The enormous campaign machine has ceaselessly “unloaded” in the electoral communes dozens of high-ranking officials and party figures, promises by the sackful and speculative aid, unlawful budget funds, battalions of voters, and has used tons of paper and miles of celluloid footage from TVPD, sowing threats and organized state terror. All this was done only to tell Albanians why early elections were not needed. But the opposite happened, as with the negative of a film: people became even more convinced of the urgency of a new political election.

Now that the results of the May 23 elections have become known to the public, some people wonder why Mr. Selami, at the press conference the day after the elections, gave incorrect results for the commune of Gresalicë. How could the chairman of that party make a mistake when, in the March 22 elections, only a few hours after the polls closed, his party managed to obtain information about its own vote count? How could the chairman of the party in power make a mistake when, in this new campaign, he had money, officials, ministers, SHIK agents, police, the army, cars and even helicopters at his disposal? It was not a lack of information that made Mr. Selami “make a mistake”; rather, there were electoral considerations—arguments he needed to convince the public that the people strongly supported the DP and that the Socialists’ demand for early elections came from the “cafés” of France. So why did Mr. Selami give an incorrect result for the elections in the commune of Gresalicë, where the results had not yet been officially announced? That may be the reason, but I do not know whether there are two possible explanations. After the test that Mr. Selami himself carried out in this area, he reached the conclusion and decided that his party absolutely had to win in Greshicë, and by no less than 67 percent—a figure he hurried to announce at the press conference, which the following day was reinforced by “RD.” Was the TSH’s information “untrue” and too hasty? This is a party directive for the entire party apparatus to act on, mobilizing all the forces of the DP, not only in Mallakastër and Tirana, but also in the other districts. When Minister Uka and Prosecutor Dragushi, backed by SHIK agents and the police, saw that Selami’s directive was not becoming reality, they began to exert pressure and finally put the “assault units” into action, but apparently their calculations were wrong. Mr. Selami’s haste inadvertently revealed their purpose. Another reason, which at first glance seems far removed from the first, is that Mr. Selami had anticipated what would happen. That is why he hurried to declare that “we…” so that later he could accuse the Socialists of manipulating the vote. Thus, as the saying goes, he would kill two birds with one stone: justify the loss in this commune and, by making a commotion about Greshicë, bomb… The DP, not only in Mallakastër and Tirana, but also in the other districts. When Minister Uka and Prosecutor Dragushi, backed by SHIK agents and the police, saw that Selami’s directive was not becoming reality, they began to exert pressure and finally put the “assault units” into action, but apparently their calculations were wrong. Mr. Selami’s haste inadvertently revealed their purpose. Another reason, which at first glance seems far removed from the first, is that Mr. Selami had anticipated what would happen. That is why he hurried to declare that “we…” so that later he could accuse the Socialists of manipulating the vote. Thus, as the saying goes, he would kill two birds with one stone: justify the loss in this commune and, by making a commotion about Greshicë, bomb… The DP, not only in Mallakastër and Tirana, but also in the other districts. When Minister Uka and Prosecutor Dragushi, backed by SHIK agents and the police, saw that Selami’s directive was not becoming reality, they began to exert pressure and finally put the “assault units” into action, but apparently their calculations were wrong. Mr. Selami’s haste inadvertently revealed their purpose. Another reason, which at first glance seems far removed from the first, is that Mr. Selami had anticipated what would happen. That is why he hurried to declare that “we…” so that later he could accuse the Socialists of manipulating the vote. Thus, as the saying goes, he would kill two birds with one stone: justify the loss in this commune and, by making a commotion about Greshicë, bomb… II. VEIZI

Interview with Bashkim Zenell, PS deputy and deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the People’s Assembly— President Berisha announced Albania’s readiness to accept the issue of the Albanians at the CSCE. It is known that Albania’s official policy had made Macedonia’s admission to the CSCE conditional on the realization of the full rights of the Albanians. Do you think this change in Albanian policy toward Macedonia is justified? I would like to emphasize at the outset that the position of our official policy and of President Berisha himself toward Macedonia over these past two years has been quite inconsistent. First of all, I want to emphasize that the PS has not been, and is not, against Macedonia’s admission to the CSCE. We have not agreed, and do not agree, with playing the veto card, as President Berisha declared several months ago. But there is a problem here. When you invoke a veto, it means you have taken a firm position. What changed in Macedonia’s attitude toward the Albanians, in implementing and meeting our demands for the Albanians there, that this veto should suddenly disappear one fine day? I have the impression that this veto did not fall at the meeting with Andçvin; rather, it fell—or, better said, began to fade—about two months ago. Besides, we do not even have the means to exercise a veto in the CSCE. The Socialist Party has maintained, and continues to maintain, that Macedonia should be a factor for stability and peace in the region, but the country cannot be such a factor without the Albanians who live there and without meeting their legitimate demands. By legitimate demands, I mean what has been clearly stated since the program presented by the Meksi government to the People’s Assembly in April 1992— This demand continued to be made until recently. President Berisha has held several meetings with President Gligorov and, as far as I recall, in the first two or three meetings Berisha called for space—perhaps at the press conference given by the two presidents in Ohrid several months ago—he called for Macedonia to recognize the Albanians as a state-forming element. There was no response from President Gligorov. Recently, this demand has been dropped from official policy, and now the issue is discussed, I would say, on a humanitarian basis: the human and national rights of the Albanians are to be respected, and this demand has been abandoned. In my view, this is a step backward. First of all, because Parliament has approved the principal political positions, especially those that are fundamental to our foreign policy and concern our national question. From this perspective, I would regard Berisha’s decision as a retreat by him, by our official policy and by our government, without being convinced of what changed between the day Berisha said it and now, when Albania supports Macedonia’s admission to the CSCE. Should this change in our foreign policy regarding Macedonia’s admission to the CSCE have been considered by Parliament? Parliament has been presented with a fait accompli even on much more important matters, let alone this one. What is important in— (Continued on page 4)

Statement by the Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of Durrës It is with great and legitimate concern that we have learned of the statement by the PS parliamentary group in the People’s Assembly concerning the elections of June 5. On May 28, 1994, through the fascist violence perpetrated by the paid gangs brought in for these elections, through their manipulation, and through the marked indifference of the state and its leaders, Prime Minister Meçani and his deputies… The Socialist Party in the district of Durrës, its steering committee, and Socialist councillors at every level, from the commune to the district, strongly support the decision and demand of the PS parliamentary group that the elections in the commune of Libofshë not be recognized or declared lawful by the democratic bodies, as they were unconstitutional and undemocratic, and that they be held again in the presence of other law-enforcement forces, with voting conducted under equal and fair conditions. This position of ours will also be made publicly and officially known through the increased presentation of Mr. Viktor Margilaj as Prefect of Durrës. We support the statement by the Socialist Party parliamentary group concerning the May 29 elections. The Socialist Party in Durrës, its members and supporters, the Eurosocialist Forum, and its entire electorate do not accept the start of Prefect Viktor Margilaj’s activity. We declare that we will never make peace with discredited people and dictators! Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of the Durrës district

Sokrat Ikonomi, Chairman of the Central Election Commission in the commune of Libofshë, said the following among other things when interviewed at Fier hospital on the afternoon of May 29: “After I had been beaten and masked by a thug while carrying out my duties, I telephoned the Prime Minister’s Office from my office at around 11:00, specifically Mr. Zyberi. Beri was appointed by the government to oversee the local elections. I told him what had happened to me and asked him to inform the prime minister and the president of the republic immediately. Mr. Beri told me not to worry, that he would pass on this information at once. “After that phone call, every radio and television broadcast on May 29 and in the days that followed said that the elections in Libofshë were continuing or had been conducted normally, in accordance with the law and without problems. “How can elections in a commune be called normal and free of incidents when I was being held by the arms by a police officer, [masked gang thugs?] the authorities at the highest level of power responsible for these elections? “Who is responsible for this public deception of public opinion? “Did Mr. Beci inform Mekan Berisha? Was this fascist act, and the means of transport, made known to him by the official government commission? “Is Beci to blame, or Mekan Berisha? Could it be that the Libofshë thugs have protection all the way to the top of the hierarchical pyramid? “This is what the state prosecutor’s office must clarify. These are the things people want to know.”

There is… at the Tirana court: Trial of former senior officials continues Of the 10 defendants, only three appeared at the Tirana court. Manush Myftiu and former Prime Minister Çarçani left the courtroom the day before because of their serious health conditions. Yesterday, the questioning of witnesses continued; dozens are expected to testify. The first to appear before the court was witness Qazim Zeko, formerly convicted of abuse of office. According to him, he had been arrested on the basis of a letter signed by former prosecutor Rapi Mi-no, because, while carrying out his duties, three people had escaped without his managing to catch them!! The next witness, Serjan Cani, former commissioner of the Sarandë camp, explained the procedure for receiving and handing over letters from prisoners. Witness Mihallaq Ziqishti protested before the court, asking that filming not be allowed. Although from 1949 to 1965 he had held the post of minister of internal affairs for persons and panels, I forgot to say that I have nothing. In 1967, he said, he was secretary of

How high will the price of coffee go? Coffee “appeared” unexpectedly in the first days of June in several shops in Elbasan. It was the same “scheme” as with sugar on the eve of the Bajram holidays and the Traders’ Days: traders released the sugar, thinking they would sell it for 80 or 90 lekë per kilo after the peak. That is what happened then; the authorities decided to set a price for sugar, and the situation returned to normal. Now, as for coffee, the widely circulated talk that it will sell for 500 lekë (new) seems to have been carefully spread by the traders themselves, since it has gone from 260 lekë per kilo to selling at 350 lekë. “Recently they were supplied with coffee too, and they will keep the price where it is for now, at 350 lekë per kilo.” All the retail shops near the market are speculating; the speculation over sugar and coffee has mainly taken place in the shops. Nevertheless, he continues, supplies to the shops from Tirana have warned that by August the price of coffee could reach 500 lekë per kilo. — Raising the price of coffee—a government investment to put people to work. This is not simply a “traders’ rumour”; the signal has been given that coffee prices will rise. The real reason, it seems, is that the government has decided to double its import price. So the increase is not artificially created by traders, but comes from the government itself; indeed, the “experts” responsible for trade are right to say that there is no way to keep the price at its current level in shops. But it is also said that the government’s calculation is quite simple! By raising the price of coffee, it wants people to get jobs, but not to take on the burden of dissatisfaction and the difficulties that are growing by the day, surpassing every assessment of Eastern or Western Europe. SEIDIN ÇEKANI

At the military hospital: A soldier wounded in Zall-Herr A few days ago, a conscript was admitted to the military hospital, very seriously wounded by a burst of bullets. In Zall-Herr, at a place called… A military source said the wounded man is not a member of the unit in Zall-Herr, but of the unit in Vërbas… in his place the soldier… has been assigned, who is in… USHTARAKU