Today, in Durrës, 30.7.94, at 18:30, in the square in front of the main entrance to the city stadium, at the peaceful rally organized by the Socialist Party, we call on you to join our voice in protest in defense of democracy, freedoms and human rights, and of PS chairman Fatos Nano. PS Steering Committee of Durrës

Peaceful Socialist Party rally in Tirana, attended by thousands The unjust arrest and sentencing of FATOS NANO filled the squares with protesters demanding: No more political trials or political prisoners in Albania; no revenge or retribution. The unjust arrest and sentencing of FATOS NANO filled the squares with protesters demanding: No more political trials or political prisoners in Albania; no revenge or retribution. Dozens of police vehicles, “IFA” trucks, filled with rapid-intervention forces, were stationed in every square and street of the capital. Instead of protecting the people, they are ready to turn against them. Three journalists from “Zëri i Popullit” were detained by police, once again gravely violating freedom of the press in Albania.

Thousands of members and supporters of the Socialist Party in the capital gathered yesterday afternoon in “A. L. Demi” Square at a rally whose motto was opposition to the methods the current authorities are using against freedom and fundamental human rights, exemplified by the arbitrary sentencing of the Socialist Party chairman and People’s Assembly deputy Fatos Nano. Veterans; young men and women, Eurosocialists, unemployed people, educated people and young people, etc., who headed yesterday afternoon toward “Ali Demi” Square; so- currently the authorities in Albania are harming democracy, trampling on person… (Continued on page 3)

NO TO SËRGJONI [?] POLITICAL [?] IN EUROSOCIAL... [?]

Speech by PS Deputy Chairman, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi Dear comrades, members and supporters of the Socialist Party! Citizens of Tirana! We have gathered here today, on the anniversary of the arrest of our Party’s chairman, deputy Fatos Nano, to join our voice in protest with the thousands and thousands of others throughout the country, to say “stop” to political revenge, to say “No” to a police state, and to demand that there be no more political prisoners. The three-tier judicial farce, which concluded yesterday and sentenced Fatos Nano, is a disgrace to Albanian justice and another step toward crowning a “strong-arm” regime that tramples on the independence of the third branch of government. We have gathered here to declare that in Albania there is … (Continued on page 2)

Speech by the chairman of the Tirana PS, Musa Ulqini Honored participants, In response to the call of the Steering Committee of the PS of the City of Tirana, you have come today to this square to join our protest in defense of freedoms and human rights, and of the opposition, so gravely trampled by Berisha’s regime. On behalf of the socialists of Tirana, I greet you and thank you for your participation. You have come here to this square in Tirana to show that the socialist opposition has nationwide popular support and to tell the party in power: whoever tampers with the opposition is tampering with democracy and the country’s destiny. We thank you once again for your support, which we greatly value. Brothers and sisters of the capital, For us socialists, the ideals of the December students are sacred, and true democracy is sacred. Therefore, today we are protesting here against… (Continued on page 2)

The police-state practices of today’s regime and cannibalism have reappeared, this time without the usual demagogic retouching of its pathologically devilish speeches. Yesterday, on July 29, in the afternoon, at around 5:20 p.m., as they were going to cover the lawful rally organized by the Socialist Party, the three journalists—Erion Braçe, Ardian Myslymi and Alfred Dalipi—were violently assaulted while carrying out the assignment given to them by the editorial office. They were detained, arrested and mistreated by police forces, who took them to Precinct No. 3, preventing them from carrying out their assigned duty. … against the journalist(s) … [the lower part of the column is damaged and illegible] We are all against the newspaper with… [illegible] … Albanian is neither a party nor… [illegible] … of freedoms and rights… … of the individual, against the political freedoms of the opposition and especially against the Socialist Party and the democratic press, (… the unrestrained campaign of slander and attacks, the imprisonment and sentencing of opponents of the chairman of the Socialist Party and people’s deputy Fatos Nano are a bitter reality that presents the true face of today’s state, whose fear and insecurity have institutionalized police violence and repression. But none of this frightens us. We will continue our just struggle for true freedom, for democracy and well-being, so that in Albania there will be no more political imprisonment or persecution, no violence against individual freedoms or freedom of the press, and …[?]

SOCIALIST PARTY PRESS CONFERENCE CHRONICLE Yesterday at 11:00, the Socialist Party of Albania held a press conference on the “Nano Case.” Representatives of various press organizations, journalists from foreign agencies, and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana attended. The conference was opened by Bashkim Zeneli, a member of the Party’s leadership and its spokesperson. At the beginning, a statement on behalf of the General Governing Committee of the Socialist Party was read. Then the Socialist Party’s deputy chairmen, Servet Pëllumbi and Luan Hajdaraga [?], welcomed the journalists’ questions. A year has passed since the day when Berisha’s regime, with a shameful, unconstitutional, and antidemocratic script, put Fatos Nano, chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania and a member of the People’s Assembly, in prison. After a propaganda racket stirred up unlawfully by the Democratic Party and its proxies, using fabricated accusations and immoral labels, the “Nano Case” was concocted as a case of one person’s corruption. But this year has clearly proved that the “Nano Case” is not a matter concerning one individual; today it is a problem for all Albania on its path to progress and democracy. Why was Fatos Nano arrested and put on trial? Because he is the leader of the Socialist Party of Albania, the largest and most influential opposition party in Albania. His arrest was a failed attempt to obstruct the growth and increasing authority and trust enjoyed by the Socialist Party among the Albanian electorate. The Socialist Party of Albania, with its chairman Fatos Nano and its political positions, supported by its policies, has gained growing credibility among Europe’s left-wing forces and established partnership relations with its counterparts in Europe. Adhering to its alternatives, which were founded on opposition to the installation of a neo-dictatorship in Albania, it has waged an uninterrupted struggle to prevent antidemocratic actions and violations of freedoms and human rights; it calls for a Constitution and respect for the rule of law; and it denounces, on every occasion, the mistaken and anti-popular steps taken by those in power in economic reform, social policy, privatization, and foreign policy, which have led to the undermining of national interests and the country’s isolation. Fatos Nano, at the head of the Socialist Party, has called for peace and national unity, and for dialogue to be established among Albania’s political forces, for…[?] (Continued on page 2)

(Photos: Armand Babani) The banner in the photograph reads: “LET US NOT TIGHTEN POLITICS IN SOCIETY” [?]