«Sibarij»: THE ROYAL COURT STROLLS THROUGH TIRANA... - President Berisha and the government should get ready... Their former owners have come to take a stroll! Yesterday at midday, the streets of Tirana witnessed an unprecedented ceremony...? After 13:00, a long convoy of small cars, with royal flags like those we saw at the two congresses of the two Legaliteti parties, with continuous honking and people hanging out of the windows of the cars, paraded pompously through the streets of Tirana. Surprised, citizens ask what is happening? Someone said that at last King Zog had arrived, the son of Vasa of Luigj Gurakuqi, Bajram Curri, Avni Rustemi, etc. Others said that it was not his homeland’s Leka I, but the royal court, headed by the court minister Abedin Muslimani, who had arrived in advance. They even staged an illegal rally in front of the «Dajti» hotel — the police were not there... But while Zog’s arrival has not yet been officially confirmed, his descendants have been here for some time; they even hold a congress and were also received in a meeting by President Berisha. This is the beginning. What next? President Berisha and his take a stroll... LUAN, M. RAMA

Many residents of the seven villages of the Frakullë commune in the district of Fier, despite the peak of agricultural work, gathered as soon as they heard that the deputy chairman of the steering committee and chairman of the PS parliamentary group, Namik Dokle, the chairman of FRESSH and deputy of the People’s Assembly, Pandeli Majko, and deputy Ndre Legisi had arrived, accompanied by the chairman of the Fier district, Robert Biri, the chairman of the Socialist Party of this district, Petro Koçi, and the chairman of the Frakullë commune. Amid the enthusiastic, warm words of the participants, most of them young people, welcoming the socialist deputies, expressions such as «We are with you, don’t back down at all, the PD deceived us, you are for the people» were heard. At the opening of the meeting, in the crowded square, the commune chairman expressed the participants’ pleasure at the meeting and the need for such meetings to be held as frequently as possible. Then the floor was taken by the deputy chairman and chairman of the PS parliamentary group, Namik Dokle, who stressed that the pressures, blackmail and schemes of the PD would never destroy the Socialist Party in its effort to establish true democracy in Albania. «We keep meeting with you,» he said, «because only you can offer us criticism and suggestions; only you are, and will remain, the infallible advisers of the Socialist Party. We (Continued on page 4)

As announced in a statement by the Ministry of Public Order, law-enforcement forces in Gjirokastër escorted the Greek archimandrite Krlatomos Maid(h)onis, a Greek citizen, to the Greek border. Tirana About the expulsion of the Greek Archimandrite Maid(h)onis As announced in a statement by the Ministry of Public Order, law-enforcement forces in Gjirokastër escorted the Greek archimandrite Krlatomos Maid(h)onis, a Greek citizen, to the Greek border, a person who «has engaged in anti-Albanian and anti-Greek activity». According to the official statement, he had been notified the previous day to leave Albanian territory, a decision with which the Greek Consul General in Gjirokastër had also agreed. According to a well-informed source at Albania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Maid(h)onis entered Albania on 24 June, and that evening he was informed that he had to leave again; the Greek Consulate General in Gjirokastër was notified of this. According to the same source, the Greek archimandrite has entered and left Albania many times this year and has distributed maps showing southern Albania within Greek territory; he has openly propagated for Northern Epirus and engaged in anti-Albanian propa-?ganda. This is an individual case, according to this source, so that it may be concluded that the expulsion is justified; only the manner of action and the procedures leave much to be desired. The Greek government reacted swiftly to this event. The Greek Embassy’s chargé d’affaires in Tirana, Mr. Nikolas Kanellos, referring to a statement by Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told our correspondent that «after yesterday’s events in Gjirokastër, the climate created, in our opinion, is negative». He confirmed that the Greek government had immediately cancelled the planned visits of the Greek Minister of National Economy and Finance, Man-?i, who was scheduled to visit Albania, and of Defense Minister Varviciotis, scheduled for 6 July. It had cancelled the visit of the president of the National Bank of Greece, Kristodullu, and, meanwhile, all preparations for the visit to Tirana of Greek Foreign Minister Papakostandinu had been halted. According to Mr. Kanellos, the Greek government had lodged three strong protests over this matter, two in Greece and one in Tirana. He emphasized that the Greek Embassy in Tirana had had no information about what was happening until it received the statement from Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. «I am disappointed by the way the Albanian side handled the matter. Finally,» Mr. Kanellos added, «I don’t know whether this whole operation could have been carried out under the laws of the state, without (Continued on page 3) … the head of public order’s explanation citizen had violated the rules governing residence in Albania. The additions concerning anti-Albanian and unconstitutional activity were made by the television station; I don’t know anything more about them.” Asked whether there had been an order from above, the head of public order explained: “I am the one at the top, the head of public order; the police call everyone ‘above.’ I did not receive the order from the government.” The mayor of Gjirokastër, who in recent hours has also met with political forces. Representatives of the bodies of local government, the district and municipal councils, and the law-enforcement authorities also took part. The gist order department The mayor of Gjirokastër …

The difficulties faced by the citizens of Elbasan in buying bread, the long queues outside bakeries, etc., coincide these days with the decision to raise the price of bread. The citizens’ helplessness has been exploited by the bakers (more than 75 percent of the city’s bread needs are met by private bakeries), and they will bake bread after 1 July, when its price rises. In reality, the problem is different. Since 14 June, Elbasan has faced difficulties in its flour supply. The reason is already known. The flour mill, whose construction began two years ago, was not completed because of a lack of funds. The city is now supplied with flour from Librazhd, Lu? ehnja, Pogradec and Peqin. But, as Elbasan municipal inspectors tell us, the mills in these towns have also had wheat shortages in recent days, and therefore have not been able to supply flour to Elbasan. So, as can be seen, Elbasan gets only the leftovers, as if it were a small or insignificant town. To alleviate the bread shortage somewhat, private bakers have themselves secured small quantities of flour from various towns. The Municipality, for its part, also obtained 1,000 tons of flour from the army, and by the end of the month flour had more or less been secured for the people’s bread. But while these measures were being taken, people were inconvenienced not only by the long queues; many of them were left without bread for more than one or two meals. This is not the first time the bread problem has arisen in Elbasan; it recurs from time to time, indeed, we would say systematically. And precisely because of a shortage of flour, or more accurately, because of the lack of a flour mill. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has still not allocated funds for Elbasan’s flour mill this year. It is said that Elbasan’s allocation has been transferred to another district. How long will the ministry consider it reasonable to fund Elbasan’s mill? SEJDiN CEKANI

Gjirokastër Fog surrounding the incident at the scene At the initiative of the branch of the Party for the Union of Human Rights, a meeting of political forces was called yesterday at 12. Representatives of local government bodies, the district and municipal councils, and law-enforcement bodies also took part. The substance of the explanations given by the head of the public order branch was: «We, the authorities, carried out the order; the Greek citizen had violated public order.» After being informed about those matters, of which he had been notified after midnight and during the previous day, he said: «I was told it was a matter of documentation; I am disappointed by the television report.» The chairmen of the branches of the political parties spoke according to their views and the information they had about the event. As a joint conclusion, it was decided that the district authorities would request information from the relevant higher state authorities about the character and activities of the citizen who was expelled from the country, and inform the political parties and the wider public of citizens and believers. THANAS DINO

The day before yesterday, the PS district assembly of Tropojë held its proceedings in the town of Bajram Curri. Representatives of the Party’s organizations and area councils took part. Representatives of the PS in local government bodies and PS sympathizers were invited. Comrades Mago Lakrori and Lush Pëllali were delegates from the KPD. In the report delivered on behalf of the presidium by Comrade Bajram Gjongeci, chairman of the PS in the district of Tropojë, and in the participants’ discussions, the year’s work since the district conference held the year before was analyzed and concrete tasks for the future were set. It emerged that the PS’s work in the district of Tropojë had improved qualitatively. First, the number of Tropojë residents in town and village who support the alternative of democratic socialism put forward by the PS has increased (in the 26 July elections alone, approximately 50 percent of voters voted for PS candidates, and this proportion has now shifted considerably in favor of the PS). Second, the Socialist Party organization in the district of Tropojë has become more cohesive and active organizationally as well. There are 87 functioning grassroots organizations and 8 area councils. Many new members have been accepted, particularly young men and women, both in the villages and in the town, and many other applications are also being considered. The PS has now become the best-organized political force in the district. Nevertheless, the assembly set as a special task the expansion of the ranks of PS sympathizers and members, on the basis of continuous work in every household and with every individual, to clarify our party’s views and positions, thereby also discrediting the propaganda of our political opponents, who deliberately confuse totalitarian socialism with democratic socialism. The assembly devoted considerable attention to analyzing and considering the prospects of the district’s difficult economic situation. Mass unemployment (3,900 unemployed, another 3,000 receiving assistance, etc.), a lack of agricultural machinery, unaffordable costs for tilling the land; the ruined state of the irrigation network and of health centers; the telephone network, schools, etc., have also been aggravated by major social conflicts resulting from failure to implement the land law and failure to distribute title deeds. The grave economic situation and social tensions are further aggravated by the blockage of local government… (Continued on page 4)

The socialist councillors neither saw nor heard the party-government officials who came to Has. And we are not to blame for not meeting them, since the President himself advises that every government or party official should be accompanied by the local authorities. Nevertheless, we were well informed about the election campaign conducted by Eduart Selami, Dosti, Kalakula, Shehu and Manushi. Perhaps they «confused» public opinion in Has, but we, as socialist councillors, have several «requests» that we are addressing to you through «Zëri i popullit». 1 - Resolving the problems of the town of Kruma and the village of Fajza in accordance with the promises made a few days ago by the PD officials. 2 - An analysis of the district’s difficult economic and social situation, because neither the village nor the town of Kruma has any alternative for making a living. 3 - The social problems that have arisen and those that are anticipated. Solutions for the former and prevention of the latter. 4 - A face-to-face discussion between PD councillors and leaders and the socialist councillors and former leaders concerning the assets of the former agricultural cooperative, state enterprises, humanitarian aid, etc. The Has public at large is asking for these issues to be addressed. We are publishing this request to demonstrate how anti-democratic and anti-popular the PD officials in Has are. The Group of Socialist Councillors of Has District

At his latest conference, held in Berat, Berisha, after going on and on about the praise Europe has given Albania, said that “now Europe will help Albania.” Colleagues at the newspaper “Kush Jonë” wrote yesterday that the president’s position would change. I would say that the change has already happened, up until yesterday… The president and the government and … the DP have begun to show this: we govern, the world helps us! … “We governed, the world helps us”! Now the president is asking Europe for help to become capable of leading, that is, governing. So isn’t this also a change? Is the president admitting that governance has failed, that we do not know how to govern, or is he asking for help with governance to begin with? When this governing slogan was introduced, the DP was not in power and called the government very bad. After a year and a half in power, it is asking for help with leadership (governance). How will it justify this? Will it say the ministers do not know how to govern, will the government that does not know how to govern resign, or will the government be asked—or will governance be asked, or will the government be asked, or will the government be asked, or will … … and everywhere, that does not know how to govern be asked to do so? … Technical and professional assistance for the government’s governance? … There is also another possible version… “Down to violence” with governing, the world helps us, and with govern… Forgive me, colleague, but I cannot keep up with the changes in the President’s position. Qeve-Klini

The fifth-grade History book says that Zogu sold Albania, while the eighth-grade History book says that Zogu did not sell Albania. At a teacher-training seminar being held these days in Berat by the education directorate, a history teacher raised this problem: “I’m really in a fix! I teach fifth-grade students that Zogu sold Albania, while I teach the eighth-grade students that Zogu did not sell Albania.” At a teacher-training seminar being held these days in Berat by the education directorate, a history teacher raised this problem: “I’m really in a fix! I teach fifth-grade students that Zogu sold Albania, while I teach the eighth-grade students that Zogu did not sell Albania! What should I do?” we asked the teachers at the Education Directorate. “Should I tell the students that Zogu sold Albania, or that he didn’t…?” The response from the people at the education directorate was: “Explain it to the students as it appears in the history textbook, and we’ll ask those above us whether Zogu sold Albania or not.” We would be asked to wait for the answer. And then it was said that this should be done in schools… VEZHGUESI

According to well-informed sources, corruption at the port of Vlora has reached very extensive proportions. Just one example: to get through its checkpoints, you have to pay at least around 5,000 new lek. It is understood that each checkpoint (those who provide the service) takes its share. The biggest share goes to the head of public order, Mr. Fari Shaska, who, together with the grey-haired man, Mr. Qerim Vlora (nëfares/kudi), is making plans for a promising venture. In Vlora they say that through this corruption these appointees of the DP have made a lot of money and are gradually climbing the class ladder… A. Q.