We had heard the expression that with this people you can carry out any kind of experiment. We had heard it, but we had not believed it, and we do not believe it. Nevertheless, there are people who do believe it. The first is the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha. A few days ago, he floated the idea of a Constituent Assembly to be created by his decree, to approve the constitution. Anyone who knows even a little about the issue of approving the Constitution in Albania immediately understands that this decree expresses unparalleled arrogance and feudal chieftainism; it is extreme cynicism and shameless hypocrisy. It is arrogance and feudal chieftainism because only a person with this mentality could demand and undertake to have people openly violate the Constitutional Provisions. These Provisions, approved before 22 March, give the current parliament the important authority to approve the Constitution of Albania. This is enshrined, and you all know it. Berisha knows it, Selami knows it, and Zef Brozi knows it too. To violate this fundamental law means being inspired by the psychology of an absolute monarch and going hundreds of years back to the practice of «I am the State». The president’s proposal to create a Constituent Assembly by his decree is open cynicism because it is this president and the group that still continues to call itself the Democratic Party who, before coming to power, elevated «democracy» to the rank of a goddess. And they are the ones mocking this goddess today. It is hypocrisy because the President of the Republic and his spokesmen and their spokesmen justify it by claiming great concern to have the Constitution approved as soon as possible. People have had plenty of time to see how much they care about this constitution. The Constitution should have been approved a long time ago. Albania should have been admitted to the Council of Europe. Zef Brozi: «…There is a very great conflict of wills in parliament. I am convinced that if it is left to parliament alone, the constitution may not be approved, or may never be made, and thirdly, as regards the majority of its articles, it will be a constitution that does not meet the demands of the times…» Simply put: a two-thirds majority is needed. In today’s parliament, elected by the people, the DP cannot attain this. So two thirds must be secured. But this time not by the people’s vote, but by the president’s will. It is that president and his staff who decide by name which journalist should attend his press conferences and which should not—so why would he not also decide as he pleases who will be part of the Constituent Assembly? says Zef Brozi. Very good. This is the ideal moment to approve the constitution. Let this constitution emerge from the clash of these wills in parliament. Constitutions are not yokes that parties in power put on their opponents. Constitutions are social contracts. Let the parliamentary forces make mutual concessions so that a constitution can be reached that satisfies everyone. According to Zef Brozi, with the current parliament alone a Constitution will be made that does not meet the demands of the times. So it turns out that a modern constitution can be made only when there are no «conflicts of wills», when those approving the constitution are simply bewildered chickens whom their shepherd drives wherever he wants. «The parliamentary opposition forces,» says Eduard Selami, «are seeking to postpone the issue of the Constitution for narrow party interests.» They also want to claim authorship of its drafting. Truly childish logic! As if authorship belongs to me and not to you! When it is known that a constitution is not made by one party and is not made for one party. The Constitution is Albania’s. But Selami sees this; his concern is not simply authorship, but the “copyright” to the constitution. The DP wants at all costs to have the first and last word on the constitution. It is the same mentality that gave birth to Libofshë, and no one knows what else it will bring. Nevertheless, I still do not want to believe that the president is serious. I wish to believe that he cannot commit such arbitrary violations of universally known and accepted standards of democracy. I suspect that the decree in question is a game by the president to test the waters. Otherwise, it would be a very great calamity for Albania. BEQIR SKRELI significant. And they are the ones who today mock this goddess. his deputy’s deputy justify it by claiming to be deeply concerned that the Constitution be approved as soon as possible. People have had enough time to see how much they really in good time. But the Democratic Party sabotaged this, because at its core it is not for democracy but for dictatorship; it is not for the rule of law but for the arbitrariness of the ruling clique. The DP delayed approval of the constitution for as long as it could, until the rice pilaf could hold no more water. Now the people are demanding it, and Europe is demanding it too. The DP is in trouble. In the current parliament, which legally has all the powers to approve it, the DP cannot get a constitution approved exactly as it wants. Berisha no longer has two-thirds of the deputies lined up behind him; the snake in his enclosure has gone rotten. In its struggle to rule Albania, the DP gradually lost itself. Everyone knows this, and Berisha knows it better than anyone. Here is what the chairman of the Court of Cassation says,

Yesterday, Tirana prosecutor Arben Qeleshi sought 41 years in prison as the sentence for the five members of the Greek minority in the trial that began about 15 days ago on charges of high treason against the Fatherland. THE TRIAL OF THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE GREEK MINORITY RESUMED Prosecution sought minimum sentence of 41 years in prison for the five members of the Greek minority – The case file will be sent to the international court in The Hague for proceedings against Asfalia, the Aid Institute, the Vorioepirote Research Institute, SEVA and other Greek organizations – Yesterday, Tirana prosecutor Arben Qeleshi sought 41 years in prison as the sentence for the five members of the Greek minority in the trial that began about 15 days ago on charges of high treason against the Fatherland, later changed to «espionage». Nothing was unexpected yesterday regarding the prosecutors’ request that the five be found guilty, except for the sentences sought by Qeleshi. He asked the court, when delivering its verdict, to take into account Article 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the minimum penalties stipulated for the offenses committed, because the old Penal Code has excessive penalties. On this basis, three of the accused have, according to the prosecution, committed two criminal offenses—the sentences sought by Qeleshi—at the minimum of ten years in prison, the minimum provided for in one [unclear]; and concurrently V. Papakristo 8 years; Th. Behani 9 years; P. Marto 7 years; K. Qibani 8 years; I. Simo 9 years. Prosecutor Qeleshi sought these sentences as punishment for the offenses committed by the defendants, consisting of «Treason against the Fatherland in the form of carrying out orders from foreign intelligence» and «unlicensed possession of weapons». At the outset of his closing argument, Qeleshi said that the charge had been proven in the course of the judicial investigation, stating that the Greek secret service «Kret Greek “Asfa”» had carried out criminal activity, in the service of which the defendants had been placed, seriously harming Albania’s national interests. Qeleshi discussed each accused and his involvement. V. Papakristo, secretary general of «Omonia», he said, had engaged in extensive activity through meetings with «Alfa», the «Vorioepirote Research Institute», etc., where he received instructions and guidance and the structure of «Omonia», with the aim of turning it into a small Government. According to the closing argument read by Qeleshi, Theodhori Beziani had also had numerous contacts and exchanges with «Alfa» employees, from whom he obtained the plan for turning «Omonia» into a small Government. According to Qeleshi, this same accused had received from «Asfalia» the platform of demands that «Omonia» had addressed to the Albanian Government. Qeleshi also listed as proven, in relation to Beziani, the charge of arming the minority. «Arming members of the minority with hunting weapons was not Beziani’s own idea, but came from Asfalia for arming the loyal supporters of Vorioepir in the minority,» Qeleshi said. Regarding Palëraj Marto, Qeleshi also said that the criminal offense of which he was accused had been proven. According to Qeleshi, he had contacts with Kosta Vrako and had given him details about the situation in Delvinë, as well as, in September ’92, information about officers dismissed in the reform. «Although they belonged to the officers, Vraka did not take it; Marto,» Qeleshi said, «has committed the criminal offense of espionage.» «Kosta Qiriako gave explanations at the “Asfalia” offices about the officers within his knowledge,» Qeleshi said, and, moving on to the next accused: He received instructions from Asfalia and drew up a list of 20 people to be armed as loyal supporters of Vorioepir. (Continued on page 4)

The prosecutor is caught «red-handed», the trial panel lets the «class» off and sentences a driver and a “hawk” to 4 months in prison each, while holding state bodies responsible for allowing the smuggling. – The prosecutor is caught «red-handed», the trial panel lets the «class» off and sentences a driver and a “hawk” to 4 months in prison each, while holding state bodies responsible for allowing the smuggling – On Friday and Saturday, at the Shkodër court, the military trial panel presided over by Mr. Xhevahir Çela heard the case against defendants Fejzi Tahiri, a guard at the Morina border post, and the drivers Beqir Bezha-Bezhani, Ismail Bylku, Mustafa Balln, Isuf Jançe from Elbasan, Romeo Iamçe from Vlora, and Shpëtim Mahmutaj from Fier. All were arrested on 8 May this year for smuggling fuel across the border. Reading the charge, military prosecutor Gjin Leka stated that all of them were accused of committing the criminal offense of large-scale smuggling in collaboration with one another. Fejzi Tahiri was also charged with violating the rules of guard duty. According to the prosecutor, the charge concerned taking fuel to Montenegro through the Morigan border post. On 29 April, they had all loaded fuel into their tanker trucks at the Meznit well in Vlora, at different times during the day. They had collected the fuel from the company “Ringjallja” on behalf of the company “Mandi” in Shkodër. According to the prosecutor’s charge, Bujar Çoba represented the company “Mandi” in this operation. But the prosecutor stressed that the fuel had not gone to the company for which it had supposedly been dispatched: the tankers had come as far as the Buna Bridge, then turned off towards Morigan and crossed the border. According to him, everything was done at night. Their return was also made at night, six days later, from the Morigan post, and they came back to Shkodër; on 6 May, at about 6:30, they were caught at the entrance to Lezhë. He also presented documents showing that fuel had been dispatched from “Ringjallja” in Vlora, but that no delivery documents could be found in Shkodër, for which the employee of “Mandi”, Angjelina Ujka, was held responsible. The drivers, after stating that they did not know one another and had not met on the way, said that they had experienced numerous breakdowns. They stressed that they had unloaded the fuel in Barbullush, Bërdicë, and one of them at the stadium in town. They said that the person in charge of the “Mandi” company, Bujar Çoba, knew about this; he had met them in Bushat at different times on those days and accompanied them to these locations. He also had the documentation, in accordance with the contract, as the drivers believed they were merely transporters and that their payment for this came from the “Ringjallja” company. The prosecutor was caught «red-handed» because the soldier Leka Ndoja, who had testified four months earlier about the tankers crossing the border and returning, was absent from the trial. He had been held for several days at the police station, for reasons unknown, but instead of returning to his post to perform his duties, he had taken off for Greece! The witnesses Rasim Kurti and Kastrit Kela, both during the investigation and at trial, named Mr. Hamdi Shullani, the criminal police inspector for the Oblikë area, as the person who had helped to… (Continued on page 3) On Friday, after 6 days, the employees, drivers and company were arrested in the city of Shkodër; this followed a year-long investigation, as emerged from the trial, where the party ... (continued)

Kapshnicë Last winter, in a situation similar to the present one, during the mass return of Albanian refugees at Kapshnica, one fine day the TVPD cameras also turned up. Among all those interviewed, the customs cook appeared too, playing the role of a refugee and making sarcastic remarks about the Greek wine of the time; to his misfortune, and to the irony of those interviewing him, besides making his own belly—and half of Korçë—laugh. But at least then the television stations came and gathered some opinions, whereas this time the propaganda assault unit was left flat on the ground. And they have been let loose around Tirana, enjoying their freshly supplied opinions. It is real chaos, a political riddle born of the incompetence of our government officials. This one who wanted to beat and must ... left it to others on his coat. Korçë and… while a large number of Korçë’s citizens have found work in Greece, many others travel back and forth across the border, and a considerable number of Greek businesspeople have also started various production activities in Korçë. And now a day comes when everything is put at risk by the protagonists of the end of isolation and the authors of the doors being flung open. Everything is now in a tangle. Large military forces have been concentrated on both sides of the border. The Greek border has ... special forces, while at the Kapshticë customs point the line of people returning never ends. Here, yes, here the opinions are real, tangible and painful, far from any subjectivism, the bad things much more fully realized than those of TVPD. We approach a group of people who have just returned. They are from Ballsh, Berat and Vlora, from all over Albania. One of them, Alush Olldashi, spent three months in Greece, far, very far away, in a town near the border with Bulgaria. “I had valid documents,” he says, “but nobody cared.” The purge is merciless. The rounding up of refugees began among the mass populations. According to the Blitz law-enforcement authorities, the return of refugees, whom throughout all these days ... has increased. Now even children are returning, children over whom until now ... (Continued on page 2)

– A meeting was held these days at the Tirana Electricity Enterprise on the supply of electricity during the winter, attended by managers of the Albanian Electro-Energy Corporation and Minister Xhaja. Meanwhile, these days faults in the electrical grid have interrupted the electricity supply; there is a shortage of firewood, while the supply of firewood and bread is [unclear] for residents of thousands of areas of Tirana and Durrës. – At the Albanian joint venture «Albania Elektron», production has been increased and 1,000 ... (of it) have so far been produced and placed in storage, averaging 6,000 ... The surrounding areas, because of the lack of electricity on the first day those programmes were broadcast, did not have the opportunity to appreciate the skill and professionalism of the people who made them. But thank goodness someone valued them as equivalent to ... and saws, so we got to see them again. But, frankly, far be it from political passion to ...; in the healthy public opinion of Korçë they have had an effect entirely opposite to what their makers hoped to achieve. And that is understandable, for...

= Haxhi Lleshi, the antifascist hero of the Second World War, after staying for 9 months in his birthplace, Dibër e Madhe, returns to his homeland and declares: «Dibër e Madhe, my birthplace, cannot be a place of “amrratje”. For Haxhi Lleshi there is only one birthplace—a piece of land in my country.» = Attention! Twelve people are coming from emigration, bringing money but also diseases. They pass through the area towards Gjirokastër, then on to other districts of the country...

= The first week of the 50th national football championship produced these results: Besëlidhja-Partizani 0:2, Elbasani-Flamurtari 0:0, Teuta-Laçi 2:0, Tomori-Besa 2:2, Lushnja-Vllaznia 1:0, Shkumbini-Albpetrol 1:1, Dinamo-Apolonia 0:2. * * * = Around 70 million lekë: residents of the Tropoja villages are seeking compensation for land lost in the five floods that occurred in previous years, which are not covered by the Council of Ministers’ decision on flooding caused by hydroelectric power plants. = When Kola and Eqerem-Kavaj...

= Around 70 families from the villages of ... (cut off/unclear section) = The elms of Elbasan, after the pleasure ... (unclear section) ... (Continued on page 2)

= Sad news spread in Korçë at the end of last week: a 24-year-old nurse was found dead in a bathtub at the city hospital after, it is said, taking a high dose of narcotics. = Work is expected to resume on the construction of the handball stadium in the city of Shkodër, begun four years ago but halted for lack of funds. = Painters, sculptors and other artists in Tirana, in a petition addressed to the president, the prime minister and the mayor of Tirana ...

= Their concern is that they are being terrorized in front of the Art Gallery by kiosks built without any planning. * * * - After a conflict and a fight between two groups of fellow passengers in a train carriage from Milan, a 32-year-old Albanian, Shyqyri Krasniqi, was found murdered. The local police’s version is that prostitution was the cause of this murder. * * * - The Albanian bank faces a major concern: loans amounting to hundreds of thousands of lekë have not been repaid by various private entities, and the figures keep rising.

Should we drink or not drink soft drinks? The controversy between health specialists and the financial police, aired on TV in recent days, about the health risk to consumers from soft drinks imported from Eastern countries, mainly Bulgaria, has worried Albanian consumers. Thousands upon thousands of consumers have contacted the Consumers’ Association and rightly want to know the real risk posed by these soft drinks, which were discussed at length on TV and have also been written about in our [unclear]… As both TV and the press report, this issue has been under discussion for more than two years, and various meetings have been held about it. Neither consumers nor our association know of any information having been provided or any measures having been taken to seek clarification from the manufacturers. Why have these bodies remained silent for so long instead of denouncing this trade and putting a stop to it? How could our authorities have failed to notice the falsification of the label on one of the essences being sold, which says in English: “Contains saccharin, the use of which stimulates cancerous diseases”? (Continued on page 3)