Fitim Numani, father-in-law of Democratic Party MP Afërdita Zere, and Afërdita Vrioni, Fitim’s sister, are taking over the city’s trade warehouses. Around 2.8 million new lekë are being stolen from the people simply by lowering the sale price of the warehouses. The above fact is confirmed to us in the signature on the district privatization [document]. Leaving aside here the undervaluation of other facilities that are part of the warehouse system, all of which together greatly increase the value of the abuse, giving it the face of genuine corruption. For just two of the four warehouses taken by the gentlemen mentioned above, the valuation by the Berat Trade Enterprises Commission is 1,507,887 new lekë. The Ministry of Finance, Internal Trade and Economic Relations with Foreign Countries revised the valuation made by the Berat Trade Enterprises Commission and set it at 2,231,377 lekë (a correct action by this ministry), while the National Privatization Agency, on the basis of forged documents, lowered it to 805,000 lekë. Thus, no less than 1,426,377 new lekë are not paid into the state budget, doing the gentlemen Numani a favor by allowing them to buy the warehouses, as the people say, for a pittance. The question is: Are such people not being favored and supported, while ordinary people are given crumbs by the government, and most of the [unclear] is going into the pockets of those who are in power today? The National Privatization Agency in Tirana has openly violated the laws in force, privileging Democratic Party MP Afërdita Zere. Under Instruction No. 3, dated 30.7.1992, of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, in addition to the material valuation documentation, other documents are also required. This agency disregarded the written request of the parties seeking property—specifically, the request by the trade collective to purchase, the enterprise’s written approval for a change of ownership, the union’s opinion, etc. In addition, no written declaration of financial standing was submitted, nor was registration as a private entity made in court, as confirmed by the National Privatization Agency itself in its letter No. 580, dated 8.3.1993. Likewise, Order No. 5, dated 21.11.1992, of the Ministry of Internal Trade and Economic Relations with Foreign Countries—which permits the privatization of the entire enterprise, not its individual components—was flagrantly violated. The National Privatization Agency, unable to withstand the pressure, allowed its components to be sold. The District Council analyzed this issue on 27.3.1993. For [unclear] privatization, the gentlemen Ilirjan Hoxha, former head of the National Privatization Agency branch in Berat, and Gëzim Habili, a former employee of this privatization commission, were referred to the justice authorities for criminal prosecution for abuse of office. In open defiance of this District Council decision, the National Privatization Agency appoints Mr. Gëzim Habili head of its Berat branch. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party sent Mr. Ilirjan Hoxha to a three-month course for jurists. We believe that when the district court chairwoman returns to Berat, she will give Mr. Ilir the case file against him to judge. Dear government and parliamentary gentlemen, this is the true face of corruption and its perpetrators. No matter how much they raise a fuss about the Socialist Party and Fatos Nano, it will burst like all the others. The nest of corruption is the Democratic Party. We invite Mr. Blerim Çela to come to Berat to uncover the corruption and, once he has uncovered it, not to wash it clean with the [unclear] «Krye» at the castle’s [unclear] point, or at the Dandha café-bar on the banks of the Osum. Public opinion in Berat is seething over this blue corruption. Let us see what gentlemen Aleksandër Meksi, Genc Ruli and Artan Hoxha will do, to whom the District Council has sent a letter in recent days requesting the annulment of the sale of the city’s trade warehouses. Justice and the government are in the race. Let us see which will resolve it first. GENTIAN KRUNA

The chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Fatos Nano, received at the headquarters of the PS General Steering Committee a delegation from the Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, which is visiting our country. Jan Lucas Van Hoorn, political adviser to the EBRD, and Dr. Jill Adler, representative of the European Cooperation Fund, expressed their interest in the political situation and economic conditions in Albania, the progress of proceedings in the Albanian Parliament and of parliamentary committees and groups, the Government’s economic and reform program, exchanges of parliamentary and business experience with their countries, and the situation in the Balkans. For his part, Fatos Nano, after giving an overview of the political and economic situation in the country, the progress of reform and the abnormal state of parliamentary proceedings, especially recently, pointed out that meetings of this kind help people understand the experience needed to advance democratic processes. In our Parliament, Fatos Nano emphasized, consensus—which is necessary in many cases—is difficult to achieve because the majority does not take the opposition’s views into account. The change in the government’s course that the Socialist Party has called for has now become a necessity, because it is also turning into a popular desire. Fatos Nano then discussed the state of affairs in the Balkans, particularly the war in Bosnia, the situation of Albanians in Kosovo and in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the Socialist Party’s positions on these issues. Fatos Nano praised the role, assistance and support the EBRD has provided to Albania and stressed that exchanging parliamentary experience with other countries of Eastern and Central Europe, including through the EBRD and the European Cooperation Fund, is of considerable interest. MPs Bashkim Zeneli, Anastas Angjeli, Shkëlqim Cani, Ermelinda Meksi and Leontjev Çuçi also attended the meeting. Correspondent of «Zëri i Popullit»

FROM THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY On Tuesday afternoon, Parliament discussed the president’s decrees concerning changes to the government. At the end of the debate, the decree was put to a vote. The Socialist Party parliamentary group voted against it. The group’s deputy chairman, MP Musa Ulqini, gave the following explanation of the vote: «We voted against the president’s decree because: 1. Our parliamentary group has made its position on the present government known and has called for a motion of no confidence in its overall performance. Therefore, we oppose partial changes in the government, since they do not ensure a change in the government’s course, which we consider urgent under the country’s present circumstances. 2. No argument was presented explaining the reasons for these changes in the government, so that we could [unclear]- (Continued on page 4) … support, to whom the government is giving crumbs, while [fragment: written declaration of financial standing and does not confirm in letter No. 580, dated 8.3.1993, the Agency itself] Privatization in Berat and … the responsibility for abuse of office. In defiance of … see who resolves it first. GENTIAN KRUNA The deputy chairman of this group, MP Mus Uliqi, gave this because: 1. Our parliamentary group has made its position known … as so that we could [unclear]- (Continued on page 4)

- Interviews, conversations, opinions - Kuçova is still living through the events of 9 May, the clash between the people and the security forces. People are irritated, indeed outraged, by this insulting stance of the authorities, who have taken it upon themselves to establish a new dictatorship. We went there to talk with people directly involved, with those who persecuted and those who were persecuted, bringing new facts about this shocking event to the wider public. Fatmir Qejvani (31), I went to the meeting at the invitation of the local MP. This time I tried to get into the cinema hall, but police officers turned me away four times. One of them, named Lulzim, tore up my invitation. Then I decided not to sit down, because I saw how savage the policemen were; but when the MPs entered the hall, I found an opportunity and got in. There was [unclear] in was also a female police officer in civilian clothes. There was also a tough guy named Leonard, who was standing up, bloodied, and had made it his task to disrupt the meeting with the MP. At one point I joined the discussion and said to both of them: «Anyone who wants to listen to Fatos Nano may listen, but must not make noise or interrupt, because this is a political meeting and everyone should be at ease.» In this speech by Fatos Nano, I was at that time speaking alongside the MP, as if to say, «Don’t make noise.» As far as I remember, I had nothing against the MP… … had eaten dry bread. At that moment the plainclothes policeman Myslym Myrtari [hit me] hard from behind, and I fell. (Fatmir’s injuries could be seen, below and on his face from the blows. I turned my head and saw it was Myslym.) Before the policemen outside the cinema could react, another policeman hit me with a baton, several times in the face, reopening wounds I already had. (He’s lying.) Then he hit me with a second [unclear] and ordered his subordinates, «Take him, put him in the car.» They put me in a «Ford» and right away the order changed … [unclear] handcuffs. At the precinct they put double handcuffs on me and kept me in the cells. They held me until 6 p.m. I heard the police officers communicating by radio: «How many have you arrested? I’m directing Ali Shenapati from Berat.» «Five or six people,» the Kuçova police chief replied. «That’s far too few; increase the number, catch some more and sort out the paperwork…» I argued with the policemen, asking: «Why are you holding me? Why have you brought me here?» «It’s been ordered,» they replied. Then I completely lost my temper; all I could hear were the commands they were giving over the radio. I now have a medical certificate. I went to the Berat court (Kuçova has no judicial bodies). They told me nothing would be taken into consideration, because the report was made by the head of public order in Kuçova himself, Mr. Muharrem Noka. I went there together with the head of the branch, after the statement made on RTV about the lies. They did not sentence me; some policemen, though, were promising me [unclear], threatening me, parading me… In the corridors… [unclear] of the incident, they warned me: «Go away; you still haven’t learned your lesson, Fatmir.» Now there is nothing I can do. You can see they haven’t left me alone. I’ll send a photograph to the President, or… to Berisha. The democratic security police have beaten me repeatedly. As they did to us… In a church with… Everyone sees you as if together with… … a close friend of ours. We had sat at the bar in the gardens. We heard a noise and people shouting. We stood up and saw that there was a commotion in the square. At that moment a police officer came over and said to his colleague: «Come on, son, why don’t you hit them!» Many people moved away, but I didn’t. Then he hit me with his baton with all his strength. I fell and immediately moved away. Meanwhile another policeman came and told me: «Don’t be angry with the one who hit you, but with the other one who gave the order.» I saw this humiliation inflicted on dozens of citizens. Personally, I am very indignant and outraged, because I was hit despite being entirely innocent. The man who hit me should stand trial. A 16-year-old who does not wish to be identified: I saw with my own eyes the policeman Myslym Myrtari walking around the cinema hall where the meeting was taking place, signaling to his plainclothes colleagues to remove other citizens. As far as I saw, the police ended the meeting by trying to seize the camera of the cameraman who was filming the policemen beating the people. He took the camera, but when the deputy mayor and the chairman of the Socialist Party of the Fier District intervened, he let it go. I also saw other policemen there who pretended to threaten people but did not strike them: «I’ll lose my livelihood, so I make films like this,» a policeman I know told me himself. After these conversations with those injured in the clash with the Kuçova police, we thought we would also interview the chief of police of this district, Mr. Shkëlqim Kushtjepozl. Question: At a meeting that was … organized yesterday by the local government authorities, you said that the police… had not been hit with batons…

Following the unjustified confrontation that took place on 9.5.1993 between police forces and the people in the city of Kuçova, the legitimate authorities of justice and the community, together with MP Fatos Nano, submitted to the Berat District Prosecutor’s Office a request to initiate criminal proceedings against the Head of Public Order in Kuçova, Mr. Muharrem Noka. The request to initiate criminal proceedings against the aforementioned person alleges abuse of office on his part, which led to violence against citizens, pressure on the local MP, violence against people elected to local government, and violence against the camera operator who was filming. In addition, police reinforcements were brought in from other districts without informing the legitimately elected local government bodies and without any request from them. … ton, Ajet Doka, Vull Agalli, Skënder Arifaj, (Veli Bihamaku and Arben Leskaj (32), I left the house to see what was happening, because they told me the local MP, comrade Fatos Nano, had arrived. That day I had got up early, because I went to Berat to get a registration form. Meanwhile, I had returned from there). I tried to join the people who had begun gathering at the town cinema, but they wouldn’t let me in. Then I made up my mind and decided to listen to a few words through the loudspeaker, which they later removed. Then I left, because the police were [unclear] me. Meanwhile, comrade Fatos, together with the other MPs, said: «People, move toward the road so you can listen…» [text breaks off] Answer: Yes, the police did not have rubber truncheons. For this, I also reprimanded the unit commander, who had not equipped the police officers with truncheons. I did not check the officers one by one, but generally speaking, I saw that they had no truncheons. When I asked where they had their rubber truncheons, he replied to me: “They’re with the standby vehicle.” Question: The police struck a woman and a child carrying a bunch of flowers in their hands and knocked them to the ground. The whole public saw this scene. What is your position? Answer: It was chaotic there; many people had gathered. I did not see either a woman or a child being pushed and knocked to the ground. We were taking measures to ensure the safety of the members of parliament. Question: The head of public order here in Kuçovë stated on RTV that there had been no injured people. Meanwhile, today “Zëri i popullit” gives the figure of 17 injured. What is your opinion? Answer: I did not hear what the head of Public Order said on television, since I was not at home. For your information, I can tell you that there were no injured people. (Only four people were detained and administratively fined, one for disturbing public order and for disobeying a police officer’s order.) These were some of the conversations held two days after the shocking events in Kuçovë. The people were beaten, maimed, insulted and treated inhumanely. The police saw nothing (!). According to those who direct and command them, the police were unarmed and did not lay a “hand” on anyone (!) This is another irony, an insult that anti-democratic rulers can inflict. Nevertheless, dear reader, whoever you are to whom these lines are addressed, judge for yourself. BASHKIM KOÇI