- Interview with PSSH deputy chairman Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, given to editor Hamdi Jupe - You took part in the meeting with the political parties organized by the President. An official statement was issued about this meeting. How accurate is this official statement regarding your comments at that meeting on the proposals made by President Berisha? That statement is accurate insofar as it notes the fact that the meeting at the President’s took place. The official statement also confirms what the president wanted to achieve: on the day the official commission was to announce the referendum results, the announcement of a “new” political initiative. At that meeting, all the participants made clear that they are interested in Albania having a constitution. However, in our opinion, this cannot be achieved if the same mistaken, unconstitutional and illegal practices are followed as those used for the “Berisha draft constitution” and for the referendum that has just concluded. How should we understand your statement (according to the official announcement) that I cannot give my approval until the legal violations have been heard? I did not use the word “heard”; I asked that all the constitutional and legal violations that preceded this referendum be examined and annulled. In other words, the authority of parliament, as a democratic institution, must be restored, and parliament’s right to direct the entire procedure for preparing and adopting the constitution must be recognized. Parliament should establish the commission; it should discuss and approve the constitution in parliament. If it considers it necessary to hold a referendum afterward as well, that is a matter for parliament to decide, not five party representatives called to the President’s. What form of commission would the PS prefer? We would prefer forms that are legal, recognized by parliament and accountable to parliament. We are not in favor of purely party-based commissions, nor are we in favor of a commission of foreign experts, as the president said, because we believe that the draft constitution and the new constitution must embody the will of Albania’s political forces and the Albanian parliament, and must reflect Albania’s will and specific characteristics. We do not reject foreign specialists, nor do we undervalue the experience of other countries’ constitutions. But we believe all of these must be sifted through by Albanian specialists, political forces and the Albanian parliament. Two parties represented in parliament, PAD and PDD, were not invited to the meeting. How do you assess their absence from the meeting with the president? Their absence immediately caught my attention at that meeting. When I took the floor, immediately after the president, among other things I stressed that after the referendum some things that have so far been viewed with prejudice must be seen differently. I specifically mentioned that PAD and PDD are also represented in parliament—indeed, by more MPs than some parties that were at the meeting with the president. I told the president that their representatives should also have been at that meeting. I stand by the view that if we help create “preferred and non-preferred” parties, we will not achieve the progress of the process or the democracy we would like to have. The opposition parties have called for the majority on the new constitutional commission to be made up of parties that expressed themselves ... new also in the composition of the commission. This is because the version of the draft constitution submitted to the referendum was the version of the PD, the parliamentary majority and the president. We believe that the majority of the new commission drafting the draft constitution should be made up of forces that opposed this draft in the referendum. Which form of adopting the new constitution would the PS choose? At present, and previously as well, we have said that the best way to adopt the constitution is for parliament to approve it article by article. But if parliament considers that a referendum is also needed, let parliament decide. A Constituent Assembly is also democratic, but parliament must decide on that too. Naturally, I have in mind a Constituent Assembly elected by the people, not one appointed as the president wanted. But, for now, in order not to send the people to the polls to elect a Constituent Assembly, I would favor restoring parliamentary authority by reviewing the legal violations committed before the referendum, and having parliament approve the constitution. A referendum afterward, if parliament considers it necessary. The official statement about the meeting with the president gave the impression that four parties jointly agreed to the president’s proposal, while the PS was left alone in its views. What would you say about that? The PS is not alone, because 16 other parties stood together in the referendum. At the meeting with the president, it also became clear that PSD and PDNJ support a new draft-constitution commission, but not that they support going straight to a referendum, as ... the constitution to be represented by and made up of those parties that opposed the constitution in the referendum, unlike the previous commission, which was dominated by PD. What is the PS’s position on this issue? This is also our party’s position. We believe that the party in power and the president must recognize this new reality after the referendum. They should not dwell on the euphoria of 22 March. Since then, the electorate has changed. The first major change was on 26 July 1992. The second major change was on 6 November this year. They are not recognizing this change either, in the sense of reflecting the electorate’s will. It seems that this failure to recognize the changes is now a serious problem. I believe that this reality must be reflected in the new commission that will be established.

As part of ongoing meetings with representatives of various states accredited in Albania, yesterday Socialist Party deputy chairman Servet Pëllumbi and Socialist Party Presidium member Bashkim Zeneli held separate talks with the ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Palasz; the ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Hauswirth; the ambassador of the Republic of Greece, Mr. Tsalikis; and the ambassador of the Republic of Romania, Mr. Mike. Dr. Servet Pëllumbi and the party’s deputy chairman Lir Meta met with the ambassador of the Republic of Austria, Mr. Schapplinger. At these meetings, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi informed the ambassadors about the process and results of the referendum on Albania’s draft constitution and outlined the Socialist Party’s further positions on constitutional and political solutions in the new situation that has arisen. The Socialist Party Press and Information Office

Former American president Xhorxh Bush arrives in Tirana today. He is one of the most successful political figures in American politics. Any politician, one might say, could consider himself fortunate to achieve just one success on the international stage during four years in office, whereas Bush is remembered for two of the greatest achievements of our time. Xhorxh Bush was President of the USA when the Berlin Wall began to come down and the totalitarian dictatorships in Eastern Europe began to fall one after another, including that of Albania. Apart from the many other domestic factors in this country, there is no doubt that the influence of American policy under Bush’s leadership also encouraged and stimulated these profound changes in the system in the East. The agreements signed by Bush with former president Mihal Gorbacov (also one of the most admired figures in world politics) played a significant role in giving these movements room and breathing space. It was also Xhorxh Bush who managed to organize one of the largest coalitions of modern times, bringing together even those who had never before united, against the Iraqi aggressors after the invasion of Kuwait. As a result of the international community’s resolve under Bush’s leadership, the aggressors withdrew. It was precisely as a result of this American and international resolve that the Iraqi parliament was forced in recent days to recognize the state of Kuwait. Xhorxh Bush is also remembered for an active foreign policy in the Balkans, and particularly for restraining the hand of the Serbian aggressors in Kosovo. During his time, Xhorxh Bush warned Belgrade that the USA would not tolerate any expansion of Serbian aggression into Kosovo, a policy that continues to be pursued by the current president, Klinton. Xhorxh Bush has had a brilliant political career. From 1980 to 1988 Bush was Vice President of the USA; from 1988 to 1992 Bush was President of the USA. Before that, Bush had a long career as a politician, diplomat, and so on. Xhorxh Bush’s arrival in Tirana today is a sign of the deepening of Albanian-American relations. And the generation that demonstrated in the streets of Tirana at the time the past was overthrown, with Bush’s name also on their lips, will have the opportunity to see him in Tirana and greet him.

Interview with jurist Njazi Jaho Question: The Central Referendum Voting Commission has finally announced the result. The majority of voters voted against the draft constitution. What is your opinion on this? Answer: I support the statement by the President of the Republic that the people’s decision must be respected, and that when the sovereign speaks, others must remain silent. To accept the people’s verdict and remain silent when the sovereign speaks means only accepting the result announced by the referendum voting commission; it does not mean accepting that the majority of voters declared, with their votes, that the draft constitution prepared by the commission was of European standards and therefore could not be rejected. This “no” vote by the electorate could have been avoided if the draft Constitution had been discussed and approved by parliament or an elected Constituent Assembly. So, in my opinion, this would be one of the conclusions that should be drawn from this result. I think the other conclusion should be: a review of Article 2 of the law “On Referendums,” which says that the constitution may also be approved by referendum, as well as of the other provisions of this law and the wording of the People’s Assembly’s decision to approve the draft constitution directly by referendum, because it conflicts with Article 16-2. The media and the offices of the political forces have begun analyzing the causes of the massive “NO.” The data available so far, according to which around 1 million voters expressed opposition to the draft constitution, support the reasoning that the “No” votes in the ballot boxes were directed not only against the draft constitution, the fundamental democratic law. During the campaign, representatives of the political forces who inspired the “NO” or the “Boycott” made sure that this was driven home by the Democratic Party. The leaders of the Socialist Party and the Democratic Alliance consider the “NO” vote cast by more than 60 percent of voters to be a negative reaction by the people to the way the country is governed by the Democratic Party. It seems that PD leader Selami has agreed with the same analysis, when he declared that “the reform is understandable to everyone.” Nevertheless, Selami is obliged to accept that the referendum result is nothing other than the fruit of his party’s governance of the country. Perhaps without realizing it, Selami wrapped the “NO” vote around the draft constitution when, during his election campaign, in the final hours before the referendum, he declared that “we do not want the votes of those who live in misery.” The conclusion of the referendum and its preliminary results demonstrated that even if we are not living in misery, Albanians have at least been governed badly by the PD during these past three years. This is clear to everyone except Selami— …so that he can direct the entire procedure for preparing and approving the constitution. He should appoint the commission, discuss the constitution and approve it article by article. If he considers it necessary for a referendum to be held afterward, party representatives who are summoned to the president. Legally speaking, what exactly is the SP demanding regarding the violations identified? The SP is demanding that the constitutional crisis currently existing in Albania be overcome—that is, the legal vacuum that has been created—and that a good draft be prepared and approved in parliament. How can this be done? We are in favor of revising the law on referendums, in particular Article 2 of this law, which is unconstitutional because it deprives parliament of the right to discuss and approve the constitution. We are also in favor of implementing Article 16, paragraph 2, of the Main Constitutional Provisions. …whereas the SP about this? The SP is not alone, because in the referendum that was held, it stood alongside 16 other parties. that the PSD and PDNJ support a new commission for the draft constitution, but not moving directly to a referendum, as the president said. No one is fundamentally opposed to setting up a new commission to draft the constitution. How this commission is to be formed, what its composition will be and what the balance of representation within it will be—this, as was also determined at the meeting, must be decided by the political forces through consultation with their own forces, rather than by seeking a hasty word from the president. So I think that the positions of the PSD and PDNJ, as reflected in the press conferences of their party leaders, are not far from our positions on this issue. The president took his initiative even before… (Continued on page 2)

The media and the offices of the political forces have begun analyzing the causes of the massive “NO.” home

Senator for life Xhulio Andreoti paid a visit to Albania, where he held talks with the Albanian prime minister, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, on Albanian-Italian relations. Italy is Albania’s leading trading partner and largest foreign investor, and his arrival in Tirana will undoubtedly give a new impetus to relations between our two countries. Albanians are grateful to the Italian people and to their political figures such as Andreoti; during the most difficult days for the Albanian people, he sent humanitarian aid that helped them overcome the hardships of that difficult time. Nor is the aid provided through “Operation Pelican” forgotten: using their own means, they transported flour, oil, sugar, etc., throughout Albania, from one end of the country to the other, at a time when nothing was moving in Albania. During the meetings, Xhulio Andreotti, a leading figure in Italian, European and world politics, also discussed with Albanian officials the referendum held on the draft constitution presented by Berisha, which was rejected by the people,

On Monday, 14.11.1994, at 10:00, a meeting of the General Executive Committee of the PS will be held, with the following agenda: «The political situation and the PS’s options for overcoming the constitutional crisis and the political axis in the country» The Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania

DRITËRO AGOLLI ANSWERS THIS QUESTION ON PAGE 3 IN AN OPEN LETTER ADDRESSED TO PERIKLI TETA