268 European deputies vote for the release of Fatos Nano The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg on 7 February in a session that will continue until 11 February, discussed a report on Albania and also approved the corresponding resolution. In this resolution, European parliamentarians discussed and proposed 5 additional amendments, two of which concerned only the Nano issue. Amendment 5 calls on the Albanian Government to release Fatos Nano. 268 deputies voted in favor of this amendment and 37 against. Further details will be read in tomorrow’s issue.

The national conference ends successfully, with an important decision for the further activity of the socialists and all the left in Albania. Two groups of issues, which have been clearly and convincingly presented at this conference, are current and a priority: In relation to today’s government, the essential task remains to strengthen and expand the opposition. This does not mean only opposition in Parliament or in the press, but a broad political and social movement that includes the entire people. All strata of our society need policies that free them from today’s consequences, or from the wrong economic path that this majority is following, even more so from the disintegration of the institutions of power. The effects of the stabilization policy followed so far were clear, but it has gone beyond the calculations of technical experts and theories that were wrong about the social burden. We are sincerely convinced that the crisis cannot be overcome unless production is put back on its feet from the start, unless the market is financed, especially the shops, unless the countryside is supplied with oil, while ensuring that agricultural production reaches the market, and unless social pain is eased day by day. The alternative presented by the PSSH at the National Conference aims at these things. It is a blend of a direct program with elements of communication policy and cooperation not only with its members, but with every social stratum. In relation to themselves, socialists must find concrete forms to consolidate and strengthen themselves, making the party an active and effective political force, widely present in both city and countryside. This requires democratic rules of internal life, study and knowledge of reality, courage and political will. (Continued on page 4)

Of the Second National Conference of the PSSH for the immediate start of the hunger strike of the Socialist Party, the deputy of the People's Assembly, Fatos Nano, and the other political prisoners Of the Second National Conference of the PSSH for the immediate release of the Chairman of the Socialist Party, the deputy of the People's Assembly, Fatos Nano, and the other political prisoners The Second National Conference of the Albanian Socialists, the highest representative body of the country’s real opposition, expresses its deep indignation and its energetic protest against the violation and denial of the legitimate rights of Albanian citizens, against the deep economic and social chaos and insecurity that have engulfed Albania, against the rule of arbitrariness and violence that characterizes the government’s policy in every field of the country’s life. It considers the arrest and absurd pursuit, on shocking and fabricated charges, of the leader and chairman of the Socialist Party, and after that the unprecedented police repression exercised against members and activists of the Socialist Party and militants of the democratic opposition, as a dramatic expression of today’s crisis and chaos. Faced with the conditions of continuous economic decline, rising unemployment, deep poverty, destruction of production, and under the pressure of an arrogant power, the citizens and the progressive forces of the country are following this campaign of political attacks and revenge with concern and indignation. The Second National Conference of the PSSH, driven by the conviction that the accusations, slanders and pressure exerted cannot defeat the will and ideals of the socialist political body, calls on all socialists and the Albanian public opinion to raise the voice of protest against this rule. (Continued on page 4)

(Continued on page 4) The Second National Conference of Albanian socialists on 8 February 1994 was, without wanting to overstate it too much, an important political event not only for the Socialist Party, but also for the entire political spectrum in the country. It developed as a truly democratic forum, from which ideas, opinions, positions and resolutions clearly emerged not only on the policies and current positions, but also on the perspective of the Party and the country. It approved a realistic and optimistic alternative for the future.

TIRANA: For many days, after the exposure in the media of the affair involving the tender at the Tirana Municipality, the municipal council met and discussed the issue. [...] the mayor of Tirana Municipality [...] requests resignation [...] Correspondent of Zëri i Popullit.

Yesterday, the President of the Republic of Montenegro, Momir Bulatović, received a delegation of the Socialist Party of Albania, led by the First Secretary of the Party Committee for the Shkodër district, Neki Ajeti, as well as the PSSH deputy, Laver Berisha. During the meeting, views were exchanged on current issues and developments in the respective countries, as well as on the impact of these developments on relations between the two countries and peoples. While valuing the political stability that exists in Montenegro, the Albanian side expressed interest in President Bulatović’s position regarding developments in the former Yugoslavia, the implementation of the action plan, and the support Montenegro gives to efforts for a peaceful solution to the crisis that has engulfed the territory of the former Yugoslav Federation. The Montenegrin President, Momir Bulatović, valued the current relations between Montenegro and Albania, and the need to expand economic, cultural and other cooperation. He praised Albania’s constructive and stabilizing role in the region, which in its difficult conditions has opened its doors to shelter hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo and Bosnia. On the other hand, the Albanian side presented to the Montenegrin president the concern of the opposition and of the entire Albanian public opinion over cases of discrimination, mistreatment, torture and killings in some areas of Montenegro against several members of the Albanian minority in that republic. Momir Bulatović expressed his personal commitment to take immediate measures to clarify the specific cases and to protect the Albanian minority. He reaffirmed his country’s desire to strengthen relations between our two countries and peoples, saying that Albania remains Montenegro’s only normal route of contact with Europe. (Continued on page 4)

My husband is arrested, Hoti, bubul Isik - the troubled Governor of Holland is in prison (Continued on page 3)

Press conference of the Socialist Party On Friday, 11.2.1994 at 12:00, the Socialist Party, at its headquarters, will hold a press conference on the topic: “The conclusions of the Second National Conference, which was held on 8 and 9 February 1994, and examples of the political persecution of socialists and of the PSSH deputy, Fatos Nano”. All media organizations are invited to take part in this conference.