— Interview with the Chairman of the Socialist Party and People’s Assembly deputy FATOS NANO, given in the courtroom to the newspaper’s deputy editor-in-chief, Luan M. Rama — — “MY HANDCUFFS ARE NO HEAVIER THAN THE ARSISTI DECORATION PRESIDENT BERISHA WEARS AROUND HIS NECK...” “The flower they saw me holding on screen is my greeting” “Zëri i Popullit”: Since July 30, 1993, you have had the handcuffs of the democratic state on your wrists. Do they seem heavy to you? Fatos Nano: I don’t believe they are heavier than the Arsisti decoration that President Berisha wears around his neck... “Zëri i Popullit”: In what sense? Fatos Nano: In the sense that I am very calm and sleep like a lamb in the Tirana Prison cell, while the bearer of the Arsisti decoration continues shouting in his office and at home, saying: “What are we to do? Europe will not give in!...” “Zëri i Popullit”: Many television viewers were struck by the fact that at one of the hearings you were holding a flower in your hands. Was it simply a coincidence, or did the flower beside the handcuffs on the same day have a deeper meaning? Fatos Nano: I have severed relations with the judicial panel of the Berisha regime, not with flowers. “Zëri i Popullit”: Do you mean flowers literally, or is your statement metaphorical? Fatos Nano: The actual flower I had with me also had a special symbolism, because it... (During one of the breaks between hearings on March 13, the presiding judge, Mr. Agim Bendo, allowed me to meet the Socialist Party chairman and People’s Assembly deputy Fatos Nano, from whom I also took the interview we are publishing. As the police officers on duty were clearing the courtroom of visitors, one of them brought the handcuffs over to shackle Fatos Nano’s hands, an act he did not carry out until the interview was over.) ...been under investigation for seven months and at trial for seven days. (The interview was conducted on the seventh day of the trial.) How are you feeling? Fatos Nano: Seven months and seven days are weighing on me. “Zëri i Popullit”: One day the trial will end. How do you imagine its conclusion? Fatos Nano: I have answered this question before. Since I have the opportunity, I take this chance to congratulate Professor Se-veti, because he too has interpreted my position and stance very well. I myself am the end of the era of trials... “Zëri i Popullit”: When do you think the era of trials will end—when you get out of prison? Fatos Nano: I would like those who unjustly put me in prison to come and shake my hand, let me out, and put an end to the era of trials. “Zëri i Popullit”: Do you think they are civilized enough to do such a thing? Fatos Nano: Albania has opened up. I believe civilization must have reached even the most remote corners of our rugged terrain. “Zëri i Popullit”: When you say “Albania has opened up,” do you also mean the President? Fatos Nano: I left the President very open. I was told that on July 30 he closed up even more. “Zëri i Popullit”: You have given Mr. Berisha several chances to reconsider his positions. Will you continue to give him further chances? Fatos Nano: This is not a personal challenge. If Mr. Berisha has understood it that way, which I do not believe, then I am telling him that I will give way. That is to say, this...

Yesterday, the Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, and the SP Secretary for Foreign Relations, Bashkim Zeneli, received at the Party headquarters, accompanied by his [unclear], the ambassador of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Tirana, Mr. Nicola Teodorovski. At the meeting, Ambassador Teodorovski briefed them on the current political, economic and social situation in his country and expressed his goodwill toward strengthening relations between the two countries, in which the Socialist Party of Albania has a significant and constructive role. For his part, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi spoke about the tense political problems Albania is facing at this time, which are mostly artificially incited. He expressed the SP’s well-known and consistent position regarding the political proceedings against the SP Chairman and People’s Assembly deputy Fatos Nano, a trial which he has won politically, morally and also legally. Dr. Pëllumbi also spoke about the need for good-neighborly relations between the two countries, which could be better achieved if the fundamental rights and freedoms of Albanians in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were better respected, first and foremost their right to be a state-forming element. The meeting also addressed the need to resolve the region’s problems through dialogue and understanding. Press and Information Office of the Socialist Party

Shkodra drowned in mourning — It had been foretold in a letter addressed to the President. — Does silence amount to complicity in a political crime? “Vëllai i Gjovalin Çekinit, Mëhill Çekini, hangs himself”—this is the news reported from Shkodra by “Koha Jonë” in yesterday’s issue. The drama that began exactly two months ago entered its second act. Mëhill Çekini, 38, hanged himself and was finally claimed by the earth. In Shkodra, on March 4—perhaps by chance, perhaps deliberately—he chose the 14th, this time with a two-month gap from the tragic and at the same time political killing of his brother, Gjovalin Çekini. The 26-year-old Çekini, killed publicly and even in front of law-enforcement forces, compelled the Albanian parliament to observe a minute of silence in his honor, thereby forcing it to acknowledge the signature of a political crime. Yet its brief, distasteful break from the bickering of Albanian deputies, and the creation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the matter, seemed to be merely a façade for something. Behind the façade, something—silence—seems to have been preparing another [unclear]... Everything appears to have been foreshadowed on March 10, the day the Çekini family addressed the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, with the words: “Gjovalin Çekini’s blood will not turn to water.” “No one with a shred of honor and courage can distort the truth about the character and tragic killing of our brother, except for the criminals who organized this crime and are now trying to conceal it in all kinds of ways, thinking they can strike a bargain and cover up their vile deeds with our brother’s pure blood,” the Çekini family members wrote, but... the silence continues. “Every day we see with our own eyes that the competent law-enforcement and judicial bodies, together with some officials, are trying to turn Gjovalin Çekini’s blood to water by taking the side of the criminals,” they continue. (Continued on page 4)

We will acquaint you with some of the arguments made by Socialist deputies in tomorrow’s issue As part of its efforts to fill the state budget at any cost, the government presented parliament with the draft law “On Property Tax in the Republic of Albania.” The draft law had 5 chapters (35 articles), specifically: general provisions; tax on agricultural land; livestock tax; tax on buildings; tax on vacant plots; and penalties for those who violate this law. As can be seen, Albanians are being burdened with new taxes. From the tax on land, farmers will pay 2.8 billion new lek this year. The draft law provides for 900 million new lek in 1994 from taxes on livestock in agriculture. Under it, farmers will pay annually for every goat, billy goat, ewe, ram, calf, “trumzë milore” [?], etc., 80 new lek for each cow; as for [unclear], 300 lek for each heifer, and 800 lek. Poultry will also be taxed. For individual homes in cities, the tax will be 6 lek per square meter; for jointly owned homes, it is reduced by 2 lek, while in the countryside it is 2 lek per square meter. The tax on commercial and service buildings will be 100 lek per square meter, while for buildings used for production it will be 50 lek (always in new lek). “With these taxes, the peasantry will pay 37 million dollars every year into the coffers of the Meksi government. Each farmer will have to pay an average of 19 dollars a year. With the taxes it collects from the countryside in one year, the government of [unclear] could pay the salaries and all other expenses of the Presidency, the People’s Assembly and the Prime Minister’s Office for 20 years.” These were some of the figures given in his speech by Namik Dokle, chairman of the Socialist group. In defense of the draft law, deputy Genc Ruli tried to argue that these taxes, especially in the countryside, were being introduced so that the countryside would also contribute to the budget, and that revenue from these taxes would be used for the benefit of the countryside itself. He also said that these taxes were being imposed on assets that were currently easiest to tax, openly implying the possibility that further taxes would follow in the future, as has happened up to now whenever the state budget has faced problems. Agriculture Minister Hasar Halili said that taxes in the countryside were being introduced in accordance with the government program and the promise the PD made to the rural population that it would not tax them for three years; this three-year period, he calculated, not from March 22 but from August 1991. According to Mr. Halili’s calculations, the other villagers turn out to be richer than a People’s Assembly deputy. His calculations also showed that a farmer could pay 100,000 old lek. Deputy Kalakula spoke and voted against the land tax because, in his view, it would mean recognizing ownership of the land for those to whom that land does not belong. His position is in keeping with the demand to strengthen the law on land distribution. For their part, Socialist deputies expressed support in principle for introducing taxes in the countryside as well, because this is a necessary requirement. (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday at noon, two statements were read in parliament by Mr. Gramoz Pashko and Mr. Moikom Zeqo. Deputy Pashko stressed that this was the third incident in the past two months in which criminals had seriously attacked the Democratic Alliance Party. He mentioned the killing of Cekini and the attack on Gjergj Zefi, and referred to the latest incident, in which unknown individuals attacked deputy Teodor Keko. Keko’s case, he said, was a precedent that could be repeated against any other deputy. Pashko expressed indignation at the indifference and cynicism of TV in its coverage of this incident; indeed, according to him, the television station’s stance expressed satisfaction at what had happened to deputy Keko. Pashko also called the attention of the Parliament’s Presidium, which oversees Albanian television. Deputy Moikom Zeqo then delivered his statement, which we are publishing in full. After these two statements, deputies Milo, Minga and Dokle spoke on behalf of their groups. They condemned the incidents of violence against deputies and called on the law-enforcement authorities to strengthen their capacity to uncover criminal activity. Deputy doku(m)ë [unclear] this as Zeqo’s proposal to establish a commission, but this was not decided; it was left to be discussed at another parliamentary session. “Zëri i Popullit” correspondent

I will raise the question concerning the witnesses in the court of appeal Lawyer Përparim Sanxhaku states at the close of the witness-questioning hearings: “Since this stage of the judicial investigation serves to familiarize us with the materials in the case file, we will request that the witness be questioned again. But since the Code of Criminal Procedure did not provide for this right in the court of first instance, and since the law on the organization of justice and the article of the Code of Criminal Procedure—unlike the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure—grant this right in a second-instance trial, it should therefore also be granted during the second-instance trial, whereas Parliament should not fail to apply this law before it is repealed, at second instance.”

Observation These days, deputies have been given the draft law “On the State Budget for 1994.” The state has allocated 200 million new lek to RTSH for this year, while the institution’s actual needs—those of the country’s only information institution of its kind—amount to 522 million. To justify its needs, the institution’s directors have conducted a detailed study, which they submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the Parliamentary Committee on Mass Media. The study concludes that RTSH needs a total of 522 million lek this year in order to survive and function normally. The study in question proposes concrete alternatives for meeting RTSH’s urgent financial needs. One of the proposals presented in the study is this: “We will make efforts on our part (RTSH’s part) to ex-tend radio broadcasts for foreign sta(tions).” Nevertheless, as has been made known to the public, RTSH’s directors unilaterally terminated the contract with the powerful BBC radio station, preventing it from broadcasting on medium wave through the transmitter installed in Lushnjë, which enabled Albanians to follow Radio London’s broadcasts on medium wave, readily available on ordinary radios. In this way, RTSH is losing no small amount of foreign-currency revenue, precisely at a time when it is experiencing an alarming financial crisis. The reason? Simply political: the BBC is unwelcome to the official authorities. As a result, it is not allowed to broadcast unbiased information on medium wave through the Lushnjë transmitter, even though by terminating the contract RTSH is suffering considerable economic losses. This is one of the many facts demonstrating that, under the Berisha regime, we are still governed to this day by a totalitarian mindset. Politics first—that is the order of the day! ER ANAMALI

Statement by deputy Moikom Zeqo Mr. Speaker, Honorable deputies, Today, the defense of fundamental rights and human freedoms is the indispensable substance of democracy; legal protection of the special immunity of deputies is even more so—a more necessary condition, a threefold matter: human, parliamentary, and state-related. 1. On February 27 of this year, I was unexpectedly arrested in Ulcinj by the Montenegrin militia, in defiance of all logic, because I did not cross the border clandestinely at all, but paid the officials at the Sugobinë checkpoint the visa fee of 10 marks and showed them my passport, along with hundreds of other Albanians who crossed at this checkpoint that day. (Continued on page 4)