MP Y. Bufi’s remarks on behalf of the party’s Commission on Local Government Issues and in the other discussions, it was stressed that, although more than a year has passed since the elections, local government continues after the elections, local government continues to be blocked. It still has no budget of its own, no properties have been assigned to it, it has very few, if any, enterprises under its authority, its powers have been usurped by central government, etc. All this stems from the Democratic Party’s inability to minimize the great success the Socialists achieved in the 26 July elections and to discredit them before the people as incapable of governing. On the basis of this objective analysis of the situation, and given that the Socialists are the leading force in local government (they hold 23 of the country’s 42 municipalities, have 15 district councils, and have about 180 of the 312 communes), it was concluded that every effort must be made to work and see in practice what the Socialists are capable of doing. In this context, it was emphasized that from the following day the basis should be the Party Presidium’s declaration on intensifying the political struggle against the revenge-seeking of the current rulers, until they are removed from local government, as… The Socialists’ aim is to unblock local government and ensure its normal functioning, not to block it. We, it was stressed, must not retreat in the face of the pressure and difficulties that central government creates for us in every- (continued on page 2)

The expert report kept “hidden” from public opinion, as well as the experts Llambi Balliu and Nelson Vicka, testify that all the banking transactions carried out by Messrs. Saliu and Tartari were lawful. Specifically, according to the expert report: The commercial bank was entitled to discount the bill of exchange under Law 7493 of the Albanian parliament. – Discounting a bill of exchange is the right of every bank. The accounting transaction carried out does not constitute concealment or a violation. Both transactions were recorded on 24.4.1992, although the first transaction could have been recorded earlier. The main document on which the accusation of damage to the state from the “discount interest” is based is unlawful under the “Code of Criminal Procedure.” The prosecutor acknowledges this too. Vilson Ahmeti, the former prime minister who has so far been under arrest, is in the position of a spectator. According to the expert report, a bill of exchange can be discounted by any bank inside or outside the country. The discount interest rates were indeed the applicable rates for loans, but in this particular case calculations concerning this interest were not submitted in a way that would constitute concealment and, at the same time, damage. The accounting transaction carried out involved no violation. Both entries were made on 24.4.1992, although calculations concerning the loan interest in this particular case and, at the same time, a case file. were made on 24.4.1992, although the first payment could have been recorded before that date, the expert report concludes. Experts L. Balliu and Nelson Vicka stated that they fully agreed with the report’s conclusions. The prosecutor then put several questions to the experts, whose answers established that the bill of exchange had been guaranteed by the State Bank and that it was possible for one person to issue it and for the bank to accept it. Those discounting the bill of exchange are not required to ask for the signatures of its issuer and acceptor, because the Bank establishes direct contacts with the beneficiaries. (Continued on page 4) … a stone that has taken root and can hardly be removed by the police officers of Musaraj, over a discriminatory act against healthcare workers concerning wages. … … Judge Kreshnik Spahiu said that they would continue by reading the expert report and questioning the experts, and then the defendants would also be asked whether they wished to give explanations. Sanxhaku requested permission to speak and give explanations about the matter. In the courtroom, which had not reacted, only one expert was present, so proceedings were postponed for 30 minutes to bring in the other expert. The expert report in the file was then read; it was addressed in name and now to the public, but not to the court and the prosecution. The expert report states that the Banka Tregtare e Shqipërisë was entitled to discount bills of exchange under Law No. 7493 of the Albanian parliament. It also says that the payment of 640,000 dollars made on the basis of a bill of exchange did not violate the aforementioned decree. The second transaction, that is, the payment of 945,000 dollars made in connection with the first payment, likewise did not constitute a violation and is considered regular. The report states that the bill of exchange …

More than 40 officers and over 100 police officers are thrown out onto the street According to well-informed sources, the Ministry of Public Order has launched a harsh campaign to purge the police ranks. The cause was the “indifferent” stance taken by law-enforcement agencies in Tirana during the popular protest held on 30 July. Minister Musaraj has issued firm instructions about who should be affected by this reform, without considering the “sacrifices” it will entail. Although Mr. Agron has said that he has doubts about the events in Fier, Lushnjë and especially those in Lagji, he is nevertheless not letting go of his spiteful determination to remove from the ranks of the security forces everyone he considers a Socialist or a supporter of theirs. In recent days, by special order, more than 40 officers and over 100 police officers, among the most highly qualified, have been thrown out onto the street by the Tirana Directorate alone and its districts. Most of the officers are top specialists in various fields, with two university degrees and foreign-language skills. But the PD-ist reform does not ask questions. It sweeps up whatever it finds in its path. Those who may survive the ministerial storm or take important positions in law enforcement must be former common criminals or openly declared Ballists. After the “lining up” of the police in Tirana and the districts, the people should rest assured that nothing will happen to them. At most, Mr. Musaraj’s sleep will not be disturbed by pistols, but by “Kalashnikov” automatic rifles; and, moreover, the aim they have set for themselves will be achieved: “socialist scoundrels will only be able to pass if they step over our bodies.” After the endless trials of the demonstrators at the 30 July rally, which, as is known, have filled the prisons, punishment began against the security forces, against those who remained indifferent and whom, according to Musaraj, the protesters’ chant “the police are with us” exposed. A. Ç.

A few minutes after 7 a.m. the day before yesterday, gunshots were heard in the middle of the main street of the «Xhabia» neighborhood in the city of Shkodër. As a group of citizens who had been nearby told us, they had seen a person shooting at a police officer who was riding a bicycle with his wife. The police officer and his wife fell. The citizens immediately approached to come to the aid of the injured [sic], taking them straight to the hospital. The information we managed to obtain at 10:15 about the incident was very clear: the police officer had died, while his wife had been wounded. Later information indicates that the murdered police officer was named Çelë Rustemi, an employee of this city’s police force. Some people who claim to have known him for a long time think the murder may have been committed for motives of revenge; others say a more immediate motive may be that, a few years ago, while in Shkodër, he was attacked by several people in connection with the theft of the railway arms warehouses. They tried to kill him by striking him with heavy objects, leaving him with lasting injuries, while carrying out the role assigned to them above and attempting to rob the warehouses. He reacted immediately to defend himself, shooting at them. So, according to them, this latest incident, which had been organized by … [unclear passage] ...

How would you comment on the hearings so far? Despite the clashes we have had with the prosecution, the hearings so far have proceeded without any procedural violations that would affect the normal conduct of the trial. For the moment, I would like to mention when the two agreements in the file were presented without the signatures of Xhyheri, who testifies that he had signed them. The documents submitted by the bank and the State are not the actual documents under which N. Nikola Arsidin entered into the agreements; these documents were drawn up later or subsequently altered, as was proved by the fact that witness Xhyheri testifies that the documents bear his signature, whereas a handwriting examination conducted by the court found that they are not his signatures. What about the «payment orders» and «agreements» you have at your disposal? The payment orders and agreements we have at our disposal are genuine; Arsidli also has them. They are genuine because, in addition to the signatures … [continues in another column]

… of the person who signed them, they also bear the signature of the person who received them. What about Mr. Alessi’s statements in the Italian parliament concerning a sum of 400,000 dollars sent in favor of Mr. Hoti, with which the PD was financed? I don’t know anything. Are you aware of Mr. Hoti’s meetings in Paris in January 1992 at a meeting on debt reduction, which Arsidli also attended? I have heard that such a meeting took place, but I don’t know what happened or what was discussed. What would you say about the payment orders dated November 1 and 3, especially since the «fee agreement» signed by Hoti says «In November»? I am fully convinced that these payment orders are genuine and that they are connected with the beginning and end of the matter. The prosecution has not taken them into account; this is true of the payment orders. The pre-trial investigation was conducted only on the basis of the documents submitted by the bank. Which of these are genuine, yours or those in the file? You have these payment orders? Yes. These are also in the file, but they were not included in the investigation. How do you explain the fact that the original documents are missing? That is the problem: until these documents are presented, the others are brought in by Arsidi, and his position is made clear, the matter cannot be judged realistically. Nevertheless, the existing documents can be verified by Greek experts to determine whether they are genuine or forged. How do you foresee the subsequent hearings? I have a conviction, based on evidence, that the case cannot be decided either on guilt or innocence until the people concerned have had their say. There is an occult group involving Arsidi in the affair in Switzerland; it directed «Skoto-Centrale» Banka with 4 million dollars, which was to be returned in a … so that they would not be punished as they should be. They are trying to have them declared innocent. Interviewed by: Erion Bra…

At Tirana’s hospital center: GENERAL STRIKE Yesterday, a two-hour general strike was held by healthcare workers at the capital’s hospital center. This time the strike was not about the miserable state of Tirana’s hospitals, nor the insecurity that has taken root and will be hard to dispel under Musaraj’s police, but rather a discriminatory action by the authorities against healthcare workers regarding their wages. Instead of having their wages increased at all, they were even stripped of the allowance they received for the difficulties of their work. In short, doctors, nurses and other employees—the only ones who have made and continue to make sacrifices during this period of transition—received yet another hard “blow” as a reward from the government and the Minister of Health, Mr. Tritan Shehu. With yesterday’s two-hour strike, the capital’s healthcare personnel have sent the authorities a warning signal, but we do not know what position Minister Shehu will take in these days when he is going around and around in the role of PD chairman, trying to convince people that he is suited to be a politician and not a health minister. DRITAN PRISKA

At the beginning of May, the trade adviser of Pogradec asked to go to Pogradec to see the affairs of that district. They … that they would They … that they would They … [illegible passage] … When Meksi arrived in Pogradec, there were only … with me drowning … … to hear the people’s grievances. He said, I tell you, fear overwhelmed me. There, if you had gone to Pogradec, what would I have done? They would surely have drowned. But you, fortunately for me, didn’t go to Pogradec, and I have remained alive. Thank you, Mr. Meksi. Regards, Namik Dokle. P.S. Please, show this letter to the SHIK newspaper or the leadership of the PD, so that Pasha’s associates notice it too, since he saved my life. … August 1993

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