After returning from Hungary, President Mr. Z. Sali Berisha was also met in the hall by a message from the results of the elections there, since he had been present there a day after they concluded. And he did so, it seems, in order to tell Albanians how exemplary and instructive that electorate had undoubtedly proved, as it were, to be taken as an example. But it seems that, whether because his words on TV on this occasion were restrained or for some other reason that he himself may know better, he left us with the impression that in this presentation after Hungary he did not reveal what the essential factors were behind the reversal of the election results in that country. The factors that brought the Democratic Forum to power and pushed the ex-communists off the scene, those who later, during this period from one election to the next, reorganized themselves into the Socialist Party, now the election winner. Mr. Berisha thought it appropriate to limit himself to informing us that in Hungary «neither the fascists nor those who “break skulls and drag people along” were voted for», but, leaving the statement unfinished, he did not have the strength to tell the people explicitly that there the Socialist Party won the first round of the elections with nearly 33 percent of the votes, leaving behind the until-now governing Democratic Forum party with 12 percent of the votes. It is not our place to teach the Presi- (Continued on page 3)

WE HIGHLIGHT: Sali Berisha, freedom of the press and Albania's application to join the Council of Europe - For Albanian journalists, the prison door remains open - The period after 22 March 1992, that is, the period of rule by the Berishan regime, may be called the period of the state's war against freedom of the press and information, the period of attacks on and imprisonment of journalists... The peak was reached... (text continues below the edge of the image) ...from all over the world, even after the sentencing of two journalists from the newspaper “Koha Jonë,” trials of journalists did not cease. Mirjan Zupa was again sen...; another journalist, sentenced, Demokrat... (text cut off) ... on the basis of what legislation? In ... nor that fines have been imposed against ... (text cut off)

NAMIK DOKLE “The European order, peace and democracy in the 21st century” - Discussion at the Valencia conference, 12–13 May 1994 Reflections on the topic The 20th century was the century of the state. On the threshold of the new century, a number of distinguished people and millions of ordinary people are undertaking the wonderful adventure of making that new century a century of life, filled with utopias and realism, sentiments and interests, unifying forces and centrifugal ones. But above all, the building of Europe is and will be the work of the will of Man. We who have gathered here offer neither loans nor economic aid; we possess neither the aim of ... nor space rockets. But undoubtedly we possess something very important in the philosophy of Law and of Man, which our fellow countryman, together with the famous Mother Teresa, expressed thus in the “Prayer for Peace.” (Continued on page 2)

- Interview with science deputy ET’HEM RUKA, member of the PSSH leadership and deputy in the People's Assembly, given to our editor Sokol Gruda - — We are prepared, in the next elections, not to trade votes, but to fight honestly for every last vote. — — FATOS NANO, and his party, are prepared to withstand his temporary isolation. The DP and its levers put Fatos Nano in prison, while his release must be secured by the Socialist Party. — Judging from recent statements by politicians and the forces they represent, the impression is created that the country's political spectrum is being “compressed” into two groups, the “Right Front” and the “Left Front.” Are these groups, in your view, merely conventional, or...? (cut off at the edge of the image) It is true that at the propaganda level there is talk of organizing a Right-Wing Bloc. This declaration became more evident with the attempts to form the Right Democratic Party, the latest faction to emerge from the trunk of the DP. Almost all the current parties have made declarations about their position on the political spectrum. Unfortunately, there is an obvious divergence between the declarations of some parties and their actual position. In some segments of pluralism, several parties are using their elbows against one another. If we accept the creation of a right-wing bloc (following the recent experience in Italy), we must also analyze the parties or political groupings that would make it up. At this point many contradictions arise, and resolving them necessarily requires the disruption of the present balance, if it exists. In practice, the Republican Party, which is symbolically represented in Parliament today, has declared itself to be such. If it is an ally of the party of Kallakula and Baleta, as well as of other right-wing forces, it should oppose the DP. In fact, it is now an appendage of the coalition. Its move into this bloc cannot take place without withdrawing from today’s pseudo-coalition. This party cannot join the opponents of the DP, whom it criticized as anachronistic at the end of this century, since they support the return of large landed estates. Within the DP itself there are contradictions and factions united only by circumstantial interests. Speaking of Mr. Pjetër Arbnori’s speech at the DP’s latest Congress, he explicitly said that «the two main pillars of this party are the formerly persecuted and the former owners». It is now well known that the large landowners can no longer find their place in the DP, but neither can the majority (Continued on page 2)

The period after 22 March 1992, that is, the period of rule by the Berishjan regime, may be called the period of the state's war against freedom of expression and information, the period of attacks on and imprisonment of journalists. of rule by the Berishjan against freedom of expression journalists. The peak was reached in January of this year, when, to Zhulali's liking, Martin Leka and Aleksander Frangaj of the independent daily “Koha Jonë” were arrested and sentenced; they were sentenced to 18 and 5 months' imprisonment respectively. Earlier, «Zëri i Popullit» editor-in-chief Thoma Gellçi had been forcibly seized by police while at work in order to imprison him; Panajot Zoto, «Zëri i Popullit» correspondent in Sarandë, had been sentenced to one month in prison; Shqyrri Meka, deputy editor-in-chief of «Zëri i Popullit», had been imprisoned and fined one million lekë, etc. Despite the strong protests of Albanian journalists and organizations the two journalists of the newspaper «Koha Jonë», trials of journalists did not stop. Hirlano Zhupa again went unpunished ...; another journalist, sentenced, Demokopja ... (source text unclear/corrupt). I would not have mentioned all these things if I did not feel the difficult situation in which journalists find themselves under today's regime, and the many questions raised by the rapporteurs preparing the report on the examination of Albania's application for membership in the Council of Europe. - How many journalists, editors-in-chief or photographers have been prosecuted since 22 March? For what reasons? - As you can see, the question is clear. The Berisha government cannot say anything. Because it cannot lie. - How many of them have been sentenced to prison, and under what legislation? How many have been fined or arrested, and what is the total amount of the fines?... Freedom for journalists is an important humanitarian matter. This is a fact that should be welcomed, regardless of the fact that the President's step is half-hearted and was taken only after the questions from the Council of Europe rapporteurs arrived; they did not ask whether journalists had been pardoned. They asked how many journalists had been prosecuted and how many had been sentenced. We still do not know the government's answer. Let us wait. The Press Law and the Penal Code of the state of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat remain in force. This means that press freedom is always under threat. For journalists, the prison door remains open.

Durrës For more than 10 months, NPV-2 and the Italian firm MSP-Tradekoncept have had an agreement to create a joint enterprise by combining two garment factories. In February of this year, the Italian firm, as is happening everywhere in Albania, under highly favorable conditions for private businesses, took over the factory and rented its premises at a very ridiculous price, while this agreement, signed by the enterprise's former director, was made without consulting the workers or their union. Moreover, the current managers of the firm, Maria Rosa and Adrian Diza, did not comply with the legislation in force requiring them to conclude and sign collective labor agreements with the workers. For months, too, the workers have had no raw materials, have not worked and have not been paid. According to the report, this is not an isolated case. Many of the workers continue to go unpaid. The workers are outraged by this criminal situation and do not understand where they stand. ... after work stoppages lasting several hours in protest, they wrote to Mr. Berisha, Celaj, and the local authorities to investigate the legal irregularities, but so far nothing has changed. The factory has been closed for five days, and 500 women workers have been thrown out onto the street. According to the women workers, what attracts their attention most is that there is corruption among the enterprise's management and administration, who have taken their salaries and more. Yet no one seems to be showing any interest in the women workers of the former NPV. 2. ... the strike of 24 ... set the «government» in motion at this stage of transition, when there are many difficulties and hardships. The government itself will study all the problems in detail, including those in other areas, and will put things on the right track ... Correspondent of «Zëri i Popullit»

- The hunger strikers ended their confinement - After the public statement by government representatives and the return to Kukës of the delegation that had come from the local authorities and the hunger strikers, we were telephoned from Kukës to say that the hunger strikers had ended their strike, trusting that their grievances would be resolved. Work groups have therefore begun identifying the families whose land, homes and properties were flooded. At the same time, the provision of loans on easier terms to resume agricultural activity is being studied. Cooperation is expected to be sought with the Rural Poverty Alleviation Foundation to channel funds toward road construction, electrical networks and water-supply systems. In this way, the other demands, too, will gradually be set on the road to resolution. For now, the remaining step is to move from the study phase to decisions. Some more time will be needed to move from decisions to implementation. Nevertheless, the hunger strikers’ democratic pressure set the Government in motion, at a time when it faces many difficulties and problems during this transitional phase. including those in other areas, and will set them on the road to resolution. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

In the accounts of the English historians’ scandal «The final word belongs to the health authorities; without their permission, the unloading of the ship would not have taken place,» Arben Nati, Director of Standards and Quality, tells the newspaper, speaking about the analyses conducted on the English biscuits. Health Minister Cikuli, he continues, relied on a regulation according to which food products lose their properties after 30 years from the date of preservation. The unloading of these food products necessarily had to be accompanied by the relevant analyses. The Directorate of Standards and Quality, together with the Ministry of Health, undertakes this task. The analyses are submitted, and, according to the results, the quantity of biscuits is checked. «The analyses were within normal parameters,» says the Secretary-General of the KM-vo, Vullnet Ademaj. Zekëria Palushi shares the same view, saying that the analyses also came out well in the laboratories in Switzerland, where they were carried out by Richard Maranda. But perhaps there is a small problem here: Who is Richard Maranda, who paid him to carry out these analyses, and how did an ally of this side come to be presented [text unclear]? But the analyses are one thing; the other matter is their unloading. Following the order to unload the biscuits, another order applies to them. Because of the product’s age, they must not be consumed by people. This latter point has caused quite a few problems, but it has not changed Minister Cikuli’s original decision. «I take responsibility and I know how to justify my signature...» he says when asked about the issue. Thus, Mr. Cikuli stands firm even in the face of the «arguments» about mummies put forward by Mr. Palushi. There is a government decision according to which goods that do not meet Albanian standards are not permitted to enter the country. But what is the level of our standards? 34 years? Yet that, too, is a problem. The quantity of biscuits that entered through the Greek border and was distributed for consumption throughout the country was not subjected to analyses. Why? While we have heard statements from the people involved in this scandal, one person’s statement is still missing: Prime Minister Meski, who, it is said, issued an order to the State Reserves assigning them the task of unloading, transporting and storing these biscuits. Surely he, too, is interested in discovering what is really going on. 'ARDIAN MYSLYMI

Almost no information has so far been provided by the Shkodër District Police Commissariat or the prosecutor’s office about the possibility that six fuel tankers crossed through the Murriqan border crossing. The exact number of those arrested is also still unknown, apart from the six drivers, the deputy commander of the Murriqan border post and the deputy commander of the Pulaj border post, together with three soldiers, since it is rumored that other people have also been detained. Where did the fuel go? This is the question one hears repeatedly in Shkodër these days. How could vehicles of this kind cross the border so easily, when the rules stipulate that tankers returning are allowed to travel only as far as the Buna bridge and must be stopped at the entrance to Lezhë, while that bridge itself is guarded by a police patrol? There are rumors that, after it became known that the tankers had crossed to unload the fuel on the other side of the border, measures were taken to guard the road and catch them in transit, with special patrols deployed in the area of the border post.

the disruption of the present balance, if it exists.

To the Labour Party of Great Britain. LONDON. We were saddened to learn of the untimely death of Mr. Xhon Smith, Leader of the Labour Party of Great Britain, an outstanding and highly reputed figure in the progressive left-wing movement, a popular figure held in affection in the country. Dear friends, please accept our most sincere condolences for this loss to the Labour Party and to his family, for whom he was their most beloved person. Tirana Prison, 13.05.1994. For the Socialist Party of Albania, Chairman FATOS NANO.