On May 23, the Court of Appeal and its president, Prele Martini, will be put to the test. The Court of Appeal on trial: ALBANIANS ARE NOW FULLY CONVINCED THAT FATOS NANO IS BEING HELD IN PRISON AS A POLITICAL OPPONENT - Justice is never a step taken too late. All that is needed is a little courage, a little civic and professional honesty On May 23, the Court of Appeal and its president, Prele Martini, will themselves be put to the test. Not before Fatos Nano, who has been unjustly imprisoned since July 30 of last year, but before the law, before honesty and dignity. They will also be tested before the honest democratic Albanian public, before European public opinion and the prestigious institutions of Europe, the USA, etc. So what will the solution be? Whom will Mr. Martini choose: the law or the order, honor or shame, dignity or submission, manliness or humiliation? The Nano case file is a fabrication from beginning to end. It is a shameful concoction whose aim was not only to eliminate the Chairman of the Socialist Party and member of the People’s Assembly from the Albanian political scene, where Fatos Nano established himself with dignity and honesty as a politician and an authoritative figure of European stature, but much more than that. It aimed at what President Berisha stated bluntly at his latest press conference: the end of the Italian Socialist Party. In other words, the elimination of the Socialist Party of Albania from the Albanian political scene, which would mean the end of political pluralism and democracy, and a free hand for state corruption, violence and violations of human rights. Everyone has understood this by now. Even those who “blindly” joined in and can no longer get out have understood it. But has Mr. Prele Martini understood? The Nano case file is filled from beginning to end with flagrant and scandalous violations of the law and criminal procedures, from the moment the case began through to the signing of the verdict by Agim Bendo. Even the elementary rules for the treatment of the accused have not been respected; all the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by law have been violated—something that even a single medical inspector could easily verify. And what position will the Court of Appeal take? Which way will it lean? Will it agree to become an accomplice in the violations of the law? On May 23, Fatos Nano will once again appear before the judicial panel—or, more precisely, the judicial panel will appear before Fatos Nano, who has spoken and will speak even more about what has happened and what has taken place in his public office. The law and democracy appeal for justice, honesty, dignity and courage.

Electoral campaign in the commune of Zall-Herr - The SP offers its economic policy: protection for individual producers and producer associations by providing them with credit and protectionist measures to encourage domestic production. - Europe has not accepted the positions of the “Berisha regime” regarding the Nano case. It has reacted and will react. Fatos Nano has been and will remain Chairman of the SP. - Regarding relations with Greece, we are pleased that, at long last, the positions of official Albanian policy are also coming into line with ours. - We support dialogue between representatives of the Albanians of Kosovo and Serbia. It was President Berisha’s decree that called early elections in five communes, where the Albanian political forces are now “in the electoral campaign.” The occupiers or? have begun the “war” conducted according to the “enemy concept” cultivated by the Albanian leader. On one side, those in power seek to win the elections by “exploiting privileges,” to show the people as they once did that: “You must not … the people, ‘they will … nor even joke about them’ … ‘the socialists want in Shkodra’”; on the other side, the opposition seeks to put an end to arbitrariness in the exercise of power by the DP. In an atmosphere of anger, as witnessed by the many people who came out in support of the socialists, SP deputy chairman and MP Luan Hajdaraga, Presidium member and MP Bashkim Zeneli, and Tirana SP chairman Mehmet Loci held meetings in recent days in several villages of the Zall-Herr commune, including Çerkezë and Tapizë. Scenery, hardship, hardship Poor soil, and consequently meagre production that is also unprotected against the competition of foreign products dominating the Albanian market; the high price of chemical fertilisers; high charges for working the land; lack of irrigation water; the complete destruction of village infrastructure; lack of veterinary services and nurseries; an almost total lack of health services; lack of postal and telephone services; and serious social conflicts arising from disputes with newcomers from the northeastern area—all this was the backdrop to the socialist MPs’ meetings with the people. The suffering people, though lacking proper organisation, did not hesitate to lay out these problems. Faced with an unbearable situation, they are demanding solutions, even for specific problems that the opposition socialists cannot themselves resolve—problems that those in power, too, have no more control over, despite the promises made on March 22. The SP’s alternative offers: Against this backdrop, MPs Luan Hajdaraga, Bashkim Zeneli and Mehmet Loci presented the SP’s alternative for escaping this wretched situation and putting an end to arbitrariness in the exercise of power by the DP. - The SP’s economic policy, which we offer, means that the state should protect individual producers and producer associations by providing them with credit and protectionist measures to safeguard domestic production. - People have the right to move from north to south and from east to west, but not the right to settle wherever they please. Berisha’s “concept” of free movement has created major social conflicts. The SP supports freedom of movement and organised resettlement where land is available and where such resettlement does not become a source of social conflict. - All Albanians buy, all Albanians sell, and nobody produces. This is the situation that characterises the Albanian economy today. The SP aims and seeks to revitalise existing production structures, bringing them back to efficiency. - Land must be divided in accordance with the law. Our objective is for ownership to be established for everyone and for the process to be completed. The SP advocates dividing the land according to the law and … (Continued on page 2)

On 17 May 1994, the ambassador of the Republic of Greece, Mr. Caligis, came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, at his first meeting with the Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Arian Starova, expressed the official concern of the Greek Foreign Ministry regarding the passage into Albania of representatives of the Greek minority and the Albanian proposal for a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries. He noted that the statement by the Albanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Al. continues the statement, and conveyed the Greek side’s proposal that the meeting be held in two sessions, one at the Albanian border post and the other at the Greek border post at the Kakavijë border crossing. Mr. Starova stressed that the Albanian side welcomed the Greek side’s response and considered it essential for the agenda to be discussed beforehand at the level of the representatives, and for all the main issues existing between the two countries to be put forward for discussion. (ATA)

In the People’s Assembly In the law on personal income tax passed a few weeks ago, it had been stipulated that winners of games of chance would also be taxed. However, as so often happens with laws passed by our parliament, it had not been implemented. (Continued on page 3)

ABOUT ENGLISH BISCUIT ANAL...? [unclear in source: “MEPER ANALEt E BISKOTAVE ANGLEZE”] Sir, why have biscuits become a serious social issue for the Government? It would be better to say... [faded and illegible section] ... The Albanian Prosecutor’s Office ...

The Democratic Union of the Greek minority in Albania, “OMONIA,” held a press conference at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana. Regarding this, the chairman of the organization, Mr. S. S. Qirjazati, informed the journalists about the problems currently preoccupying the organization and its positions regarding the situation of the Greek minority in Albania. He said that a year ago the “OMONIA” organization had submitted to the country’s senior political leadership and political parties a document setting out the rights that the Greek minority in Albania should enjoy. The demands Mr. Qirjazati mentioned to the journalists mainly concern the rights to education, culture and the mother tongue of the Greek minority in Albania, as well as rights of a political nature. Regarding these demands, Mr. Qirjazati said, no complete and precise response has yet been given. “In keeping with the status of this organization, we want it to be … and grassroots-based,” said Qirjazati. In this context, they also need to [unclear] the criminal act of April 10 in Peshkëpi, Gjirokastër. After this event, he continued, psychological pressure began to be exerted on OMONIA’s leaders through detentions, arrests, searches of offices, etc. OMONIA officials are still being held in detention, he said. At the end of his speech, Mr. Qirjazati said that OMONIA is on the … side and will continue its democratic and peaceful efforts to guarantee and consolidate … (Continued on page 2)

Reports from Malësia e Madhe say that yesterday, in the village of Vrakë in the commune of Grunemirë, police officer Isa Tahiri was buried. He was killed the day before yesterday in Koplik by traffic police inspector Rasim Rajka. Many people accompanied the body in grief, many people in grief. The motive for the killing has still not been established. Sources at the district police station … But sources who claim to know more or less what happened point out that the dispute began over the handover of a traffic police motorboat, about which it is said that... [illegible section]

- While our Television ... Dozens of pistol shots and hysterical screams, accompanied by people running after others along one of the streets, with guns in their hands. On Tuesday, two 22-year-old people were seen, with several injured, at the “Europa” café; a horrifying scene was unfolding here. Exactly like in the gang films we watch on television. The number of police cars increased from one moment to the next. People jumped out of them and rushed over, and their appearance made you feel that they would eat you alive, you as a citizen. With scenes like these, which we see every night—not only at night but also in broad daylight—the Berisha regime has long since “taken us to Europe”; we are approaching the corner. God bless! But what can you do? Neither Minister Musaraj nor Director Busapapa wants to know about them. And now, our lord, we wait for yet another … in particular. What should be done, master! It has been enough to make you tired and … understandable: our Television is obliged to show the wounding of a citizen or soldier in Bosnia or Somalia, while nothing happens in the middle of Tirana. So, what is happening? How did the Serbian … end? A savage conflict, a savage temper, with people running after one another, screaming and firing without stopping?! VJOSAN PERMETI

The figures call for realism 1. One kilowatt-hour produced by hydroelectric plants costs 0.85 lekë. The 250 kWh of energy used by a household, including cooking and energy losses, costs the state only 2.55 lekë. 2. To cover the cost of 250 kilowatt-hours, each household will have to pay 11.25 lekë, or nearly 17 times the cost. 3. A household with two pensioners that cooks with electricity and heats its home with a 1.15-kilowatt reflector for 6 hours a day will have to spend 2,340 lekë a month on electricity. 4. A household with two people receiving social assistance, if it uses 200 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 20 litres of kerosene every month, will have to spend 1,300 lekë a month, or more than twice the compensation it receives from the state. 5. A household that spent about 1,000 lekë on electricity before the tariff change will be obliged to pay 2,320 lekë after the change. THE OBSERVER