At last, the PD, with its tail between its legs, admitted defeat ONLY 41.7 PER CENT OF VOTERS SAID “YES” The figures published by the Socialist Party were real. The PD communiqué gave false information in order to manipulate the vote. The people had the opportunity to get to know better the face of those who rule over them At last, the PD, with its tail between its legs, admitted defeat. ONLY 41.7 PER CENT OF VOTERS SAID “YES”. It seems that President Berisha and his party changed their position, and are now describing 6 November—once “the day a new era would begin”—as an ordinary day on which nothing special happened. In fact, after returning from his visit to Switzerland, Prime Minister Meksi almost said that it was a very good thing his party had not won the referendum, because defeat was democratic, and so on. It seems that only the Democratic Party and its leaders are capable of making It is known, from the way the Parliamentary Commission for drafting the Constitution was formed (which the PD later called the Constitutional Commission), through the removal of well-known legal experts from that commission and their replacement with party loyalists, that there were deliberate delays, one excuse after another, pressure from the opposition and the international community, and finally the “concentrated effort” in the last few days and the presentation of the draft without taking into account any opinion or suggestion from the commission members representing the opposition parties. And above all Mr Aleksandër Langer, Rapporteur for Albania at the European Parliament, commented on the results of the referendum in Albania and on the Albanians’ rejection of the new Constitution put forward by President Berisha. He said that, with their “No” vote in the referendum, the Albanian people did not wish to express a desire to return to the past. On the contrary, Aleksandër Langer stressed, Albania’s new democrats had made it clear that President Berisha must begin establishing the rule of law. Blaming the Albanian authorities for conducting a violent campaign in which voices for and against the constitution were not represented equally in the media, Mr Langer said, according to the Azhans Europ agency, that Albanians themselves hold the same views as some of the criticisms of Albania made in the European Parliament. He (Langer) hopes that the President will learn a lesson and that new democratic energies will be set free in the country.

such astonishing reversals and of failing to draw the proper conclusions in light of the responsibility their positions give them for the country’s fate. It seems they have grown accustomed to legal violations and arbitrariness. But the problem is that, besides the rulers, their families and the clans they have, there are also 3 million other people living in Albania, the true owners of the country, who are called Albanians. Albanians cannot forget those 20 hours of radio and television broadcasts a day, with the President flying from one district to another, from one celebration to the next, where enthusiastic crowds welcomed him and where he found nationwide consensus for the approval of his draft constitution. They cannot so easily forget Berisha’s speeches, which most Albanians learned by heart and repeated even in cafés. For a long time, the President’s hoarse voice at rallies, meetings and conversations will remain in their ears. Without resorting to any figure of speech, one can say that Berisha completely lost his voice over his constitution. And Meksi, Selami and Arbnori did too, as they violated the law and divided Albanians into the faithful and the faithless, patriots and traitors. But on 6 November the people said No to Berisha’s draft, while also saying NO to everything the authorities had served up in connection with the preparation and approval of the draft constitution. And if some paid journalist can be taken in and told that the communist constitution remained in force, the three million Albanians who know that for three years Albania has no longer had the 1976 Constitution, but instead a constitutional package prepared by the pluralist parliament, cannot be fooled. Everyone now knows all the manoeuvres the PD used to go so far as to openly violate constitutional provisions, while exploiting information, the People’s Assembly and the discussion there. the removal from this commission of renowned jurists and their replacement by party loyalists; the deliberate delays, irresponsible excuses, pressure on the opposition and on the international community, and finally the “concentrated offensive” in the final account any opinions or suggestions from the commission members representing opposition parties. Above all, there was the violation of the Constitution’s provisions: the “Law on Referendums” was passed with only 63 deputies and by a simple majority, without amending the Constitutional Law by a two-thirds majority. The Albanian public is also aware of the complaints lodged by two parliamentary parties with the Constitutional Court and its deliberate stalling, the resignation of several members of that court in protest, and yet more excuses and manoeuvres by the regime’s lackeys. Albanians knew and were aware of all this when they went to vote on 6 November, just as they knew of Sali Berisha’s “wise” governing practices: the arbitrary, politically motivated arrest of Socialist Party Chairman Fatos Nano; the parody of a trial staged for him by expert lecturers in the workings of the Albanian justice system; political dismissals from work and discrimination against people on the basis of their beliefs; illegal privatization and unrestrained demagoguery; systematic violations of human rights, etc. On 6 November, Albanians said NO to all of this. Something significant happened in Albania on 6 November, something that cannot easily be concealed or ignored. That day, thirty and more reports. So today we are no longer who we were yesterday. All of Albania needs constitutional life; it needs reforms as the sovereign demands—the sovereign who has spoken. Can the construction of something new begin without removing the mines laid by the old order? Is that possible? Otherwise, things will happen as before: 6 November showed that the correction must be fundamental. A modern state cannot be built with patches and makeshifts, as the DP appears to be planning to do again. Anything short of fundamental reforms will be nothing but wasted time and further delays. To understand this is to feel responsibility for the country’s fate.

- We hope the President will learn a lesson, says Aleksandër Langer, Rapporteur for Albania at the European Parliament set free in the country. the rejection by Albanians of the new Constitution presented by President Berisha. Europ said that, regarding Parliament, the Albanians themselves shared the same view. He (Langeri) hoped that the President would step down sooner and that the new democratic forces would be unleashed in the country.

Yesterday, the Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, and the Socialist Party’s Secretary for Foreign Relations, Bashkim Zeneli, held separate meetings with the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Klaus Vollers; and with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Mr Viktor Nerubajllov. The meeting with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Tao Miaofa, was also attended by PS Deputy Chairman and chairman of the Socialist parliamentary group, Namik Dokle. Dr. Servet Pëllumbi informed the ambassadors about the conduct and results of the referendum on Albania’s draft constitution, held on 6 November. On the basis of all the information we have, said Servet Pëllumbi, the majority of the people have said “No” to the draft presented by Berisha. This is a victory for the Socialist Party and the other parties that lined up against the proposed draft. The people demonstrated a high level of culture, clarity and emancipation by saying no to the danger of installing a new dictatorship. But their vote was not only a vote against the proposed draft; it was also against the failed, incompetent and corrupt government. With the “No” they gave to the draft constitution, Albanians once again clearly showed that they stand for true democracy and the rule of law. The Socialist Party, he stressed, emerged from this referendum stronger and more consolidated, with growing influence among the people, and with clear alternatives and positions in both domestic and foreign policy. “We,” Dr. Servet Pëllumbi stressed at these meetings, “will not accept this referendum being oversimplified and treated as a routine process, as the leaders of the state or the PD are trying to present it. We have demanded, and continue to demand, that first and foremost in parliament all the constitutional violations committed by the parliamentary majority be recognized, acknowledged and annulled, so that its moral and legal authority can be restored. “We want work to begin as soon as possible on preparing a new draft constitution. We are open and will actively contribute politically and professionally. Albania needs a constitution—a modern constitution meeting European standards—in order to merit acceptance into the Council of Europe, but first and foremost to give the people the fundamental law and, on its basis, establish genuine democratic institutions. This is the first step towards a constitutional solution and, inseparable from it as a political solution, we demand early parliamentary elections, which are now more than ever dictated by the change in the balance of political forces. Press and Information Office of the Socialist Party

- The two draft laws that came to parliament from the Meksi cabinet were sent back to where they came from, the group wrote about Meksi. - Secretary Tritan Shehu does not welcome the opposition’s advice on adopting the new draft constitution. IN PARLIAMENT Even during yesterday’s session, the parliament, under the PD, wasted time on peripheral issues under Pjetër Arbnori’s leadership, instead of confronting the issues that have shaped the country’s political life. At the outset, Mr Pjetër announced the disciplinary measure imposed by the Assembly’s Presidium (Pjetri and Tomorri) on AD deputy Rifat Pëshkëpia, who, as is known, the day before had told these substitutes some harsh truths that stung the gentlemen because he said them in the middle of the Assembly. The deputies then discussed two draft laws submitted by the Council of Ministers. They arrived in the Assembly exactly as the specialists had written them; the relevant committees had not even met, as the rules for approval require (Continued on page 2)

In Pezë he said: “Those who do not vote for the Constitution may change the colour of the flag tomorrow...” Because this remark by President Sali Berisha stayed on my mind. During his campaign to defend the now-failed draft constitution, he said many things, but the remark “Those who do not vote for the Constitution may change the colour of the flag tomorrow” disturbed and deeply affected me. How can a president speak like this? How can such thoughts be expressed in a pluralist democracy? And then my thoughts immediately turned to my fellow villagers, the partisans and anti-fascists, to those who gave their blood and a name to Albania, thereby giving life and pride to the flag. Mr President, We were young then when we seized our rifles and went up into the mountains as partisans to win freedom from the occupiers and local traitors, in... …you had not yet been born. At the head of the partisan companies and brigades, the flag that led the way was the red-and-black one. We swore our oaths on it, and with it we embroidered the schools’ banners. Our Postribë company, too, had its own flag. It was our pride; the blood of our fallen comrades was there. That is why it wounded and deeply offended us when you said in Pezë, of the flag and the great glory of Albania, that those who do not vote for the Constitution might change the flag’s colours tomorrow. At that very moment I remembered Comrade Tomë Kola, that brave and intelligent young man from Prekal in Dukagjin, whom we covered with the red-and-black flag when he was killed on 19 April 1943. Now allow me to tell you about two incidents from your activities. In July 1953, a … (Continued on page 3)

From 4 to 10 November 1994, at the invitation of Rafael Lazareti, Secretary-General of the Socialist International of Socialist Youth, Ilir Meta, Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania and FRESSH, visited Vienna. He took part in the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Socialist International of Youth from 4 to 6 November and spoke at the plenary session. During his stay in Vienna, he held meetings with Mr Peter Shider, chairman of the Socialist Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Mr Alfred Guzenbauer, Vice-President of the Socialist International; and Mr Karl Shramek, International Secretary of Austria’s Social Democratic Party. These meetings focused mainly on the referendum and the Nano issue.

On Wednesday morning in Vienna, Socialist Party Deputy Chairman Ilir Meta held a press conference attended by representatives of various newspapers as well as the Austrian Press Agency APA. The conference was opened by Karl Delfs, a member of the National Council of Austria’s Social Democratic Party. For 40 minutes, Ilir Meta answered questions from those present about the progress of the referendum in Albania and announced the election results on the basis of the documents held by the Socialist Party of Albania. On Wednesday afternoon, the Austrian Press Agency APA, in a lead news story headlined “Socialists declare themselves against the referendum,” commented on the Socialist Party deputy chairman’s press conference, highlighting the unconstitutional manner in which the referendum was conducted and the contents of the proposed Constitution, which notably undermined the independence of the three branches of government, gave the President extensive powers to exercise total control over the judiciary, and contained dubious provisions that created opportunities to attack the political opposition. APA also reported the Socialist Party of Albania’s concern over the Central Commission’s refusal to publish the final results. Meanwhile, the leading independent daily newspaper Der Standart, also on Wednesday, devoted prominent coverage to the referendum in Albania and the contents of the draft constitution under the headline “Berisha has more powers than Clinton,” citing Socialist Party of Albania Deputy Chairman Ilir Meta. In its commentary, Der Standart gave particular attention to the case of Socialist Party Chairman Fatos Nano, which remains unresolved even after the resolution of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and stressed that the socialists are intensifying their efforts to secure greater international involvement in resolving it. Correspondent of Zëri i popullit

After the law on gambling, on Monday the Albanian parliament will discuss wild forest animals