The strike was called off, but have the problems been solved?... The hunger strikers who had barricaded themselves in the galleries of the Martanesh mine called off their hunger strike late in the evening of 22 June. The information outlets kept completely silent about this extreme measure by the chrome miners during this strike. And how could it be otherwise, when the propaganda of the party in power portrays Albania as a country without social tensions, as if the transition had guaranteed everyone a path to endless happiness... We have written several times about the hunger strike in Krastë, because it was a boiling point in the severe socio-economic situation being endured by thousands upon thousands of people and families throughout the country, especially miners. All the strikers’ demands were economic in nature; they expressed the crisis facing their families, who had no bread to eat, no proper working conditions, and called for better management of the property, for hundreds of their comrades not to be left to their fate, and so on. There were nine very specific demands, which for a long time fell on the government’s deaf ears. The nine days of hunger striking left some of the strikers in critical condition. Around ten people were hospitalized. This situation stirred public concern not only in Krastë, Batëre and Bulqizë, but also filled government officials with anxiety—officials who until yesterday had turned their backs on the miners and answered their demands with an arrogant “No.” Only when they saw that the strike might grow in scale did the head of the party in power himself, Mr. S. Selami, enter the picture and promise the strikers that their conditions would be met in accordance with the petition they had addressed to the highest state authorities. One strike has ended, but have the problems of the thousands of miners in the chrome basin been solved? Have the problems of thousands of others in the oil industry, energy sector, copper mines, and so on, been solved? Can the other strikes be brought to an end in this way, by drawing a sanitary cordon around everything that happens over nine consecutive days? Why must some miners be brought to the brink of death before government officials remember that they have ears to hear and eyes to see? We are not in favor of hunger strikes—these extreme actions can have unforeseeable consequences. But we are and will always be in solidarity with people dissatisfied with the economic reform currently being implemented in Albania, a reform that tells people: tighten your belts and keep your mouths shut! People do not want this kind of democracy. They want freedom and genuine democracy, jobs and well-being, prospects and social peace. Government officials, meanwhile, must respect people and not play with their lives.

On the afternoon of 22 June, at the headquarters of the Socialist Party of Albania, its parliamentary group chairman Namik Dokle, Socialist Party of Albania deputy chairman Ilir Meta, Socialist Party of Albania Secretary General Gramoz Ruçi, and Socialist Party of Albania presidium member Arta Dade received in a special meeting a delegation of (ECOSY), the Socialist Youth of the European Community, led by Philip Cordery, Secretary General of the Socialist Youth of Europe. The delegation was headed by ECOSY Bureau members Martin Guillermo (Spain), Jakob Tiegte (Denmark), Vinicio Pellulo (Italy), Kostas Stratikopulos and Makis Tselentis (Greece). The meeting was also attended by FRESSH chairman Pandeli Majko and FRESSH Secretary General Monika Kryemadhi. At the beginning of the meeting, Socialist Party of Albania deputy chairman Namik Dokle expressed his pleasure at the ECOSY delegation’s visit to our country, a visit that would undoubtedly serve not only to strengthen relations with FRESSH, but also to provide a fuller understanding of the country’s political developments and the role played by the Socialist Party of Albania as the country’s main opposition force. He particularly praised the fact that the Socialist International devotes attention to democratic developments in Eastern Europe, expressing confidence that this ECOSY visit would help provide a better understanding of the political situation in Albania and increase attention to it. (Continued on page 2)

The day before yesterday afternoon at 18:00, in one of the halls of the Palace of Congresses, the delegation of the Socialist Youth of the European Community (ECOSY) held an enthusiastic meeting with hundreds of FRESSH members. The day before yesterday afternoon at 18:00, in one of the halls of the Palace of Congresses, (ECOSY) held an enthusiastic meeting with hundreds of FRESSH members. After the delegation members were introduced by FRESSH Deputy Chairman for International Relations Ilir Meta, ECOSY Secretary General Philip Cordery and FRESSH Chairman Pandeli Majko delivered greetings on behalf of ECOSY and FRESSH. The delegation members then gave their talks, which focused on the latest elections to the European Parliament and ECOSY’s role in those elections; ECOSY’s relations with the European Socialist Party; ECOSY’s cooperation with the youth of Eastern and Central Europe; ECOSY’s relations with FRESSH and their prospects; and the bilateral relations between ECOSY organizations and FRESSH, etc. This was followed by questions and answers from those present. More details about this meeting will be found in tomorrow’s report.

On the evening of 22 June, representatives of the Democratic Party and the government, led by Eduard Selami, arrived in Batëre and met with the striking miners. Following a meeting between the strikers’ representatives and Prime Minister Meksi, Ministers Xhaia and Shehu, as well as representatives of the presidency, an agreement was finally reached that the demands of the strikers at the Batër mine were justified and therefore should be met. Thus, the government remembered the problem of the Batër miners’ demands only when they were threatened with death in the depths of the galleries. The miners were told that their wages would be increased by 50 percent, calculated from 1 January. Their pay was brought into line with that of the Bulqizë workers, as the strikers had demanded. According to the government team’s statement, all the enterprise’s debts had been forgiven and it would start afresh. Repairs and the operation of the mecave, requests for clothing, work equipment, etc., would be fully met by the end of July. This was declared to the strikers. Thus, their demands were considered fulfilled. Yesterday, the completion of the wage boards began, marking the concrete fulfillment of one of the demands. (Continued on page 3) 2)

concluded its visit. At the invitation of the Eurosocialist Youth of Albania, a large delegation of the Socialist Youth of the European Union (ECOSY), led by Philip Cordery, Secretary General of ECOSY (French Socialist Youth), and Reinkold Rynker, President of ECOSY (German Social Democratic Youth), made an official visit to our country from 21 to 23 June. The delegation also included ECOSY Bureau members Martin Guillermo (Spanish Socialist Youth), Jakob Tiegte (Danish Social Democratic Youth), Vinicio Pellulo (Italian left-wing social democratic youth), Kostas Stratikopoulos and Makis Tselentis (Greek Socialist Youth—. During its stay in our country, the ECOSY delegation held meetings with representatives of various parliamentary forces and political youth organizations. On 22 June, the ECOSY delegation was received at the People’s Assembly by the Deputy Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Mr. Shaqir Vukaj. Also on 22 June, an extended meeting with the Eurosocialist Youth was held at the Palace of Congresses. Yesterday, the ECOSY delegation left our country; at Rinas airport, it was seen off by leaders of the Eurosocialist Youth of Albania. from leaders of the Eurosocialist Youth of Albania. FRESSH Spokesperson

Vallës: Hunger strike warning - The government must intervene immediately to resolve their problems, in order to avert the hunger strike and ensure that the miners’ lives are not put at risk. Yesterday, an open letter arrived at our newspaper’s editorial office from several former miners of the “Demokracia” mine in Valias, addressed to the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, the Prime Minister, Aleksandër Meksi, and the Speaker of Parliament, Pjetër Arbnori. It sets out their extremely difficult circumstances, and they also put forward several economic demands to overcome them, expressing solidarity with the demands of the Batres hunger strikers. If the government does not take them into consideration, the former miners are threatening a hunger strike. But what do the miners say? We who are writing to you are former miners of the Valias coal mine in Tirana; today we are unemployed. Gentlemen in power, We miners of Valias, Tirana, were among the first to find ourselves at the forefront of the democratic movement in Albania; we were the ones who supported you in all the demonstrations and in the great democratic movement. It was you who promised us at rallies that the miners of Valias would be sent abroad to emigrate; it was you who promised us that prosperity would increase; it was you who promised us that life would become happy; it was you who promised us that the Valias plain would be filled with cars; it was you who promised us that prices would not change; it was you who promised us there would be peace and security; it was you who promised us that the price of bread would not rise; it was you who promised us so many things that we cannot list them all. Gentlemen in power, We former miners of the Valias mine are now unemployed and wandering the streets of Tirana. We cannot find work; our family income is zero. Prices are now where they are, and we cannot afford even those as they stand. (Continued on page 3)

The Albanian president’s press office makes no comment. The BBC correspondent in Albania, in the broadcast dated 22 June, reported a letter from U.S. President Clinton sent to Albanian President Sali Berisha. According to this correspondent, whose source of information was not specified, the letter concerned reducing tensions in “Albanian-Greek relations,” something that ... something that constituted common ground, also mentioning the problems of the Greek minority in Albania. Asked about this letter, the press spokesperson at the Presidency, Mr. Genti Pollo, told the newspaper: “We do not comment on this matter.”

From the remote mountainous region of Dukagjin, we have received news of a tragic incident that occurred in recent days in the village of Brashtë, in the municipality of Shosh. Gjelosh Micani, the father of 15 children, was shot dead with an automatic weapon as he was returning home from his field. In fact, the perpetrator of this murder, which deeply shocked all the inhabitants of the Dukagjin region, is not known with certainty. However, many people from Dukagjin link it to a blood feud involving his father dating back to 1935, noting that they have often heard this feud mentioned over the past few months, now 50 years later. “Zëri i popullit” correspondent

For two weeks, Socialist deputies have had a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister of Albania before Parliament. A heavy burden of responsibility for the current economic, political and social situation rests on the Prime Minister’s shoulders. His cup of responsibility overflowed with the election scandal in Libofshë. Socialist deputies were knocked down, representatives of the Socialist Party were beaten during the elections, the people of an entire area were terrorized, and so on. This entire major crime was planned and carried out by known people wielding power. The Prime Minister remains silent about all this, pretending to know nothing! Holding them legally accountable (Continued on page 2)

As far back as 7 June 1994, the PS parliamentary group sent a letter to the head of state, Mr. Berisha. The letter reads: “Mr. President, You know that on 29 May 1994, six deputies were attacked in Libofshë. You know that on 29 May, six deputies were forcibly abducted and taken out of Libofshë under threat. You know that on 29 May 1994, the constitutional rights of representatives of the highest state authority were violated. You know that after the abduction of the deputies, an entire municipality was terrorized. You know that in this way free elections were violated. You know that all of this constitutes a serious violation of the Constitutional Order of the Republic, for which you are directly responsible. We have asked you to make a public statement and take action on this matter in your capacity as guarantor of the observance of constitutional law. We await your reply. But the president is still silent. Why, one wonders? It is difficult to explain the silence. Then one is compelled to quote Albania: ‘The mill does not grind in the king’s courtyard.’”

A verdict is expected for former senior officials of the party and the one-party state At yesterday’s hearing in the trial of former senior party and state officials ... and the investigation proceeded with ... the final statements of the defendants. As ... the defense presented by the lawyers and the final words of the ... the proceedings once again repeated ... the course of the first hearing, where the charges were not admitted. We will bring you a report on this hearing in tomorrow’s issue. “Zëri i Popullit” correspondent

The Socialist Party’s deputy chairman, Luan Hajdaraga, speaks in Parliament You are determined to follow the path of lawlessness... ... and to use the Albanian army as in third-world countries, or to go so far as to use it to seize power, turning it into a means of holding on to power at all costs. Mr. Minister, After listening carefully to your reply, I am compelled to state the following: In my capacity as a member of Parliament, acquired through the Ministry of Defense, I make a clear, complete and accurate statement before Parliament about what happened in Zal-Herr, where, according to our judgment based on facts, the army was used as a tool to manipulate the elections, causing an incident of ... proportions. The military were ... those institutions ... to uphold the constitutional order. I ask you: in what capacity did you, as minister, member of parliament, the defense committee, SHIK and ... Tiranë, Librazhd, etc. The electoral law requires soldiers to vote in the area where they reside, whereas the 857 soldiers were only ... They were brought there under an order of yours stipulating that they leave on 2 June. In fact, they left on 6 June after voting in the second round on 5 June. That order did not provide for the possibility of a runoff. 2. You can verify at the command of unit 1005 that the certificate stating that they are personnel of this unit is nothing but a forgery. Even an ordinary corporal can easily establish today that ... of the 857 voters over the two consecutive weeks were no longer at that unit. Those responsible for this forgery must ... be held accountable. 3. The voters’ list ..., which was published 15 days before the elections, while it was published only 3 days before ... (Continued on page 3)

Of the General Presidium of the SBPMPGJPSH To clarify matters for the national and international public, and for Albania’s trade union and political forces, the General Presidium of the SBP-GJPSH is making statements in all print and mass media to tell the truth about the reasons and lack of reasons that led to the miners’ strike at the Krastë Chrome Mine. Based on the demands made from the beginning of January 1994 until today by the Krastë Miners’ Union and the presidium of the MAT Union, the General Presidium

Of the L.P.S.SH. On 19 June, the Presidium of the General Union of Albanian Trade Unions contacted the strike committee of the chrome mine in Krastë, where it learned of the demands of the hunger strikers whose strike had begun on 18 June. The Union’s Presidium intervened in support of their rights and, within the framework of every national and international democratic law, [supported] all the points set out in the petition addressed to the Government. Finally, on 20.06.1994, the coordinating body of the General Union of Albanian Trade Unions met and, on the basis of proposals also made by the Trade Unions of the Re- (Continued on page 2)