Tirana: THE GROWTH OF THE SPA—A SIGNIFICANT INDICATION THAT IT IS A PARTY OF YOUNG PEOPLE Dr. SERVET PELLUMBI: — We will continue to call for early elections, in Parliament and outside it. The SP is not a party of backroom dealings and secret alliances. It has no kind of agreement with the DP. FATOS NANO IS COMPLETELY INNOCENT AND HAS BEEN CONVICTED FOR POLITICAL REASONS. WE HAVE UNANIMOUSLY TAKEN A VERY CLEAR AND FIRM POSITION ON THIS ISSUE, HAVING CONSIDERED THE “NANO CASE” A MATTER OF principle for the present and future of democracy.

. In its usual course, but in an extremely tense situation, the Tirana city PS Conference met yesterday morning. The capital’s socialists analyzed the party’s work and condition, identifying achievements and shortcomings, assigning responsibilities and presenting alternatives, all viewed in light of an overall assessment of the country’s political situation. The conference was opened by Spartak Poci, deputy chairman of PS Tirana, who gave the floor to the Euro-socialist Gjin Shqal(s)i to read the greeting sent from prison by PS chairman Fatos Nano. The greeting from political prisoner Fatos Nano was marked by his message, “Let us liberate the future from the demons of the past,” as well as his repeated calls for his freedom to be demanded. Next, Luan Shabani, chairman, delivered the report on behalf of the KD. Blaming the policies pursued by the Berisha regime, the report gave concrete figures characterizing the economic situation and the [?] situation resulting from this regime’s policies: prices had risen more than tenfold, real wages had fallen almost threefold, unemployment stood at a high 40 percent, industrial output had plunged to 14 percent of GDP, the budget deficit had deepened to 27 billion lekë, and external debt had risen to 1 billion dollars. These figures lay bare the economic crisis; like those in other Eastern European countries, they show that the right-wing government has failed. The report stressed that the disappointment of broad sections of the population was immense and ready to spill into the streets of Tirana in protest against the government and the DP’s rule as a whole. Analyzing the activities of the capital’s PS, it was emphasized that it had sought to expand throughout the country, conveying the messages of a strong and constructive opposition and optimism about the socialists’ victory, also encouraged by the growth of the left in the East and of social-democratic movements in various countries of Western Europe [?]. Turning to the state of the party, the report noted that between the two conferences there had been 730 new members, of whom 140 percent [?] were [?] during this year. Mass actions achieved by the entire PS. Traditional mass actions against the DP’s rule; here, 11 of our [?] were [?] with the dispersal of the squares by the police, with the arrest and imprisonment of innocent people, thereby seriously violating the fundamental rights of [?] peaceful gatherings and meetings. A progressive and cultured regime, it was stressed in the report, recognizes these fundamental rights and freedoms everywhere in the world; today they are being denied, so we must move resolutely along this familiar path, using every form of democratic struggle. On the matter of Fatos Nano, the report stressed that the case had been taken up by international bodies and forums, including the European Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, as well as by international political figures. They fully recognize the justice of the position taken by the PS and of the petition signed by 700,000 Albanian citizens demanding the release of political prisoner Fatos Nano. The report also highlighted issues such as improving the age structure, considered a weak point of our organization, and building closer ties between the PS, as an electoral party, and all sections of the population. “The term ‘transition’ is being used to justify everything: crime, murder, theft, mass plunder of property, bribery; the panorama is deteriorating by the year,” said Dr. Rexhep Çuko in his remarks. He focused on the discrimination against intellectuals, especially those on the left, with a typical case being discrimination—

(Greeting from PSSH Chairman Fatos Nano addressed to the Conference of the capital’s socialists) Sisters and brothers, socialists of the Capital. Fellow fighters for democracy. Sisters and brothers, socialists of the Capital. Fellow fighters for democracy. Greetings, and good work! You have made it a tradition to invite the PSSH chairman every year to the Conferences and events of the Tirana Party. And I have never avoided this important meeting—not even on the day of my arbitrary arrest while on duty, on 30 July last year, immediately after your Conference. That day and afterward, you knew how to respond to this serious political provocation and to all the police repression and state violence that followed. Therefore, today I have the honor and duty, on behalf of the entire party, to greet you from the cells of Berisha’s prison regime, congratulating you on expanding your party’s social base and on its organization and rebuilding. Once again, institutions have been turned into instruments of political subjugation and conflict with the majority; and, in the face of their abuse by selected clans of loyal “collaborators,” the modern separation and independence of powers in a state governed by law remains a totalitarian slogan. Can any Albanian citizen have confidence in today’s state institutions, which call themselves democratic, when even the President of the Republic does not trust them, and, through a presidential “guard” of several dozen loyalists, monitors and tutelages the work of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, acting as a “state within a state”? This institutional crisis, which encompasses everything taking place under today’s regime, will continue as long as such a lie remains without a constitution, while… the important meeting here, duty, on July 30 of last year, immediately after your Conference. You knew how to respond, that day and thereafter, to this grave political provocation and today I have the honor and the from the cells of Berisha’s “prison-regime,” congratulating you on the expansion and growth of our political, organizational, and electoral strength in the capital, and wishing you further success for the good of democracy! Everything that we socialists, as fighters for democracy and national interests, warned about a year ago, when we called for a change in the PD government’s adventurous course, has unfortunately come true. The so-called reforms of the Meksi government not only failed to halt the crisis, but institutionalized it, completely distorting the democratic transition of Albanian society and compromising our prospects for European integration. Just a few days ago, in this very hall, the “Berisha regime’s” inability to build genuine institutions for a market economy and civil society in Albania was once again on display: the folly of the reform adventure and state crime were once again defended; the latter now extends from the theft of votes to the plundering of the people’s wealth by a handful of unaccountable rulers. Once again, as in the days of the communist dictatorship, demagoguery covered up failure, and institutions of violence were presented as “monuments to freedom”! The so-called macroeconomic reform and stabilization, insofar as it does not support the creation and growth of new value in national production by activating the country’s material and human potential, remains nothing but a repressive mechanism for fiscal balancing, intended to absorb financial flows from emigrants and centralize in the budget the resources on which peasants and city dwellers survive, forcing them to pay once again for the land and buildings they themselves created over decades, which the “democratic government gave them free of charge as property.” Therefore, the so-called “record economic growth” being publicized is not reflected in citizens’ incomes, but only in government finances, whose misuse is now well known, from the “Arsidi scandal” to the latest municipal elections. And everywhere, a government that impoverishes its own citizens is a government of failure, not success! The so-called civil liberties and universal rights, which today’s regime grants or brutally violates with the same political fear used by yesterday’s totalitarian regime in the freedom of classes, have in fact turned the Albanian constitutional Charter of fundamental freedoms and human rights into a worthless piece of paper for the majority. Thus, “hardly anyone can put faith in these other things,” given the regime’s record! The institutions of the new democratic state are sh— [The present-day state institutions, which call themselves democratic, when even the Presidency of the Republic itself does not trust them, and uses a presidential “guard” of several dozen loyalists to monitor and intimidate which encompasses everything happening under today’s regime, will continue as long as the country is deliberately left without a constitution and deliberately kept outside Europe’s democratic institutions, to which, just as yesterday, it is arrogantly said, “do not interfere in the internal affairs” of a regime that violates the democratic conventions it has joined! In these circumstances, when even the national question continues to be exploited, were we socialists not right—and are we not still right—to warn, while opposing this adventurous course of governing the country and the official foreign policy of “wide-open doors,” about the dangers of neototalitarianism, the country’s isolation, and Albania’s unworthy representation in the post-Cold War order? Are these not borne out by the latest reports and resolutions of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the US State Department, the International Helsinki Federation, Amnesty International, etc.? Or must we wait for the CSCE to comment on this situation as well? Are Albanian socialists not right to join the nationwide demand for early elections, when, among other things, Albania continues to be governed and represented by people who reduce cooperation and partnership agreements with the United States, Europe’s most developed countries, the EU, and NATO to preferential relations with South Carolina, a “military unit” that we declare to be Albania’s “main partner,” thereby devaluing even our relations with the Pentagon and the White House? Therefore, today, with great courage, socialists are right not to retreat, but to fight for the advancement and implementation of their alternatives for the democratization and Europeanization of Albania. The PSSH is historically “condemned” to follow the present-day caste of PD adventurers at every step, to stay the hand of state crime, and to prevent and correct the grievous blows they are inflicting on democracy and the Nation! And since the “heads of the adventure” are in Tirana, the PS-SH will focus its democratic and civic struggle in Tirana, to free our future from the demons of the past. Presidium, Socialist Party of Albania Presidium, Demoknacia [?] Presidium, Albanian People FATOS NANO, Chairman of the PSSH Tirana Prison, July 1, 1994

At the Council of Europe When will Albania have its new Constitution? — Interview with Namik Dokle, chairman of the SP parliamentary group — From 28 June to 1 July, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held its session, attended also by the delegation of the People’s Assembly. Our editor conducted a telephone interview with the member of the Albanian delegation and chairman of the SP parliamentary group, Namik Dokle. Question: What issues were discussed during the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe? — Many political, social and economic issues were discussed. Among the most important, I would mention the report on the activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the discussion on lifting the Greek embargo against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; the activities of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; and the release of several members of parliament arrested in Turkey, etc. Question: And Albania? Several meetings were held as part of the efforts to secure Albania’s membership in the Council of Europe. One of these was with the rapporteurs’ committee for Albania, chaired by Lord Finsberg. As is known, this committee came to Albania in April to examine the situation in the country. At this meeting, it raised several important issues, such as democracy, freedom of the press, the Nano case, etc. Question: Were these issues discussed? Yes. But the committee focused especially on Mr. Meksi’s answers. They were concerned that these answers contained no specific deadlines. They said they were well-disposed toward Albania, but that we too had to be clear with them. One of the rapporteurs focused particularly on the issue of the constitution. The committee also expressed surprise that no responses had been given to the comments made by the Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and the PAD. Question: In other words, when might Albania be admitted? The door is open, but political will and democratic standards are needed to cross the threshold. This will was expressed by President Berisha through the act of pardoning the four journalists, following four requests from the Council of Europe. But such will is also needed on other issues, especially the Constitution and the Nano case. Anyone who thinks Albania will be admitted to the Council of Europe without respecting European democratic standards is mistaken. To paraphrase a brilliant poet in a completely different sense, I would say that, for us, the gate of the Council of Europe bears the inscription: “Abandon all evil, you who enter.” This is the path toward joining democratic Europe. Question: And did you meet President Martinez? Yes, we met and had a very friendly and constructive conversation. As always, he is very interested in developments in Albania and remains a well-wisher and friend of the country.

. Yesterday morning, the Arab-Albanian Islamic Bank was inaugurated, the first bank of this kind with Arab countries. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Albanian President Sali Berisha and the president of the Islamic Bank and OPEC, Osama Faquih. Its lobby appears to be one of the most beautiful bank interiors in Albania. The bank will have authorized capital of 100 million dollars, while its current capital is 20 million dollars. The Albanian side owns 40 percent of the capital, while the rest belongs to partner Arab banks or various individuals. This bank is a banking enterprise [?]. Accounts can be opened in Albanian lekë or US dollars. The bank offers its clients all banking financial services, such as issuing letters of credit for exports and imports, letters of guarantee, checks, bills of exchange, transfers, etc. The bank’s board of directors consists of seven people, [?] representing the Albanian side, while the others are from Arab countries. The president of the Arab-Albanian Islamic Bank is the Saudi sheikh Solaiman El-Khereji, while the general manager is el Gharib Nasser from Egypt. So far, the bank has two financing projects ready: the construction of housing, worth 10 million dollars, and a 4.5-million-dollar project to finance a modern hospital in Durrës. This is the second joint bank to open its doors in Tirana, after the Italian-Albanian Bank. It appears to be one of the most beautiful bank premises in Albania. This owns 40 percent of the capital, while the remainder belongs to Arab partner banks or various individuals. This bank is a joint venture initially supported by the Bank of Albania and the Albanian Banking State. The bank will carry out banking and investment activities, as well as other financial services connected with industrial trade, tourism, real estate, house construction, etc. It is estimated that this bank will have 10 have authorized capital of 100 million dollars. The Islamic Bank of Albania is an Albanian bank. to Arab partner banks or various individuals.

On 29 June, on Durrës Street, two people around 30 years old drew a 14-year-old family [?] into a counterfeit-dollar scam, handing them a 50-dollar banknote in exchange for two shirts and 36,000 lekë (old lekë). Thinking they had fooled the two youngsters, the men went into a café in central Tirana to enjoy the day’s “catch.” Thanks to the children’s suspicions and their quick thinking in having the banknote checked immediately at the National Bank, the two swindlers were being pursued by the police within just four hours. The two children, angered by the counterfeiters’ scam, also joined the search and became the actual discoverers of their whereabouts. The two men, Kalo Kotani from Kukës and Sali Krasniqi from Kosovo, are now being held at Police Station 3, while the children Dritan Hysi and Ervin Kuka are celebrating their victory in this duel against the two counterfeiters.

An old car crashing through the wall of the German Embassy in July 1990 would have been enough to secure the date of the 2nd in the calendar of the era’s important events. With this step, Albania and its youth broke through, for the first time, the curtain that had surrounded them for decades. For some time, it had felt the July explosion building within it; it felt this [?] that grew more frightened of the next day with every passing day; the economy felt it too, declining further every day. The barometer indicated that a rapid rise was coming, one that would mark the date of 2 July 1990 as the beginning. Hundreds and thousands of people rushing and pushing to get through the gates of the embassies, climbing over the walls, and thousands more accompanying them with tears as they entered the “forbidden land,” marked the beginning of a great drama. Young men and women, adolescents and families embarked on the greatest journey of their lives, crossing the threshold of the [?]. With shoes on and tears [?] at this step, they were telling the violence that they would no longer accept it, and the future that they dreamed of a better and more beautiful life. It was precisely these thousands of young people who understood that they could no longer endure life surrounded by the walls of dictatorship. That night, a great crisis erupted within the state. The many signs that had appeared over time led to the breaking of its backbone. The state— (Continued on page 2)