- Meksi is incapable of ensuring constitutional order and inclined to protect subordinates of his involved in crime. - The Albanian Parliament faces a dilemma: hand the criminals over to the judicial authorities, or give a vote of confidence to the «Meksi government»! «I hereby declare a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Meksi and his government and request that it be considered within the prescribed legal deadlines.» - Meksi is incapable of ensuring constitutional order and inclined to protect subordinates of his involved in crime. - The Albanian Parliament faces a dilemma: hand the criminals over to the judicial authorities, or give a vote of confidence to the «Meksi government»! «I hereby declare his government and request that it be considered within the prescribed legal deadlines.» It was the deputy chairman of the SP and head of its parliamentary group, Mr Namik Dokle, who, on behalf of the Socialist group, yesterday declared his Government in the Albanian Parliament and requested that it be considered. The motion, which the head of the Socialist MPs described as the political position of his group, came as a strong reaction to Prime Minister Meksi’s position and response, made public yesterday by Mr Nor. Malasi, deputy speaker of the Albanian Parliament, who presided over yesterday’s parliamentary proceedings. According to him, Mr Meksi’s response was: «I reported to Parliament at the request of the Socialist MPs. That is my answer. The actions concerning it have been or will be taken in accordance with my answer.» Last week, amid extraordinary tension caused by serious incidents and terrorist acts against the people of Libofshë and the Socialist MPs who were there during the 29 May elections, the Socialist group requested a public statement from President Berisha, the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Arbnori, as well as Minister Meksi and his Government, concerning their request for his dismissal. re— of Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi. But while Berisha remained silent and Arbnori shamefully invoked the Socialist MPs who had been attacked, Prime Minister Meksi, without categorically denying that the incidents had taken place, demanded specific complaints from the Socialist MPs. For his part, Mr Namik Dokle asked for those responsible for terrorist acts to be reported, from the newly appointed prefect of Durrës, Viktor Margilaj, down to the most ordinary criminal involved in the terrorist acts; he also requested a series of dismissals, from Minister of Public Order Musaraj to the director of TV, Slëndër Bunapaci, as well as that the elections in Libofshë be declared illegal and a new election date set for the commune. He set the first session of the following week as the deadline for these requests. Meksi gave his response, which was conveyed and made public at yesterday’s session. At that session, after hearing the response, Mr Dokle said that the Socialist group would take a political position. «Until the issues we have raised are addressed,» Mr Dokle continued, «the group will remain disengaged and will not take part in the consideration of any draft law, because we demand that the dignity of the voter and the elected representative be restored in this Parliament.» Without any apparent reason, immediately after Mr Dokle, as if to take Ali Spahiu’s place in provoking people, Petrita Minga put forward a view of his own, according to which Dokle should not be concerned because he would speak at the end of the session, since this was a rule that had also been established for

The 2 p.m. session on Tuesday in the trial of former senior party and state officials again opened without the defendants Myftiu and Çarçani in attendance. Yesterday at the Tirana court: Witness questioning continues in the trial of former senior party and state officials The 2 p.m. session on Tuesday again opened without the defendants Myftiu and Çarçani in attendance. The lawyer for defendant Çela protested against the improper conduct of the court sessions and the recording of his client’s statements. This session, too, proceeded with the questioning of witnesses. The first witness, Muhamet Xhatteri, a teacher by profession who was sentenced to nine years of internment for agitation and propaganda in 1982, emphasized: I want to testify to the truth. I do not want to accuse anyone by name, but the communist scythe has made us bleed. Meanwhile, the lawyer for defendant Alia, Mr Kogi, intervened to ask him: What job did you have when you were interned? Director, the witness replied. To the lawyer’s next question—whether the communist scythe had drained his blood when he was a director—he did not reply. His claim that he had been interned with his entire family, including his children, did not hold up, because his children’s names did not appear in the documents. This witness also could not remember when he had been admitted to the Party of Labour, although he clearly remembered the date he joined the PD. One of the lawyers interjected, addressing the panel of judges: They are presenting us with witnesses who are not witnesses relevant to the charge, but former party members. We are not putting our colleague and the red scythe on trial, but these defendants for the charge of abuse of office. Perhaps it should be stressed that the witness had been convicted and considered his sentence unjust, while at the same time he had submitted an application to the competent authorities to receive a pardon... Defendant Zylfytar Ramizi rejected the witness’s claim that he had met with him, emphasizing that he had been persecuted, among the most privileged, just like me. There are about ten people like him in Mallakastër. He was convicted again; he defended Mehmet Shehu at a time when Mallakastra condemned him. He implicated his brother Hekuran Qazimi, and he does not want to go to prison, but this witness put him there. Defendant Mino intervened, addressing the panel of judges, saying that he had not been given access to the witnesses’ statements during the investigation and that he had his objections recorded in the minutes. Not before a pause had passed was another lawyer’s intervention heard in the courtroom. Addressing the panel of judges and his colleagues at the same time, he said: Be careful with the questions you ask the witnesses, because even the television does not know what to broadcast. We cannot make it out: is the witness from the Party (Continued on page 3)

Aleksandër Langer Chairman of the European Parliament delegation for Albania, Bulgaria and Romania. «Do not seek revenge against the former president» - Press release - «It seems that in Albania, settling accounts with the past and with the heavy legacy of Enver Hoxha’s regime is being done mainly through trials on charges of the crime of abuse of office. The European Parliament has already expressed its reservations about the trial of Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano, who was recently sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Now it is the turn of former President Ramiz Alia. Perhaps it should be recalled that he helped avert bloodshed when, beginning with the student movement of December 1990, he chose the path of dialogue rather than confrontation.» (Taken from the newspaper «POPULLI PO» dated 8 June 1994) 26.5.1994

During the interpellation with Prime Minister Meksi on 1 June, the SP parliamentary group presented incontrovertible facts concerning the state crime committed on 29 May 1994 during the elections for commune chairman in Libofshë, as follows: TO group presented incontrovertible facts concerning the state crime committed on 29 May 1994 during the elections for commune chairman in Libofshë, as follows: — Six deputies of the People’s Assembly, including the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, were attacked and abducted in the Kërçim. — Through organized beatings of the chairmen, members and observers of the election commissions, all the inhabitants of Libofshë were terrorized. — These terrorist and criminal acts brutally violated the democratic right to free elections, as well as the constitutional order of the Republic itself. High-ranking state representatives were implicated in this event: ministers, prefects and commune chairmen, police chiefs and officers, party officials, and ordinary political and economic thugs. Their involvement has been fully proven because the crime was serious and apparent. For all these reasons, we asked Prime Minister Meksi: 1. That the Minister of Public Order, Mr Agron Musaraj, be dismissed for the events in Libofshë, and not only for those. 2. That the head of the National Intelligence Service be dismissed, since he abused his office by deploying police officers and vehicles in the campaign. 3. That the newly appointed prefect of Durrës, Vëktor Margilaj, be dismissed. 4. That he propose to the President of the Republic the dismissal of the chairman of the commune of Kuman, Behar Plaka. 5. That the police chief of the district, Agron Brace, as well as the police chief and the SHIK chief in Mallakastër, be dismissed. 6. That a date be announced for new elections in Libofshë and measures be taken to ensure that they are held under the observation of foreign observers. 7. That all the organizers and perpetrators of this state crime be held criminally responsible. So far, only the seventh request has been acted upon by the General Prosecutor’s Office, which has launched a criminal investigation at the request of the Socialist Party and all the deputies. We have received no response to the other six requests, which fall directly within the competence of the chairman of the Council of Ministers, whom the Constitutional Law specifically charges «with ensuring, maintaining and strengthening the legal order and the rights of citizens». The SP Parliamentary Group genuinely appreciates the position taken by Prime Minister Meksi, who gave no answer to the interpellation held on 1 June with the Minister of Novitet, allowing sufficient time to reflect on what had happened and what had been presented. But today, a week later, with no statement from the prime minister and no response to our requests, which are grounded in constitutional law and intended to protect constitutional order and free elections, we conclude that: — Prime Minister Meksi does not wish, or is unable, to carry out his constitutional duties. — Prime Minister Meksi is inclined to protect his subordinates implicated in the events in Libofshë. — Prime Minister Meksi supports economic gangs and the plunder of state property through privatization, in order to secure anti— political support from thugs legitimized by government decisions. — Prime Minister Meksi is incapable of guaranteeing free elections in Albania. — Prime Minister Meksi, in his capacity as chairman of the Special Constitutional Commission, is deliberately delaying the completion of its draft and its presentation to Parliament, so that government can continue through arbitrariness and violations of the law. For this reason, pursuant to Article 34 of the Principal Constitutional Provisions, which gives deputies the right at any time to submit a motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers or individual members of it, our parliamentary group asks the People’s Assembly to dismiss Mr Aleksandër Meksi from his position as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania. We request that this motion be considered through a debate within the constitutional deadlines. SP Parliamentary Group

TEODOR MOSKO IS A FRAUD,...!!! Prosecutor Mosko is currently in the Netherlands with Appeals Court judge Prel Martini at a seminar on human rights. From time to time, members whom it has deemed unworthy have been dismissed from this commission. I believe that one of the unworthy members who should be dismissed from this commission is Appeals Prosecutor Teodor Mosko. His fraud was confirmed by the Constitutional Court, which found journalist Françesk Leka to be in the right, Françeska Leka, and the acquittal. ... The Constitutional Commission normally... Here, since an entire commission ... and this is ... For ... Parliament... Under these circumstances, I believe that a fight for justice and the fulfillment of everyone’s duty are required. Prosecutors of this kind should be stripped of the right to practice their profession, with all the consequences prescribed by our Penal and Procedural Code. But Mr. Teta’s request seems to have fallen on deaf ears from the outset. It has not been included on the agenda for this week’s parliamentary proceedings, even though he submitted it earlier and it was registered; according to Mr. Malaj, however, it has not yet been brought before the parliamentary presidium. Meanwhile, Mr. Teta also vented his frustration after learning that Teodor Mosko had gone to the Netherlands for a seminar on human rights. “I would bring him back to Albanian democracy,” Teta said, “if a lawyer defending journalist Martin Leka and Aleksandër Frangaj were going to the seminar, but for comrade Mosko to go with comrade Prel Martini—that was a fatality.” Despite all this, Mr. Teta said he hoped for the support of all the deputies next week.

During the interpellation with Prime Minister Meksi on 1 June, the SP parliamentary group presented facts

TOMORROW: “THE PARLIAMENTARIAN” IN THE SUPPLEMENT TO “ZËRI I POPULLIT” Writer NESHAT TOZAL is once again a guest in our newspaper. After the novella “DEATH BY KËRBA-GI,” this time he returns with the novella “THE PARLIAMENTA-RIAN,” which readers will find in our newspaper’s supplement on June 10 and 11.

LETTER FROM CHRISTIN ENGELHARDT Dear Zëri i Popullit: I read with great care the article (published on June 4) concerning my meeting with members of the Socialist Party the previous day, and I wish to clarify several points made in this article. Dear Zëri i Popullit: I read with great care the article (published on June 4) concerning my meeting with members of the Socialist Party the previous day, and I wish to clarify several points made in this article. I believe that, in the interests of truth, this letter should be published in full on the front page of your newspaper, in the same edition in which the original article was published. You, the readers, should be aware of the following points: 1. The name of the staff member of the Association for Democratic Culture who attended the meeting on Friday, June 3, is correct. 2. It is true that we requested a meeting with your Party, but we failed to make it known that we asked to meet representatives of the Party that has members of Parliament or candidates in the elections. Both the Association for Democratic Culture and the National Democratic Institute are represented. Our purpose in these meetings was to give each of them the SHKD preliminary statement on the local elections and to discuss issues related to the local elections. 3. Your article stated that I took notes on everything that was said. It is my practice to do so “in all my activities, and not only those with your party.” 4. I am particularly concerned about the mention of Radio Tirana. At the meeting, Musa Ulqini said he was upset about what had happened at Radio Tirana, and I mentioned that we had heard other people complain about what Radio had said. Please publish the full text of the article. They gave me a translation of two new reports which, they said, stated that their observers in Libofshë had reported that everything was normal, and then it was said that I was also in Libofshë. From the translations given to me—that is, the facts reported by Radio Tirana—it is possible that someone who heard the report in Albanian may have thought that I was the one who said there were no problems. In fact, I was never interviewed by Radio Tirana until 19.45. At that time, I stated that since I had not spoken with any of our observers in the other areas, I did not have a preliminary or final statement about what I had seen regarding election problems, including an incident of violence at a polling station. This interview was never broadcast on Kadjo. According to Radio Tirana, the reporters in Libofshë were unable to call Tirana until Monday morning, and then could only provide the results, although the line was very poor. These are the facts as I know them, and I want you, the readers, to know that I informed the representatives of the PS of these facts, solely in response to Mr. Ulqini’s comment. 5. Finally, in its last paragraph, your article states that “we value information from the PS just as we value information from the PD, PSD and others, but this is not what they stated—that we accepted all the information we were given...”. Thank you very much for publishing this letter and for your translation of it truthfully. Sincerely, Christin Engelhardt Representative of the American National Democratic Institute. June 7, 1994