Press conference of the Socialist Party THE FOUNDATIONS OF A SECURE FUTURE REQUIRE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL POLITICAL FORCES AND BROAD SOCIAL SUPPORT - True democracy requires respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, and it requires that opposition forces be given the necessary space to act - Yesterday at 10 o'clock, the Deputy Secretary of the Socialist Party, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, and the chairman of the parliamentary group Namik Dokle held a press conference at the headquarters of the Socialist Party concerning the political situation and the state of human rights in the country. Journalists from the domestic and foreign press as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana took part. At the beginning Dr. Servet Pëllumbi read the statement on the political situation and the state of human rights in Albania. Then Servet Pëllumbi and Namik Dokle answered journalists' questions. Mr. Dokle, you have been accused of having spoken against Albania's admission to the Council of Europe. What is your position regarding these accusations? A very great fuss has been made about the claim that Namik Dokle is blocking Albania's admission to the Council of Europe. It is absolutely impossible for Namik Dokle to hinder such events, just as it was impossible for Albania to enter the Council of Europe even 20-30 years later. Albania's entry into the Council of Europe was a joint effort of all sides, of all political parties in Albania, and of Albania's own social, economic, and political life. It is unfortunate that Albania has been waiting longer than any other state at the doors of Europe. As is known, Albania's request to be admitted to the Council of Europe was submitted on 4 May 1992, and on the agenda of the nearest meeting of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly, to be held in January of this year, Albania's admission has still not been determined, as it is being said that Slovenia was admitted after 17 months, Romania after 20 months, Hungary after 11 months, Bulgaria after 19 months; for Albania, they say, it would take 2 years to be admitted to the Council of Europe [?]. There is an explanation for this. On 4 May, when Albania's request was submitted to the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly, it was submitted by the government and was made by all the deputies of the Assembly. But the question was clearer. One of the questions asked to Mr. Berisha was this: “How will you build Albania in the post-communist situation?” The question came from a Spaniard, and Mr. Berisha replied: “We will take Spain as our model,” and this was welcomed by the whole Assembly. But the Albanian reality has truths in which Albania has not dealt much with the past, but, on the contrary, with the suppression of human rights. The rights of the opposition have been restricted, press freedom has been limited, and above all, Albania still does not have a Constitution that guarantees all the mechanisms, both the independence of the powers, especially the judiciary, and other political rights and human rights. Is there a Zhirinovsky in Albania? I think there is not, and there cannot be, a Zhirinovsky in Albania, because Albania is so small and so weak that it cannot threaten, and can instead be threatened, by neither the United States of America nor Europe. Therefore, there will never be a Zhirinovsky. There are rumors about talks between the Socialist Party delegation and the President of the Republic during yesterday's meeting on issues that were not published in the press. What is your opinion on these rumors? Regarding the meeting a few days ago with President Berisha, I would say that, although no concrete result was achieved, our message was clear, essentially the same message as today's statement: the need for understanding, the need to ease tensions in the country. That was the concern. It was difficult to produce concrete results from one conversation and one meeting when we came to specific issues, but nevertheless I think it was achieved and understood that we should stop where we are and discuss with the president, as a matter of building something. And I would very much like, in such a dialogue regardless of the outcome, to have a lively debate in which questions are asked and answered about everything, whether to make the country better or in the interest of the political forces. We also talked about the fight against corruption, the process of economic reform, and avoiding all those negative phenomena. DECLARATION of the Socialist Party of Albania to the press We are beginning 1994 not completely without events or hopes, but still in an atmosphere of increasing political tensions that threaten democracy, political stability, the normal economy of the transition toward a market economy, foreign investment, and Albania's integration into Europe. It is true that the current tense political climate has long been fueled by such an objective rhetoric, which gives equal weight to all political forces in the country, as well as accusations of this style, perhaps new but senseless; as a commander, the difficulty of dissident integration, one-sided communication with the outside, lack of a tradition and culture of pluralist democracy [?]. But it is regrettable that there are other subjective factors that are putting at risk the objective core of political and social tensions. We are talking about serious disturbances of democratic logic and practice. The phase is dragging on in which parties mainly fight to secure “keyless” votes and political self-respect, which seriously hinders the creation of space for tolerance and understanding so that parties can sit at the table and jointly resolve the country's fate and the reforms, which we consider inevitable. The party in power is interested in the fixed idea of an “absolute delegitimization,” and therefore takes care to dominate rather than govern, to remove every real opposition, not even sparing the most moderate formalist parties in coalition. This logic has brought it to positions of intolerance toward diversity within itself and to harsh blows against the opposition or political opponents. Such an anti-democratic mentality, with euphoria as its complement, the magnification of charismatic magic, and the erasing of failures, has led to mass disappointment and the polarization of society, not only at the top but also below, among the electorate. In reality, a group is being pushed onto a speculative road, supported by the state and party mechanism; on the other hand, the national wealth created is becoming the prey of all, and is being dealt with through incitement, for a solution with a specific political group; unemployment is rising, poverty is growing, there is a lack of support from reform, peace is being achieved, and a road full of social-psychological shocks has been taken for part of society and government. On the institutional level, today we are living in a situation characterized by the effort to have strong parties and weak democratic institutions. The country remains without a Constitution. Local government is blocked by adminis- (Continues on page 2) Regarding these days when early elections in Albania are being discussed, it is thought that they also have the support of the main political forces in Albania. In our statement, and also in the positions we have taken so far, we have argued the need for early elections as the only constitutional means for a new political solution that the country needs, as reflected in the relationships that exist in parliament and in power, to fulfill all these new relations that have been created in the electorate. So it is also a response to the electorate's demands to change these relations in the state institutions as well. Of course, we cannot impose it with the number of deputies we have in parliament, nor do we seek to impose the idea of early elections. We present our arguments, we present our political alternative, which would correspond to the current reality and the needs posed by Albanian democracy. Of course, this is also a message to the other political forces, which, as far as we know, as we have followed them and from the opinion they have expressed in their press, have been (Continues on page 2)

At the commemorative meeting in the capital, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the fall of the People's Hero Joak Karafili and his comrades. Fifty years have passed since the day when, in the battles against the Nazi-fascist occupiers and their local collaborators, at Lisi i Karit Pezë, the People's Hero Joak Karafili, commissar of the Mustafa Lleshi company, and the young partisan Vjollca Peza fell heroically. To commemorate their fall, on 10 January 1994, in the hall of the National Historical Museum, a jubilee commemorative meeting was organized by the Committee of Veterans of the National Liberation War of the Tirana district. Veterans and war invalids, members of the families of the fallen, guests from the districts of Pogradec, Durrës, Kavajë, Shijak, as well as a number of young people, took part. Representatives of the Political Parties and the Association for the Fallen of the Albanian Nation also took part. Among the guests were the Minister of Defence Safet Zhuli, the Chairman of the Committee (Continues on page 3)

Bosses are hiding behind the tankers It is no longer just a matter of a few barrels or cans of fuel; they are moving toward Shkodra and may be able to cross into Montenegro. In recent days, the transport of fuel by large tankers has become almost completely unchecked, and although the territory is limited, it is clearly visible across the border and has managed to cross it. Attention is drawn to the fact that the competent state bodies claim to have organized several verification mechanisms to prevent this traffic. But the effectiveness of these bodies appears weak. It is reported through individuals with quantities of 118 wagons, and it is not known what happens with the tankers. Specifically, in the yard behind [?] the police rapid intervention unit in Këlcyrë and Shkodër, in recent days there were 20 tankers filled with fuel that had passed through organized operations under the law. Mainly in such companies. What verification was done on them and what results were obtained was not learned, except for the news that they left and are now in someone's hands. Yesterday morning there were only 10 left here, with more than four other tankers. Where did the others go? Meanwhile, the telephone message was that there had been an agreement with the leaders of the rapid intervention unit and with the criminal police officers on the possibility of unblocking them, and as a whole, the tankers managed to leave. The financial police in Shkodër has announced the closure of several private fuel-filling points, which had licenses. It has also announced controls being carried out on the Buna River to uncover pipes that have been secretly installed to take fuel across the other side of the border. But the factual question remains whether our state organs and the clusters have managed, through clever tricks, to determine where the oil is, and whether all this movement is about that. Yesterday [?] fuel was supposedly increased only there, because calculations had begun to show the main supply sources [?] or was the light barely scorched by the glow? Why are these roads no longer being controlled and properly supervised? Or are they being ordered with other fuels from abroad, including vehicles with Greek and Yugoslav plates? How did they enter Albania? In Shkodër, some of them who have been spotted carrying small amounts of fuel are expressing indignation that the tankers are cutting into their income, and that in Montenegro they are interested mainly in buying kerosene, which enters Albania from oil. They also claim that those tankers are being hidden by the bosses in power and not by poor people who are on the wrong side of every road. They add that the relevant state organs are being protected by these too, and not by us, after all, and the souls that are earned. The question of where the fuel comes from and where it goes still has not been given a proper answer, even though it is stated that more than 1,000 people have been accused of theft and smuggling. Yes, they are also made to tell this, since they have not yet found where the beginning of the thread is. It is known that they go into a stolen property. So where does all this “fuel” come from in such large quantities? MUSA KUTLUAJ[?]

These are the employees of the service staff of the former luxury 15-story hotel located in the center of Tirana, among the most affected in the country by the victims of short-term difficulties. Without the approval of funds for its reconstruction, the company that will be handling the work, and the pompous handover ceremony accompanied by gifts that, as announced through RTV, about 180 employees of this hotel were forced that day, while being guaranteed their standard wages. Now, in this tourist hotel, no service activity is carried out at all; the doors are completely closed, the internal offices have been increased or continue to increase, and this creates an abandoned atmosphere. For two or three days now, almost the entire staff has been gathering in protest in the empty hotel lobby, demanding punishment for the one who left it in such a state, including a number of government officials and deputies of the parliamentary majority, starting with Eduart Selami, Ali Spahia, Patrika Minga, Osman Shehu, Ilir Manushi, etc., who for works were paid by the state and through special writings a number of small amounts paid by hotel clients. But today they are no longer there. In the lobby are the workers, who have begun to feel the shivers of tomorrow's insecurity. They want to know what will happen to them after the hotel reconstruction is finished, whether they will work there again or not. They cannot understand how an outside party asks workers to submit to violations by using police forces. The lack of an employment contract has made their future somewhat dark. This is exactly what the workers are asking from the board of directors, where on the Albanian side in this joint venture with foreigners there are some well-known names with state functions and who are interpreted by this collective. Through their union, the workers have elected a delegation tasked with resolving the matter with them; they have spoken and made contact with the board on the one hand and with the Ministry of Tourism and Economy on the other. In the abandoned lobby, strained and heated conversations can be heard every day. But until when? D.K

Only in the last few days 24 more new admissions In the context of January 15, two activities of the FRESSH forum, during the last few days in the city of Berat there were 24 new admissions into the ranks of the Socialist Party, 19 of them being young Eurosocialists who, so to speak, changed their minds, and we can say that half of the new members are unemployed and on assistance. It is the time and the moment for the Socialist Party, with its strength and support, to stand close to ordinary people, whom the reforms threw out into the street, to take them under its wing. Among the latest admissions, it is worth highlighting the good work and cooperation between the leaders of the PS in Ko-Treth and the Eurosocialist forum, who increasingly find themselves closer to those people who have had the heavy economic situation created by the policy pursued by the PD-in power on their shoulders. ED ISPAHIU