Constructive: THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY IS THE ONLY LEGISLATIVE BODY IN THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA — The President of the Republic may not violate the fundamental constitutional law. Otherwise, he is removed from office under the Main Constitutional Provisions. At the height of this summer’s scorching heat, precisely after a string of unfulfilled promises by the “MEKSI”-commission to bring the Draft Constitution to Parliament, and amid the systematic shining disregard for human rights and the political freedoms of the opposition, already accompanied by institutionalized state violence; in an exceedingly heated political climate, with disagreements within the country and with its neighbors; precisely when the Democratic Party government’s attack on the opposition echoes to the point of medieval madness, the idea is being served up of appointing the so-called Parliamentary Assembly by presidential decree, without its approval in Parliament by a two-thirds vote. The adoption of the Constitution of the Republic through a Parliamentary Assembly is one of the possible routes. But for this route to be legitimate, the final word—whether to approve it or not—must necessarily be spoken by Parlia- [cut] In this same chapter, the authority is enshrined under which the People’s Assembly adopts and amends the Constitution and laws. Does President Berisha know all this? Surely he does. Otherwise, what good is it to be President? But more than the Main Constitutional Provisions, Sali Berisha in fact has something else in mind, something more important to him, even if not to democracy and Albania’s progress. He knows well that the Party of which he is a member of the Presidium no longer has the two-thirds of the votes that would be essential in the Albanian Parliament. The person capable of bringing the parties to the negotiating table and securing the necessary consensus is nowhere to be found. So long live the decree! Because if the DP had two-thirds, there would be no talk at all of a Constituent Assembly. Nor would Skënder Gjinushi have been waited for, as in late March 1993, to come from Bulqiza and cast the decisive vote for the formal law on parties and fundamental freedoms. Albania has experienced this. The 50 years of totalitarian monism have not been forgotten. That is why the people voted for pluralist democracy, the rule of law, and respect for individual rights and freedoms. They voted neither for monarchy, nor parliamentarism, nor presidentialism. More than anyone else, the President wants this, just as he ought to know that under Article 27 of his political code the PD is removed from office when it commits the crime of treason against the homeland or violates the Main Constitutional Provisions. He should also know that Article 28, point 1, states: “The President of the Republic has the following main powers: 1. He ensures respect for this law (the reference is always to the Main Constitutional Provisions, editor’s note), other laws, and the rights and freedoms of citizens.” The opposition’s constructive mission does not allow us to support a party’s mistaken idea: appointing the Assembly by presidential decree, as the Democratic Party and some scribblers of nonsense, self-styled historians, are doing. Sali Berisha has indeed called the Socialists his enemies, but we do not respond in kind. We demand that he observe the laws for which the Main Constitutional Provisions make him the guarantor. The history of Albania does not end with the decree establishing the Constituent Assembly. adoption by presidential decree, without being approved in Parliament by two-thirds of the votes of the so-called Parliamentary Assembly. The adoption of the Constitution of the Republic by means of the this route to be legitimate, the final word must necessarily be spoken by the majority—or, rather, by the Parliament of Albania, elected democratically after the multiparty elections of 22 March 1992. Under the main constitutional provisions that make up Albania’s interim Constitution, nobody other than Parliament, the highest body of state power, may exercise the powers of the legislative body. Article 15 of these provisions, in Chapter Two, says it all clearly and plainly. Yet this is not only for legal specialists to understand, but for everyone with even a little sense in their head, including those who have completed just two or three grades of primary school: Article 16, paragraph 2. capable of giving parliaments, as they say, the opportunity for discussion and of securing the necessary consensus, is not. So long live the decree! Because if the PD a Constituent Assembly. Nor would Skënder Gjinushi have tried, at the end of March 1993, to come all the way from Bulqiza to cast his vote for the formal law on fundamental human rights and freedoms; nor would President Berisha himself have gone to Dropull to seek the votes of the minority MPs. It is the President’s right to initiate the creation of a Constituent Assembly, but it is Parliament’s duty to approve it with a two-thirds majority. Only in this way will the Assembly be legitimate. The Democratic Party, discredited in the eyes of the people, is right when it misinterprets the President’s idea. The general confusion that has overtaken it drives it down such paths, with serious consequences for democracy and for the country’s future. But if the matter is about ...

We will describe a few scenes involving large numbers of police, which took place a few days ago in the plain of Lazarat, the village neighboring Gjirokastër. It is Sunday, and apparently the law-enforcement authorities do not want to let the day pass without an incident. A policeman has a verbal altercation with a young man from the family that owns one of the village’s cafés. Since words do not convince him, the policeman draws his revolver with ease and wounds the young man in the leg. He is pushed and dragged off to the police station headed by a DP police chief. The astonished and outraged family blocks the road. Other villagers join them (they are no strangers to this experience: it happened not long ago, almost in this very place, when law-enforcement officers and villagers confronted the entire state, with its Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Public Order). A SHIK employee arrives to assess and unblock the situation. Unable to convince the people, he starts eating his words, then gives way in village fashion. Time passes. The villagers say they will not open the road unless the police-station chief and the Minister of Public Order arrive (by helicopter). Nothing appears in the sky over the city or the villages. The prefect and the chairman of the Gjirokastër district council arrive, trying to get into town. At first they are not allowed through. A little later the village lads let them pass, but by another road, not the main road. The scenes acquire further details, including international ones. A group of Greek citizens want to enter the city. They are not allowed. As in previous reports, the Greek consul in Gjirokastër comes out on the other side of the barricade—not with [unclear], and the Greek citizens pass by the back road, along with the prefect and the district council chairman and the others. Late in the afternoon, the road opens. A line of cars stretches from Gjirokastër to Dervican. Two moments: Derviçan. Two moments: 1. Around 11:30, a convoy approaches, carrying someone who has died in Corfu, with others in three cars behind. The young men rush over and pull away the logs; the road opens immediately and the villagers tell the family: accept our condolences. 2. All this takes place without the police, whose only role in this whole scenario is to push people back with bullets. THANAS DINO

Party Issues With the new elections held recently at the district conferences, the composition of the Leading Committees of the Socialist Party was renewed to a considerable extent, by around 41 percent. New people have also joined these important leadership bodies: people with higher educational and cultural levels and broader experience, people with new outlooks and practices, people with richer experience. They were elected to the leadership bodies precisely with these qualities in mind, qualities they have demonstrated through their dedication in all the Party’s political activities and work in their district or area. It is believed that this quantitative and qualitative renewal will improve and strengthen the Party’s work at every level, making it more convincing, more tangible and more trusted by people. These committees will organize and lead all the work for a two-year period, which, given the course of many political, economic and social issues, will be extremely packed with important events in the political life of the country and of the Party itself. The election of the committees as leadership bodies is only the first step in the Party’s activity between one conference and the next. The issue now is that the leading committees elected at the recent conferences must gain momentum and strength by bringing all their constituent links and bodies fully into operation. At the center and at the grassroots—in the districts—the work and activity of the Socialist Party is organized on the basis of the work of various commissions. These commissions must now be reorganized and supplemented with new members, since some of their former members were not re-elected. After that, they must begin work immediately. We emphasize this issue because, among the criticisms made in most of the district conferences, one concerned the failure of these commissions to work effectively. Summarizing this criticism, the latest meeting of the General Leading Committee of the SP of Albania stressed that “the work commissions have not functioned properly so far. The Party must make greater demands in this regard. The high intellectual level of the leading committees (Continued on page 4)

For the seventh time, the hearing opened on the issue of domestic beer continued yesterday in the Tirana court. The prosecution was represented by prosecutor Pertef Hamzai; the case is being heard by judge Ilgi Toska. For a year now, the former managers of the Tirana beer factory Niko Fipivani and Guxim Bekteshi have been held in isolation in Tirana prison cells. Dhimitër Miso swears in the second free [unclear] and the former factory director— [cut] The point in choosing this case is that it has now entered a different stage of the trial; they are now being tried for having continued beer production as long as there was a de...mand for it. Along these lines, [they] were questioned... [cut] In the country, in order to make way for its import. During the hearings held, it emerged that they tried not to close the factory but to continue working despite the difficult conditions, as the testimonies also confirm. The accusing party heard by Judge Igli Toska. For a year now, Guxim Bektesh Miso is being investigated in connection with the sale of [unclear], while the former director of the Korçë beer factory, Gjergji Shkënderja, faces joint charges of drug distribution. There was an inspection of the [unclear], etc. The inspection carried out at the Tirana beer factory led to a referral to the prosecutor’s office, which transferred the case for investigation. Initially, it also emerges from a letter that Blerim Çela sent to the director of this enterprise that they were accused of failing to [unclear] the country’s beer. (Do not rely on this for it to be proven as well, and the work too, which the witnesses also corroborate. But the fact about phase continued beer production for as long as its [unclear] lasted. In this connection, the experts were questioned during the hearing. The experts Katerina Sher-ko Vangjel Zografi, Sami Kullai, and Thoma Krosa stated this; yesterday they presented the expert report, with which the defendants also agreed. Many questions were put to them, shedding light on this case. According to the explanations they gave (Continued on page 4)

A group of citizens have asked me about their cars. And, strangely enough, all of them had a big problem: their cars had been kept for several days in the people’s common [unclear]. Some time ago in Korçë, a sweeping operation was carried out, organized by special forces from Tirana and led by an officer from the deputy director’s office, with a certain Mysafit Shyqytar? [unclear] the reason why such a thing was being done, [they used] fists and the eagle emblem, and [unclear], fists and the eagle emblem. So [someone] ended up in hospital too. As the saying goes: because of one bad person, the innocent suffer too. All the citizens who had bought these cars were caught up in this kind of punitive operation, and, strangely enough, after keeping them for several days at a police department without taking any interest in them, they released them, telling them to go and collect their cars from the police station. They went, but what did they see! Their cars had been stripped by the [unclear] vandals. One had had its headlights taken; another, its spare tires; a third, its cassette player. One of them said, “I took the cup from my car, driver, state [..] crime investigation.” But how could you make yourself understood to him? They really are distressed. Apparently there are thieves even inside the police station! ALI MYFTARI

The last month of this summer was not only extraordinarily hot for Albanians, but also extraordinarily burdened with domestic and international political tensions. In any case, there were two most prominent political events: the hunger strike by former political prisoners and the trial of five Albanian citizens of Greek ethnicity. Naturally, these two political events have “given rise” to, or have been used to concoct, other spectacles, important or otherwise; but ultimately, I believe that by now any Albanian citizen without strong partisan commitments has concluded that the Democratic Party is in a full-blown crisis, that it and the institutions it has formed have completely exhausted themselves, and that there can no longer be any talk of credibility, much less hope. I believe it is enough to consider its handling of the hunger strike, from smiles over a pastry to enraged men with truncheons, or its attitude toward the property of Albanians, which is being plundered in the most barbaric way by a group of robbers dressed in power. It is difficult to find one’s way through the political, economic, social and spiritual chaos into which the DP and its government have plunged Albanian society. It is difficult to make sense of its foreign policy: enemies everywhere! It is difficult to understand its economic policy and the high price Albanians are paying in the name of reform: Albanians are out of work. After more than two years in government, the Albanian state has made no serious investment that would provide employment for its citizens. After more than two years in government, the tables of most [Continued on page 3]

- The 42-kilometre-long Lezhë-Kaçinar-Dajç road will be paved, for which the government has allocated a fund of 50 million dollars. Soon, the network will therefore be accelerated accordingly

** - Investigations have been concluded into several of the protagonists of the ar anana and oil-smuggling scandal; 8 defendants, 7 are on trial. The Tirana Court has announced its ruling. ** - Concern in Peqin that construction has still not begun on 80 apartments for the National Housing Agency, planned for this year. The obstacle

** - It is said that they are the landowners. ** - Around 1650 thousand dollars is the amount of funding that the Mat district has received from the European Committee for the repair and cleaning of schools this year. ** - 39 clandestine migrants will be sent back to their homeland, escorted by police, in ...

some of them women and children, after paying 500 thousand drachmas each to travel from Durrës to Brindisi. ** - The capital’s public construction service will now be administered by a new enterprise, separated from the Electrical Enterprise and transferred under the authority of the Municipality of the city of Tirana. ** - An example for many districts: in!

during this summer there have been no forest fires. ** - An 18-year-old was brutally murdered in Malat of Rrëshen. ** - It is said that the announcement that Albanian-Airlines would resume flights from Albania is not true. The refunding of tickets booked by passengers continues, along with the concern of dozens of employees of this company who are at risk of unemployment.

= Tomorrow, the exhibition «Albanian Painters of the ’90s» is expected to depart for Bari, Italy. ** - 80 thousand new lek is the amount made available as a reward for the success of the perpetrator of the 26 August attack in «Bkodër». ** - 6 Albanians have been arrested and are being held in prison in a province of Italy for the explosion of several Albanian shops in that province.

Interview with the Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party Dr. LUAN HAJDARAGA TOMORROW YOU WILL READ: “We will go to Europe with a European mentality ...” Interview with the Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party Dr. LUAN HAJDARAGA