The faces of government officials glow with good health, and their children do not go hungry Batër-Martanesh: Hunger strike on its ninth day It is the eighth day that 13 miners are 2,300 m underground, in a gallery 1230 B. 2 of the new zone in Batër. The hunger strikers are inside the gallery, while more than 700 other strikers from this mine are gathered in the center of the town of Krastë in support of them. They are asking for nothing other than the fulfillment of a number of elementary economic demands. Yet the government is taking no concrete action on these basic demands. A dozen government vehicles from Tirana and Mat are driving around the streets of Krastë and Batër. One day Minister Haxhia himself came, and all he did was dismiss the mine director, Banush Osmani, and nothing more. “Let the government decide on the demands,” the minister told the strikers. Meanwhile, a delegation of the strikers has been in Tirana for two days to meet Prime Minister Meksi, but so far the strikers know of no concrete result. The Democratic Party deputy for this area, Agim Çupi, came, but the strikers refused to speak with him. They also turned away the deputy minister of public order and the chairman of the miners’ and geologists’ union, Gëzim Kalaja. The strikers told them: “We will not meet with you.” Gëzim Kalaja even told him, “It was you who brought us to this state.” The only person from the local authorities whom the strikers agreed to meet was the socialist councillor of Mat district, Gafur Plloci. The strikers have elected two strike committees, one staying inside the gallery and the other outside. They coordinate their work, exchange information and messages. The strikers come from all parts of Mat district, and their lives have been closely bound to the mine for years. As we learned from the strikers in Krashtë and Batër, and from local officials and especially medical personnel, the condition of the hunger strikers is extremely serious. The chief nurse at Krastë hospital, Shaban Shabani, told us with evident concern that the strikers’ health is worsening by the day as a result of the extremely difficult conditions underground. Meanwhile, 13 miners have been admitted to Krastë hospital in recent days. Four of them are hospitalized in comas, while the others, after receiving the necessary treatment, have returned to their fellow strikers in the gallery. We met them at the hospital. We spoke only with the first, Flamur Vata, from Macukull. His health has deteriorated and he can barely speak. “I started working in the mine at the age of 16. I am here with two comrades, but more or less the same condition prevails in the gallery. We have confined ourselves to the strike only for our children’s bread. It is purely economic in character. If all our demands are not met, we have decided to die in the gallery. There are six of us in my household, and I have been getting bread on credit from the local shop.” Xhelal Turga from Kumbësha says: “My family has no bread. The strike is for personal economic reasons. I have been in hospital for three days, and here I am, as you can see. You are the first newspaper to come and see us and write about our concerns. I have decided to die myself in the mine so that my children do not die for want of bread.” We also went to the room where the striker Ahmet Gjatka is hospitalized. The doctors are at his bedside, and he is in an extremely serious condition, they told us. We went down the hospital building’s stairs, shaken. And with good reason for concern, because someone is following us at every step: “Where are you from, where have you been, and where are you going?” they ask us. They demand our documents and passports. Meanwhile, hundreds of people, strikers and townspeople gathered in support of them, are assembled in the center of Krastë. People have also set out to come here from Bulqiza, but the police have not allowed them through. Ambulances speeding past fill people with anxiety. Miners accompany their comrades to the hospital. There are also numerous police forces. The government officials, however, were nowhere to be seen. Only a vehicle with Tirana plates ... was moving around. Perhaps they were carrying out their duties as observers. The 63 hunger strikers are threatened by death in the depths underground, while the country’s senior leaders, government officials and deputies, right up to President Berisha, sleep peacefully in Tirana. The hunger strike is heading into its ninth day. REKTAHS ZENELI Krastë-Batër, 22.6.1994 Why is this situation occurring, how did things get to this point, and how long will it continue? The mayor of Martanesh, Mr. Qemal Dervishi, tells us: “In the town of Krasta and around it, economic activities are being reduced every day, along with the number of workers employed. Thus the min[es]-

Besides the now indisputable merit of the “editors” in influencing the Socialist electorate in Zall-Herr, Minister Zhulali displayed on Wednesday his “mobility” in parliament and considerable oratorical and analytical abilities. The Socialist deputies asked whether there were reasons other than the elections for discrediting the military centers in Zall-Herr. Zhulali called it a self-suggestive question. Using the same logic, he dismissed the soldiers’ denunciation of election-related activity in Zall-Herr, insisting that the army is depoliticized. He offered three arguments for this. First: the Zall-Herr unit is a special unit and must remain at full strength, whether there is mobilization or demobilization. Second: Zall-Herr is an important service unit through which other army units are also required to pass. Third: this unit may house more soldiers than its authorized complement, but Zhulali declared “with full responsibility” that during the elections there was not a single soldier there above its authorized complement. Zhulali, apparently self-suggested by the Socialists’ question, forgot a few minor things. Specifically, if the unit must be at full strength, why did he remove the soldiers immediately after the elections?! “Why was there so much time around the elections to transfer to this training center soldiers who belonged to other units?” It is pointless to mention here the little acts of generosity such as the propaganda in favor of the DP carried out in this unit by DP deputies and by the heads of army counterintelligence, Arao and Selami (three; not chairmen?), or to seek that kind of ... for the violation of the election law, as deputy Hajdara did and as “Zëri i Popullit” has continually done. BEQIR SKRELI

The Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania is following with attention and special support the hunger strike of the miners of Batë in the district of ... and the lack of dialogue and willingness on the part of these bodies to resolve the problems that have been raised for some time in ... mines and that are entirely ...

A government response is awaited Perhaps someone has an interest in everything concerning the economic and social resolution of the problems of the Miners’ City—as Krasta is also known—whose mine has 417 workers on hunger strike. The situation is dire for more than 300 families who receive their food or bread on credit. And around the mine there is not a single ...nence where the workers are.

The Tirana court attempts to find David Leka’s killers After 10 months of investigation, five police officers accused of killing David Leka at the Laç Police Station appear before the military court. After the first hearings, the testimony suggests that the story of the “scapegoats” will emerge once again. The criminal case concerning the tragic events of 12 August 1993 in the town of Laç, which resulted in the death of 24-year-old citizen David Leka, has finally reached the trial court in Tirana. Before the military judicial panel presided over by military judge Fatmira Laska stand five police officers from the Laç Public Order Department, accused under Article 84, paragraphs “A” and “Ç” of the Criminal Code: Taf Sopoti, Adrian Hali, Alfred Hima, Musa Hadjari and Preng Laska. For ten months the prosecution has been investigating them on the charge of “intentional murder for trivial motives of a defenseless person”; in this case, 24-year-old David Leka. It was 12 August of last year when, following an argument in the street, David Leka—according to official ministry sources—was described as a “participant in unlawful gatherings.” The authorities used the incident to target, among the 13 people accused, many Socialists and to promote the idea that the PS was destructive. On 20 June 1994, after about ten months of investigation, the Tirana trial court, sitting as a military judicial panel, is attempting to find David Leka’s killers. The first hearings of the trial have taken place, and the questioning of witnesses is continuing; witnesses are certainly not lacking. From the detailed testimony, it appears that the five accused police officers will once again be made “scapegoats” to cover up the responsibility and exoneration of others. The testimony heard so far contains many discrepancies and contradictions with the statements made to the prosecution. These are the facts that have led the prosecutor and the court to address the witnesses with warnings and requests that they be held criminally responsible for false testimony. Yet the testimony heard so far shows that the entire incident unfolded openly and under the supervision of the “big” bosses of the Laç Public Order Department, but none of them has been held criminally responsible; moreover, they appear before the court with questionable testimony. ERION BRAÇE. the mines, “Ali edë Mina”, Musa Hajdari and Preng Laska, whom the prosecution has been investigating for ten months a defenceless person”; in this case, the victim is 24-year-old David Leka. It was 12 August Leka—according to official sources at the Ministry of Public Order—stabbed the city police commander, Mr. Dosti, who had intervened there. This was why, after being detained, David Leka was taken to the Public Order Department, where he was subjected to unprecedented violence by its employees, despite the fact that he died from the blows the following day in hospital. David Leka’s death provoked an uprising among the people of Laç, which in turn ended in clashes between the people and special forces sent from Tirana, and then, no more than ten days later, in a trial of 13 people on the charge of a-

particular concern the hunger strike of the miners of Batres in the district of Mat and supports their just social and economic demands: higher wages; the granting of entitlements in accordance with government decisions; improved working conditions and treatment for the miners and their families; competent management of the mine by qualified staff and specialists; implementation of economic reform on the basis of professional, economic and social criteria, etc. The escalation to this final stage of union struggle is a consequence of the delays and bureaucratic attitudes of the authorities and state bodies at all levels, as well as the lack of dialogue and willingness on their part to resolve the many problems raised by the miners long ago and which can certainly be resolved. The fact that the strike continues even after discussions and several solutions promised by the prefect, the senior official of the Ministry of Mineral and Energy Resources, shows that the miners’ demands have not been met, making it essential for the highest levels of state authority to intervene more forcefully. The prefect, as well as the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. Under these circumstances, the Confederation of Trade Un... (Continued on page 3)

Perhaps someone is interested in learning something about the economic and social situation of the Miners’ City, otherwise known as Krasta, in Mat, where more than 80 miners have now been on hunger strike since the 17th of this month. Perhaps the government already knows the facts I will present below, but, wishing to remind it of the wise saying “Repetition is the mother of learning,” I will set out in figures the concerns of the residents of this troubled town. Of the 5,000 inhabitants of this town, plus another 3,000 in the surrounding area within Martanesh municipality, 1,373 are unemployed; 500 families receive social assistance; 300 families receive partial assistance, and another 100 receive full assistance of up to 45,000 lekë a month. During May, 417 workers were laid off from the mine. get their ... or bread on credit. And although around the mine there is no canteen where workers can eat, nor showers or a cloakroom, the hospital presents a scandalous picture: there is no laboratory for tests, no X-ray machine, no drinking water and no heating system. (Continued on page 3)

The two years of democratic rule have cost Has dearly. There have been 17 victims; they have left children behind. They have dealt a heavy blow to families. Why have people lost their lives under this dark democratic rule? For the people of Has, these deaths have resulted from confrontations, because of the border [unclear] to earn a living, and from blood feuds, which have raised their heads and bared their teeth to claim more lives. The greatest surprise is that the information outlets of the party in power say nothing about the victims in Has. They remain silent, as do the competent authorities, which apparently are deaf and blind in the face of such a reality. The public is concerned and afraid because of what has happened in the lives of the people of Has over these two years. They do not know how things will proceed: will the number of victims increase, or will concrete measures be taken to put an end to such a situation? Has, it must be said, has been “poor” throughout these two years. GAFUR MAZREKU

Malësi e Madhe The scourge of fratricide and blood feuds continues to threaten people’s lives terribly. The number of clans confined in this area has reached 19. Most of them are people who have found themselves in this situation recently. Some clans comprise as many as 40 families. One therefore wonders how many people are confined along with their families. Bound by their origins and unable to survive by working the land or to travel along the [unclear] roads, all our families have begun to shut themselves away with what little wealth they had left, so they can secure enough bread to stay alive within the walls of their homes. They too want to live, work and enjoy life like everyone else, but the shadow of blood feuds has taken over their doorways and families, with babies in their cradles; [unclear], they invoke the custom of the Kanun. “We want to live”—this is the heartfelt appeal of these people, victims of medieval mindsets, now in the age of the 21st century. It is addressed to all society and to our state, but it goes unheard. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

- Because in Libofshë the socialists won the elections of 22 March. - Because in Libofshë the socialists won more than 70 percent of the votes on 26 July. - Because in Libofshë the socialists would win more votes than on 26 July if there were free elections. - Because a defeat in Libofshë would serve the DP’s propaganda, allowing it to demagogue: “You see, the socialists are not wanted even where they won before.” - The message the DP seeks to send others through its violent victory in Libofshë is: we will rely on street politics, because that is what brought us to power. - There is no need for early elections.

- Three protests by the PS in Fier, addressed to President Berisha, Mr. Nano- ni and Prime Minister Meçik, denouncing the violence carried out in Libofshë throughout 29 May. - Four protests sent by the PSSH throughout the day on 29 May to President Berisha, the Speaker of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly and Prime Minister Meçik, informing them of serious violations of the law in the elections in the municipality of Libofshë. - The six socialist MPs assaulted in Libofshë seek to file a complaint over the events of 29 May with President Berisha; he refuses to accept it. - PS leaders inform an officer of the Ministry of Public Order about the violence being carried out in Libofshë on 20 May. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Public Order does not react. - At 5 p.m. on 29 May, the PS branch organizes a press conference with journalists, where the brutal state violence carried out in Libofshë is denounced. - The PSSH declares the elections in Libofshë anti-[unclear] and unconstitutional, and announces that it will not recognize the result, making its position clear publicly at the press conference at 5 p.m. on 29 May. - On 31 May, the Socialist parliamentary group strongly protests in parliament over what happened in Libofshë. (Continued on page 3)

- Statement delivered in Parliament by MP Perikli Teta - The DP’s policy aims to destroy pluralism and democracy in Albania. Mr. Chairman, The group of Democratic Alliance MPs condemns and rejects the propagandistic stance displayed during the electoral campaign for the election of five local-government officials. The campaign was conducted mainly by flouting the laws and abusing state power. It is incumbent upon this Parliament, as the highest body of state power, to address this incident and require the government to account for its actions. What happened in the five municipalities [text unclear] the Prefect has decided [text unclear] this Parliament victory

The PSD parliamentary group has viewed with deep concern the reports about the events in Libofshë during the elections for the municipal council chairperson. According to information from observers, the elections took place in an extremely tense political atmosphere, which had begun with irresponsible threatening statements during and outside ... with militant acts by political forces of violence and ... dangerous premises for democracy on election day, when particular groups exerted psychological pressure on voters and used physical violence against ... polling-station staff ... allegedly, according to a statement by an MP, PS members were subjected to [text unclear] ... (Continued on page 3)