Reason and law must once and for all stop the avenging hand of the party state, in order to put an end to violence, local chieftainism, and political opportunism.

"DO NOT USE THE PRESIDENTIAL POWERS FOR POLITICAL REVENGE" ANOTHER CHANCE CAME TO THE AID OF PRESIDENT BERISHA TRIAL OF THE 95TH ITALY VERKATI IT AND NOW DIRECTOR NANO MUST BE GRANTED TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN STATE OSCAR LUIGI SCALFARO Recalling my concern expressed publicly regarding President Berisha's incomprehensible stance and unworthy slanders directed at me, presented to the foreign press after his return from his visit to Italy, and assessing in the context of this matter the new circumstances created by the diplomatic note of the Italian ambassador in Tirana and today's reporting by the Italian newspaper "Il Messaggero", I feel that the time has come to address once again the President of the Republic with an invitation to return to human reason and the democratic path. Because of his well-known past and his changeable character, I do not expect Mr. Berisha himself to make any useful reflection, but today he has one more opportunity to make a public gesture that will not only serve the truth regarding the so-called "Italian scandal", but will also help the President of Albania not to appear in the eyes of foreign partners as a mere party president, incapable of breaking away from pettiness and the greed of political protagonism. The target of his attacks and slanders, apparently, is not first and foremost Fatos Nano. I am as convinced as I am calm that everything slandered against me was completely fabricated. Fatos Nano and the Socialist Party have entered this battle with the truth and will come out of it with the victory brought by the moral force of truth. The real interested party in the credit that has been so pompously cast upon me before the Albanian and world public is President Sali Berisha. The country's president has unjustifiably and without any official consequence tied his high public office to the absurd and political process against me, so much so that in his name and with his knowledge a banal and scandalous letter has been invented and circulated in the Italian press, attributed to the leader of the Socialist group in the Italian parliament, Mr. Mussi. Without wanting to go into details, I wish to inform the public that the article in the newspaper "Il Messaggero" of 21 February 1994 also sheds light on this shameful episode of the unacceptable involvement of the office of the President of Albania in this fabricated story. I remember how, at the beginning of this year, President Berisha, at a press conference with foreign journalists, not only trumpeted the so-called Italian accusation against me with haste and fanfare, but immediately used it as proof to justify his position toward me and the Socialist Party. If the President of the Republic will understand even a little how much the use of presidential powers for political revenge damages the seriousness of the Albanian state, he must, without wasting time, provide a public and official explanation to our international partners and to the Albanian public. Otherwise, any silence will be yet another proof of political and moral irresponsibility. ( continued on page 3 )

- STATEMENT OF THE DISTRICT STEERING COMMITTEE ON THE "NANO COURT CASE" - Barely had the first court hearing held yesterday in the case of former Prime Minister and PSSH chairman Mr. Fatos Nano ended, when the panel of judges of the Court of Cassation, made up of presiding judge Petrit Tranaj and members Ilmi Hoxha, Vladimir Kristo, Andrea Paja and Artan Broci, by an interim decision postponed the hearing to 24 February. Mr. Nano's defense submitted several new legal materials, which the court will examine at the next meeting. This fact would be more than normal and acceptable if it had not been preceded by a harsh and unprecedented campaign of political and propaganda pressure, which has openly prejudged the court's decision. Instead of justice acting calmly and independently, it has been placed under pressure from the executive branch and the machinery of state propaganda. The district steering committee expresses its deep concern that the process against Fatos Nano is being used as an instrument of political struggle for the elimination of the opposition. Instead of a democratic confrontation of alternatives, the path of criminal action against the political opponent is being followed. This practice is dangerous for democracy, the rule of law, and the future of the country. We call on all political forces, public opinion, and the international factor to follow this process carefully and help ensure that it is conducted on the basis of law, free from pressures and prejudices. Justice must not become an instrument of political revenge. ( continued on page 3 )

BEFORE THE "NANO CASE"

Press freedom in the woodpile! ... Whereas, in a concise phrase, the official can give a statement on the basis of some abused evidence, while no lawyer keeps tons of scandal, not the file, the unpleasant preconceptions of our deeply shocked minds, the editor of the day of "As" delivers to the doorstep with these words: "We are ready to defend our right in the proper and professional way". ( continued on page 5 )

A delegation of the PSSH in Brussels The Steering General Committee of the PSSH is being held

"Europe has a thread of justice..."