Today the prosecutors present their sentencing submissions - For “abuse of office” and “appropriation of state property,” zero years. He should be released in the courtroom - As chairman of the Socialist Party... From 1 to 25 years...! Today the prosecutors present their sentencing submissions HOW MANY YEARS WILL FATOS NANO BE SENTENCED TO? - For “abuse of office” and “appropriation of state property,” zero years. He should be released in the courtroom - As chairman of the Socialist Party... From 1 to 25 years...! Even before, ever since the arrest of the chairman of the Socialist Party and MP Fatos Nano, but especially throughout all the days of the trial, wherever you go to meet and talk with different people, the issue of the “Nano case” has by now become the main topic of the day. Even in family settings, conversations often revolve around this issue. Have you noticed? After every conversation—friend with friend, politician with politician, MP with MP, journalist with journalist, even lawyer with lawyer—they ask: How many years will Fatos Nano be sentenced to? This is a burning question. It is difficult for anyone other than Agim Bendo, chairman of the trial panel, and those who give him orders, to answer it. What makes it difficult? For anyone in the dock on a particular criminal charge, it is possible to assess the case and easily determine the sentence. When you know the act committed and the circumstances in which it was committed, and know the penal code and the laws in force, it is quite easy to answer. When we asked a well-known lawyer what sentence he thought was provided for Fatos Nano, the lawyer, who for reasons that should be obvious did not agree to be identified, replied: “Regarding the charge of abuse of office, which, strangely enough, quite unexpectedly, on 14 February, was transformed into appropriation of state property, I think Fatos Nano will be sentenced to zero years; he should be released immediately in the courtroom. Whereas as chairman of the SP, not to mention as a people’s MP, Fatos Nano could be sentenced to 1 to 25 years’ imprisonment...” That was the lawyer’s reply, that good and respected man, leaving us to understand everything for ourselves. But everything is clear to public opinion, at home and abroad! The Berisha regime will sentence Fatos Nano at all costs, although they themselves are surely convinced of his innocence. The flagrant violation of procedural rules; their acceleration in recent days to the point of disregard... ...by the Democratic Party. Let us not forget—or, more accurately, they do not want to know—that Fatos Nano was not a warehouseman, but chairman of the Council of Ministers, who could hardly have been involved in counting cans of peas, for which Blerim Çela had had such a great “appetite.” In what document, at least, is abuse of office or appropriation of state property by Fatos Nano proven? So far, nothing has been proven. Not one of the fifty-odd witnesses questioned during the court hearings substantiated any of the charges; on the contrary, they refuted them with evidence. Nor did the statements of senior Italian officials Shani de Mikeli, Enriko de Maja Torkuato Kardili, Alta Mu-ro, or the executive director of the company “Levanto Co Xhuzeppe Pënjola” testify against Fatos Nano. In addition, a large number of people are rightly asking: why was the trial not broadcast in full by RTV-ja? What is hidden behind this “secret” label? In any case, Fatos Nano will be sentenced. The chairman of the SP, the largest opposition party today, must be punished politically, at all costs. This is the present rulers’ way of holding on to power at any cost, even against the will of the people. The recent actions of the political state on 4 March, the police cordon reaching central Tirana on the day of Fatos Nano’s trial, show nothing other than an attempt to impose fear. Eduard Selami, the current head of the DP, said it himself: “Either Fatos Nano goes to prison, or the DP is destroyed...” A truly scandalous statement, followed by other scandals. In the general view of the people, Fatos Nano has been acquitted. To them, he is free and respected. In the eyes of the people, he is the most authoritative figure, with a reputation and standing that continue to grow. Any sentence imposed on him by the Berisha regime will only raise Fatos Nano higher. Today is 26 March. At today’s hearing, at 12:00, the prosecutors will Another one. Where does the difficulty lie? For any person sitting in the dock in a particular criminal case, one can judge them and easily determine the sentence. When you know what was done, the circumstances in which it was done, and the criminal code and laws in force, you can very easily answer the question: How much might they be sentenced to...? But in this particular case, the trial of Fatos Nano, there is no way to determine the sentence. How can you set a sentence for a man as completely innocent and blameless as the chairman of the PS and MP Fatos Nano? But everything remains clear to public opinion, both at home and abroad! The Berisha regime will condemn Fatos Nano at any cost, even though they themselves are surely convinced of his innocence. The serious violation of procedural rules; their acceleration in recent days, going so far as to disregard the lawyers, clearly show the stubbornness of the trial panel and, in particular, of its chairman Agim Bendo; and of the prosecutors, the accusers’ representatives, who are determined to carry their difficult but “honorable” task through to the end, in u ka ngar- ka ngar-

PARIS: Yesterday, a group of Socialist Party MPs and lawyer Përparim Sanxhaku returned to Tirana. They had taken part in a meeting of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which held its session in Paris from 20 to 24 March 1994. The MPs from the SP group briefed the Committee on further developments in the “Nano Case” since the Committee’s first meeting, held in Geneva from 24 to 27 January 1994. The Committee members showed interest, sought clarifications and asked many questions, particularly of lawyer Sanxhaku, regarding the procedures followed in the investigation since January of this year and the trial being held against the Chairman of the Socialist Party and MP in the People’s Assembly, Fatos Nano. Socialist Party Press and Information Office

The policeman “forgot” that, under the regulations, the police have no legal authority to enter the production departments. Their duty is to guard the premises from the outside, while responsibility for production, order and discipline in the refinery’s departments lies with its administrative staff. Without waiting to clarify things with the shift supervisor, the policeman punches him, because the latter had only asked him not to allow the illegal loading of coke. At that moment, the supervisor of the distillation department and several of his workers also approach; the officer had no desire to deal with them! [The text is unclear here.] The commander of the KPTHN police post. “What’s more, you have no right to enter the department.” But the police commander, without asking anything, punched the other supervisor in the face as well. In this situation, deeply insulted by the thug-like behavior and unlawful violence, the shift workers, about 23 people, responded to the police violence with violence. Surrounded and beaten by the workers, policeman Afrim Zeqiri finds an opening, breaks through the fence and goes to the police post. He notifies the city police station, takes his own policemen and returns to the coke department. When he gets there, two forces full of policemen arrive as well. Backed by many policemen, Afrim Zeqiri and his colleagues accused the workers of disobedience, cursed them in the crudest terms and waved a pistol in the workers’ faces. The policeman takes [unclear] from their chief; the policemen rain blows down on the workers with rubber truncheons. A clash began involving the 23 workers On Saturday, March 19, 1994, at around 11 o’clock, a vehicle arrived noisily at the Coke Unit of the Deep Oil Processing Plant in Ballsh to be loaded with coke. Usually on Saturdays, as some workers at this unit said, and on holidays as well, the plant management orders the unit not to load vehicles with coke or other products. The vehicle was accompanied by the commander of the Ballsh Deep Oil Processing Plant police post, Mr. Afrim Zeqiri. The driver went to meet the shift supervisor of the unit, Asqeri Zyka, and ordered him to allow the workers to load the vehicle. The shift supervisor told him clearly: I have orders not to load any vehicle with coke today. If you want, go to the plant administration and ask for a written order authorizing a load of coke. At that moment, when the dispute began over imposing an illegal load without knowing its destination, the plant’s chief police officer, Mr. Afrim Zeqiri, approached the group of workers at the unit. The sergeant Dozens of police officers. Amid the turmoil, someone broke away and went to alert the chief engineer and another representative of Albetrol. They immediately came to the scene and intervened firmly to calm both sides. “Leave the department,” they told the police officers, “or you will be held responsible for stopping production.” After the police officers left, the enraged and beaten workers protested at the management office, demanding that it intervene to seek protection for people’s lives and safety from police violence inside the premises of the combine. All the workers on that shift promised that day to stay at work after hours as well, for fear of being arrested by police at the police checkpoint of the combine, because Mr. Afrim Zeqiri himself, as he was leaving, had snapped at the workers: “Look, the police are beating you. We are in power and will do whatever we want.” For several days, they have been protesting at the offices of the management of KPTHN Ballsh, at the offices

Dozens and hundreds of citizens and ethnic Greeks of Albania living in Gjirokastër were unable to enter the theater hall on 24 March to attend an Albanian-Greek friendship event, scheduled with choirs by the Albanian-Greek Friendship Association, Gjirokastër branch, on the occasion of Greece’s national holiday. The public order authorities, who had been officially informed on 15 March about the cultural afternoon, said at the theater entrance, just as the event was about to begin: “We can’t cover it with police.” The main local government officials were also present, including the chairman of the district council and the mayor. The participants then dispersed peacefully. This incident once again shows how secure the democratic government makes citizens feel, even at friendly events and in enclosed venues.

Haxhi Idriz Kasa, 34, was killed three days ago by a hail of bullets in the square in front of the central post office. According to his father, Idriz was involved in currency exchange, and someone lured him to the scene where the crime was committed, with prior intent. The victim was in his car, waiting, when [the attackers] passed behind the vehicle. The hail of bullets resulted in his death; his body was taken to the Tirana morgue. So far, nothing is known about the perpetrators. Based on testimony at Police Region No. 3, the theory has been raised that it may have been members of the victim’s wife’s family, from whom he had separated. The vehicle in which the murder took place is at Police Region No. 3. Despite efforts to persuade the family members to come forward, they have been told that they are needed to identify the perpetrators of the murder. This has led them to suspect the law-enforcement authorities, specifically the relevant police region.

From the press conference of the Russian ambassador in Tirana, Mr. Viktor Nerubajllov At a press conference organized yesterday morning at the Russian Ambassador’s residence in Tirana, the Russian ambassador, Mr. Viktor Nerubajllov, gave an overview of the process of NATO’s enlargement, the issue of partnership for peace, security and cooperation, etc. He focused on this issue, which, according to him, is the partnership for peace and the security issue as a part and central element of European policy during this year. He mentioned some of the ideas and objectives of various projects related to this issue and stressed that post-Cold War Europe is experiencing a deficit in strategic thinking. For Russia, Europe’s return to the era of the new order has become impossible in the processes for a Europe secured through cooperation against changes and the dictates of any [unclear]. The Russian concept aims to... (Continued on page 4)

The National Committee of LANÇ Veterans and the Patriotic Association for the Fallen of the Albanian Nation organized a commemorative gathering on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the fall, in Margëlliç, Patos, fighting against the Nazi-fascist occupiers and their Ballist and Zogist collaborators, the People’s Heroes Mustafa Matohti, Lefter Talo, Meleq Goshajli and Dino Kalenja. At the commemorative gathering, according to the organizers from the veterans of the Mallakastër province, members of the deceased men’s families, members of political parties and associations, workers and young people took part, as did members of the heroes’ families. The People’s Hero Meno Meto was also commemorated at the gathering; the 50th anniversary of his fall falls on April 2, 1994. After the meeting, a message of greeting was sent to the heroes’ families.

Letter to the editor: . Every day, the question “Why is it like this?” is asked not only by the sailors of this Fleet but also by other citizens who know something about maritime affairs. They ask anxiously, with regard to knowledge, profession, the economic, organizational, social and technical aspects, etc. But nobody gives an answer. During 1993, tens of thousands of tons of minerals were transported on foreign ships. Why should our country, our fleet and our sailors not have received this income? The sailors have raised their voices, but their voices have vanished, as things often disappear in the vastness of the sea. With no care being taken of the ships, they are being destroyed by rust. Dozens of ships are in this condition, and of course they are old. Experienced sailors, as well as younger ones, are going through periods of stress over the fate of these ships, which are a source of livelihood for them and their families, even during this period of transition. Even the ships that are in use have low economic viability. The sailors’ treatment is also minimal. Food supplies are often lacking; sometimes, instead of food, they are given detergent or only one item. In February of this year, the sailors were given only ten [unclear], which was assigned to the ship “Arbëria.” On television and in the press we hear about many government activities. But nothing is being done about the fate of the fleet. Or is it expected that the Fleet will be destroyed first, and then what remains will be privatized for next to nothing? Let those who are “deliberately creating a miserable situation in this sector” buy it. Many sailors think that the option of keeping it state-owned should also be considered. This situation, these actions, are what lead people to appeal to the government and the president. In effect, the Merchant Navy Fleet in Durrës, the largest in our country, is in S.O.S. condition. Many are deeply concerned about the fate of this Fleet. The Observer