Meeting of the SP parliamentary group on the preparatory work for the constitution The Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party met yesterday to set the program of preparatory work leading up to the completion and submission to the People’s Assembly of the Draft Constitution by the Special Parliamentary Commission. It was first emphasized that the SP parliamentary group’s decision not to accept discussion of other laws until the Special Commission presents the draft Constitution has found broad support and resonance among the people. Everyone now understands that the Socialists want the rule of law to be established in Albania, and that this can be achieved only through a Constitution with high democratic standards. Those who do not want this have delayed, and are delaying, the Constitution. The deputies then expressed views on many issues, but focused in particular on the following: It was emphasized that it is necessary for the parliamentary group to discuss extensively the fundamental issues of principle involved in building a democratic Constitution, on the basis of which the rule of law can function and the mindsets, tendencies, and practices of the political state can be overcome. Working groups could be established for this purpose, including specialists in the relevant fields, to discuss issues such as the basic principles governing individual freedoms and rights; the independent functioning of the branches of government; and the organization and functioning of local government, etc. It was emphasized that discussions in the working groups and in the parliamentary group would constitute extensive preparatory work for the members of the Special Commission on the Constitution who represent our group. Naturally, they represent the minority and cannot dictate either the Commission’s program or the pace of its work, but they need to play an active role and ensure that the work of preparing the Constitution does not continue to drag on. This begins with clearly and precisely setting the Commission’s work program and deadlines. The SP parliamentary group also discussed the procedures for approving the Constitution. In the draft submitted by the specialists to the Special Commission, one article provides for approval by a Constituent Assembly, which is to be formed by decree of the President of the Republic. Meanwhile, this is ruled out by the Constitutional Provisions. We are therefore dealing with a vicious circle that can be broken only through a constitutional law clearly specifying who is to proclaim the formation of the Constituent Assembly, how it is to be elected, what relationship it will have with the current parliament, etc. Many deputies stressed that this might seem like a simple procedural matter, but if it is not resolved through democratic and legal means, it directly affects the sovereignty of parliament—and it is clear what consequences that would have, especially when the approval of the Constitution of the Republic is at issue. Many of the deputies who spoke stressed that the necessary contacts should also be established with other political forces interested in this issue and represented on the Special Constitutional Commission. Correspondent of «Zëri i Popullit»

- No official statement on the Shkodër incident - Today’s Albanian state is afraid of its own people. This was evident in its response to the incident in Shkodër on June 18. Although it was obvious that the attack in Shkodër was illegal, no official authority dared to comment on the matter in the Albanian public information media. There are reasons for this. First, the state could not deny the unlawful provocation against Socialist deputies and members and supporters of the Socialist Party in Shkodër. But official acknowledgement by the state authorities that the provocations in Shkodër were unlawful would also mean legal accountability for the organizers. But who were the organizers? They have now been named in the press. They are the officials of the Constitution who represent our group. On June 18. «In connection with the incident, Deputy Minister of Public Order Astrit Mehja told the BBC that the gathering of people who blocked the road to the deputies in Shkodër was illegal, while the police forces did not intervene because they were insufficient to disperse the demonstrators. Nevertheless, Mr. Mehja said, the organizers of the demonstration have been identified, and action will soon be taken against them in accordance with the laws in force.» BBC, June 19. TODAY IN BERAT Today’s authorities, from the center all the way down to the local government in Shkodër. As such, they cannot demand that they punish themselves. This was also clear from President Sali Berisha’s conduct at his meeting with the Socialist deputies on June 18. However, as the BBC reported on June 19, Deputy Minister of Public Order Astrit Mehja called deputies in Shkodër «illegal». He also said that laws in force». In this way, Mr. Mehja has acknowledged the fact. We have yet to see who the identified organizers really are and how the law will be applied to them. Let us wait and see. But the failure of the official authorities to comment on this incident before the Albanian public proves that everything will be covered up, like so many other dirty affairs of today’s government. THE OBSERVER

TODAY IN BERAT We are informed from Berat that the second session of the trial against the chair and deputy chair of the Socialist Party organization in the village of Tapi, in the Kuçovë district, is taking place in that city today. They are accused of organizing an illegal rally in their village on March 10. As readers know, this was a meeting organized on the sports field, attended by the chair of the PS in the Kuçovë district, the deputy chair of the district council, the head of the commune, etc. The Kuçovë Public Order Department deemed it appropriate to accuse the two leaders of the village PS organization of being the organizers, apparently in order to exert political pressure on the villagers. The judge in this trial is Fatime Velçani, while the prosecutor is Argjir Suka. According to reports, the trial is being held behind closed doors. After this trial, it is said that this judge and prosecutor will be sent to Shkodër to try the organizers of the illegal attack staged on June 18. You will find out more about the proceedings of this trial in future issues. «Correspondent of „Zëri i Popullit“»

The crime chief in action

During the month from May 15 to June 15, 32 members were admitted to the ranks of the SP in the Devoll district. The growth of the SP’s ranks be-

From monism back to monism. Yesterday afternoon, Parliament began its work as usual. Only the PS and PSD groups were absent. After being “vaccinated” to gain strength from a group of around a thousand people carrying slogans such as “The people are socialist,” “We want the Constitution,” etc., the DP deputies, united around the party with comrade Edi Selami, began their work of making laws. The first thing that caught the eye and ear at this session was that the square in front of Parliament was packed with ministers’ cars. Zija, standing on Mr. Pjetër’s right, kept calling out to summon deputies who had left the chamber to go to the bathroom or get coffee. Pjetër Arbnori was heard several times saying, “We will be forced to close the session,” addressing a deputy who was getting ready to leave the chamber. Despite the harsh and provocative attack made on them by Mr. Ali Spahija a few days ago, the PAD deputies are still remaining in Parliament. They apparently intend to continue the parliamentary struggle alone, in order to bring the Constitution forward as soon as possible. At this session, the PDRH deputy, Mr. Mico, declared that he considered his group’s presence in Parliament unjustifiable without the Constitution having arrived, and left the chamber. Eduard Selami, as often before, spoke in a disingenuous manner, opening a speech directed against the actions of the parliamentary group that had opposed them in Parliament. Further on, he said that he considered it unwise for Parliament to set a deadline for when the Constitution should arrive in Parliament. There are countries, he continued, that operate for a long time under constitutional provisions; we have a four-year mandate and will organize our work as best we can. Mehmet Çeliku of the Republican Party said that the Constitution should have been brought forward on time and in accordance with the approved procedures. Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to ask that his party be given a greater place in the government, something the Meksi government has not done so far. He complained that the Meksi government had given greater importance to the Social Democratic Party. Taking advantage of the chamber, now thinned out by the “social-communists,” Arben Imami insisted that a bill submitted by deputy Teta on opening deputies’ files be placed on the agenda. Although he insisted strongly and held a lengthy debate with Mr. Arbnori himself, the DP group refused to “take advantage” of the opportunity and put the proposal to a vote. DP deputy Bregu, who spoke after Imami, said that the issue of the files was being raised according to certain established schemes. When one scheme fails, others are put into action. Those demanding that the files be opened, he said, are people who have files themselves, and they are doing this to make things difficult for others. BEQIR SKRELI

We, the deputies of the Party for the Protection of Human Rights, firmly affirm our view that Albania needs a Constitution, and that it is essential to build a constitutional state, a state governed by the rule of law, in Albania. We, the deputies of the Party for the Protection of Human Rights, firmly affirm our view that Albania needs a Constitution, and that it is essential to build a constitutional state, a state governed by the rule of law, in Albania: our party has expressed this position on other occasions as well, including when approving the constitutional chapter “On the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms,” and by supporting every proposal or decree calling for the Constitution to be drafted as soon as possible. In this regard, we have shown tolerance, not raising our voices enough against violations and arbitrariness, with the principal aim of avoiding tensions and ensuring the normal continuation of parliamentary activity. But tolerance has its limits. It ends where the arbitrariness of an institution or forum insults Parliament and its bodies, and leads to violations of citizens’ rights and freedoms. We demand that the draft Constitution prepared by the working group be urgently referred to the Constitutional Drafting Commission and brought before Parliament as soon as possible for consideration. Until the draft Constitution prepared by the relevant commission comes before the Assembly, we consider our continued participation in parliamentary proceedings unjustifiable. Statement.

EDUARD SELAMI IN TROPOJA: “I also bring you greetings from Prof. Berisha, whom you have the honor of having from your parts.” SALI BERISHA’S POLICE IN FIER: To honor the President fully, in broad daylight they [killed] a poor man from Tropoja. The incident is more than tragic. This time in Fier, the killers are the police themselves. Those paid by the people to protect human lives are taking them from people in the most barbaric way. The incident was more or less as follows: Three unfortunate men from Tropoja, two of whom were brothers, had brought a Skoda loaded with boards to Fier to sell. At the checkpoint at the entrance to the city, crowded with a large contingent of police, regular police, military police and who knows what other police, the car with Tropoja plates was stopped for a document check. The owners of the car and goods insisted that their documents were in order, while the finance police claimed that one document was not in order and issued a fine of fifty thousand lek. One of the three men from Tropoja told the police they did not have that much money with them and would get it from a friend of theirs who worked at the Fier investigative department. The police then intervened barbarically, issuing orders like animals; they did not care about investigators or judges. After this, a group of police officers charged like madmen at the three men from Tropoja, who were desperately defending themselves against these unscrupulous fascists whom Sali Berisha’s state has dressed in police uniforms. They beat one of the three, who was also the most physically robust, wherever they could, then forcibly took him to the police station, while the other two continued to be beaten barbarically. An eyewitness who saw the entire incident states that one policeman struck one of them hard on the back of the head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him down, while another policeman savagely kicked him in the genitals. These blows caused his immediate death. After this, he was taken to the hospital for an autopsy. The other man from Tropoja, who had been taken to the station, was the brother of the innocent victim, a 42-year-old man and father of four children (the victim is meant here). Afterwards, he was brought out of the police station covered in blood and wounds. The entire public of Fier was shaken and outraged by this horrifying death. The Socialist Party, through the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit,” has often denounced the inhuman behavior of Fier’s police officers. It has denounced the fact that this department is staffed by thugs, thieves and common criminals, people without education or culture, many of them descendants of the «Balli Kombëtar», whose eyes redden with a desire for revenge and to shed blood. SKËNDER PETRITI

Over the course of one month, from 15 May to 15 June, 32 members were admitted to the ranks of the PS in the district of Devoll. , from 15 May to 15 June, 32 members were admitted to the ranks of the PS in the district of Devoll. The PS ranks are growing through supporters of different ages and professions, most of them under 30. At a meeting of the village branch organization in Capanaj, 10 members were admitted to the PS; one of them, Sali Hoxha, was also elected head of the organization. Likewise, the organization in the village of Ponçare admitted five members, and Shkëndër Jaxheziu, newly admitted and a young man highly respected in the village, was elected head of the village PS. AVDI DULO Chairman of the PS in Devoll district

Around a thousand people, including trainees and police officers, gathered in the afternoon, after two days of announcements on Radio Television, in front of Parliament for a rally organized by the DP. Rally participants nostalgically recalled the time when a hundred thousand people took part in DP rallies in Tirana, and felt saddened when they saw themselves reduced to one hundredth of that number. They called for the Constitution to be adopted and for a fight against corruption. Shaban Memia, Petrit Kallakula and Eduart Selami spoke at the rally. Those who had always been regular fixtures at DP rallies were absent from the platform. Mr. Selami had to put off his speech for a few minutes, even though he had written it, because the television filming crew arrived late. Immediately after the rally, the crippled Parliament convened, where the departure of the PDRH deputies was also announced. Correspondent of “Zëri i Popullit”

The first month for us university students in Tirana is a month of exams, but also of great difficulties. The blow dealt to students of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Civil Engineering is taking these beautiful days of exams away from us, when we should be preparing our theses. For several days there has been no electricity in these buildings, making students’ work even more difficult. The situation is even worse in the dormitories, where conditions are continually deteriorating. This is extremely miserable, because the students—especially the girls—are also targets of harassment by irresponsible young men. They are asking for water, a word that our rulers seem to have forgotten as they drink champagne and whisky on planes. Besides water, the shortage of bread and food is becoming a problem too. For two days in a row, the canteens where literature and faculty students eat were closed, and today is the third day. If our democratic government is unable to keep the students’ canteens supplied with bread, oil and other essentials, how capable is it of providing the people with the most necessary foods? This, it seems, is the reward for the major role students played during the democratic processes in Albania. Today these students themselves have been rewarded with the hardships that the “democratic” government is creating for them. LULZIM BARDHI

As Radio BBC reported in its Albanian-language “Albanian Television” program, the Ministry of Defense announced that a fire broke out in a military unit of the Kuçovë garrison at around 21:30 on 20 June. According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, a truck, four machine guns and a considerable quantity of ammunition were burned. The competent authorities immediately went to the scene and began an investigation. Radio BBC emphasized that those who went to Kuçovë included the Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali, the Chief of the General Staff of the army Ilia Vasho, the Minister of Public Order Agron Musaraj, etc. At 17:00 on 21 June, Minister Zhulali was also present at the rally organized by Petrit Kallakula and the Tirana DP in front of Parliament. Correspondent of “Zëri i Popullit”