. EVERY ATTEMPT TO PREVENT PARLIAMENT FROM APPROVING THE CONSTITUTION WILL INEVITABLY LEAD TO EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - By putting the approval of the Constitution first, the opposition gives the Democratic Party a new chance. - Berisha understands politics not as the art of the possible, but as a means of ruling. - The “NO” vote in the referendum was also a protest against the PD’s divisive role toward Albanians inside and outside the country. From the speech by Dr. Servet Pëllumbi At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi congratulated the participants at the meeting, on behalf of the PS Presidium, on the positive result achieved in the referendum in the city of Tirana. This result was the fruit of the mobilization and better organization of the work of all PS structures in Tirana, of the members and observers of the commissions, the support groups, etc., work that deserves praise, said Servet Pëllumbi. Increased work by the PS in Tirana is a guarantee of its future victories as well. The result demonstrates the increased authority of the PS in the capital. The growth in the result from 22 March to 6 November is encouraging for the work of our party. To protect and strengthen this result, it is necessary for the party’s future work to focus on those segments of the capital’s population that have specific characteristics and [text incomplete]. One aspect of the PS’s work should be to examine opinion on our party’s strategy and tactics in the political struggle, said Pëllumbi. After 6 November, besides the provocateurs who say that “the PS is fast asleep,” wanting to push us into an adventure, there is also uncertainty among our own people. Some of them think that after 6 November the PS should immediately solve their urgent problems. In this way they confuse the referendum with elections. It is our duty to explain these matters to people, said Servet Pëllumbi. Assessing the significance of the free vote in the 6 November referendum, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi said that, with 34 percent participation in this referendum, the people showed that they accept the challenges of democracy. In this referendum they demonstrated high political maturity and democratic culture. They showed that they now understand well the weight of their free vote. The “NO” vote of 6 November, he said, [the sentence is garbled in the source] ... should have been accompanied by greater stability and security in the country. From this reality arises the danger of personal rule and an authoritarian constitution. The majority of the people voted against this tendency in the 6 November referendum. It is to the credit of the people, the sovereign, that they “overcame the fear of the times” and showed this with their vote. Servet Pëllumbi then discussed the alignment of political forces in saying “NO” to the constitution. By joining this alignment, the PS demonstrated its capacity for cooperation for the good of democracy, he said. The alignment of political forces was a new phenomenon in Albanian political life, recognized by the majority of the people. The referendum result showed that there are opportunities for cooperation among political forces in the future as well. By voting against the draft constitution, the people passed a major test of democracy, demonstrating their high political awareness. They did not accept a bad constitution merely in order to be admitted to the EC, because they want Albania to be integrated with dignity into European and international democratic organizations. Servet Pëllumbi then discussed the PS’s options for dealing with the post-referendum political situation. The way the vote was cast and the reasons for it, he said, fundamentally constitute a strong reason for early parliamentary elections. Nevertheless, if, together with other parties, in the current political situation, we put first [text cuts off]. for its victories in the future as well. The result demonstrates the growing authority of the SP in the capital. The momentum of growth in the result from March 22 to November 6 future work to focus on those sections of the capital’s population that have specific characteristics and respond to the reality before our eyes. The best results on November 6 were in those areas that had been the DP’s main support on March 22. This shows that those sections of the population see the SP as providing the best protection against social ills. Below, Sërvet Pëllumbi emphasized the need to draw the broad mass of intellectuals into the SP’s work in the capital. The fact that some of these intellectuals have not come forward so far should not make us regard them with suspicion. We must reach out to them, involve them, and encourage them, because we will need their valuable opinions. November 6 referendum, Sërvet Pëllumbi said that, with an 84 percent turnout challenges of democracy. In this referendum, they demonstrated a high level of political maturity and democratic culture. They showed that they understood the fulfilment of their free vote. The “NO” vote on November 6, Sërvet Pëllumbi said, was a protest vote more against the DP’s governance of the country than against the draft constitution. This vote was a message in defense of democracy against the danger of personal rule and the violation of democratic institutions. Further on, analyzing the prolonged economic crisis gripping the country, SP Deputy Chairman Sërvet Pëllumbi said that the new liberalization had brought unemployment, poverty, and destitution. The country’s economic recovery is extremely slow. As such, it is not making possible a social contract or a social pact that would the referendum process, especially regarding the collection of voting records, etc. The Tirana SP, acting in compliance with the law, reported 37 cases of violations of the law by representatives of the DP and the authorities. In conclusion, in the city of Tirana, 49.4 percent of voters voted against the constitution; whereas, in our opinion, various forms of manipulation increased the “yes” vote by 5–8 percent. In particular, the abstention among the opposition electorate on November 6 was more than twice as high as on March 22. The report included positive assessments of the good work done by the districts; certain organizations and individuals

Parliament approves government restructuring The Ministry of the Interior is recreated. Local government placed under police supervision Prime Minister Meksi’s bill protects the legal “lawyer” attached to the presidency At last, the tenth [text unclear] came to Parliament, where local government (in which the PS has a majority) is to be kept under the name of the policemen’s bayonets. Logic cannot accept even the “al-lazh” [unclear in source] put forward by the prime minister, who merged the Ministry of Construction with that of Tourism. Tourism, whose name has not been heard until now, will be forgotten even more; reduced to some ordinary office, it will become an appendage of the Ministry of Construction. From now on, tourism, so highly valued and so productive of employment and growth in national income, has become the last hole in the flute. The objections raised by various deputies, including members of the PD, were not taken into account; yesterday they were overridden by the blue voting cards that make up the majority. The Ministry of Labour, Emigration and Social Support has so far been nothing. Nothing “une” [unclear]; no emigration; no social support. Parliament has now decided to add to this nothing the thing that has not existed until now: the Ministry for Former Political Prisoners. It is impossible to know whose idea it was to create such a department; it is beyond comprehension that the direct author might be Dashamir Shehi, earmarked for the post of deputy prime minister. The bill was approved in the absence of Mr. Meksi. As always, this time too he pulled the chestnuts out of the fire with other people’s hands. Meksi hid, perhaps in order to place the blame on the President, just as he left the referendum to him. The questions that Meksi himself might have had to answer had to be answered by his “lawyer,” the legal adviser to the presidency, who was unable to justify either the abolition or the creation of the ministries. With these abolitions and creations in the restructuring of the government, the PD fixed nothing. More accurately, it broke barrels and made jugs; or, at most, Berisha and Meksi pulled this trick to get rid of some minister. The chairs that were up high were lowered; those that were down low were raised. The government remained the same, [text cuts off].

The PS rally of the city of Tirana was held on Wednesday, with the participation of the PS deputy chairman, Dr. Sërvet Pëllumbi, and examined the PS’s work in the capital during the campaign for the 6 November referendum. In the report delivered on this occasion by Musa Gini, chairman of the Steering Committee of the PS of the city of Tirana, the referendum result was described as a historic event for the fate of Albanian democracy. The report then focused especially on the organizational measures taken by the PS in Tirana to bring the referendum campaign to a successful conclusion ... Among the main matters, Ulqini said, was protecting the people’s free vote from manipulation by the PD. To this end, 27 district headquarters were set up to follow the referendum campaign and the voting. Units had been established alongside the steering committee to support the campaign in various aspects, such as: [text unclear]. Good work was done in selecting and appointing members of the polling-station commissions, with 810 people engaged across 270 polling stations. Attention was paid to registering voters on the electoral rolls. As a result, through the persistence of PS representatives, around 10,000 people who had not been registered by the local government, either deliberately or through the incompetence of those assigned to do so, were added to the voter lists. The polling-station commissions were dominated by younger people, one third of whom had higher education. The organizational measures also included setting up other groups to support the PS’s work during the referendum campaign and on voting day. During the campaign, the PS also had to bravely overcome several unlawful obstacles put up by the local government and [text cuts off].

DEVOLL By presidential decree, Vladimir Kello, a representative of the PD, has been relieved of his duties as chairman of the Devoll district council and referred for criminal prosecution. MALËSI E MADHE The Gruemirë commune head is not being given the necessary funds for economic assistance in proportion to the number of families, which in the village is estimated at ... The Ministry of Labour and Social Care, where we have ... the government’s ... and the request ... DURRËS In Durrës ... ... of this agricultural trading [enterprise]. This bank has independent contacts and will provide credit to the agricultural sectors, the privatization of the premises of former agricultural cooperatives, etc. Investments are based on a joint project, which would improve the quality of work; a foreign relations section will also open soon, where foreign currency will be solicited. This bank provides security for loans ... It has been 15 days since production was halted at the ... enterprise in Durrës. A thousand workers continue ... to remain unemployed. According to ... entrepreneurs ... of the ... there are obstacles ... to its privatization. This enterprise ... for the year ... of ... a ...

Tirana: At the PSD headquarters: Yesterday afternoon, at around 3–5 p.m., persons not yet identified by the police broke into and burgled the office used by the chairman of the Albanian Social Democratic Party, Mr. Skënder Gjinushi. According to information from the police officer on duty there around that time, a BMW car had been involved [source wording unclear]. An accurate inventory of the stolen items has not yet been made, because Mr. Gjinushi is abroad on official business. So far, two fax machines are reported stolen: one was installed and working, while the other was used and in working condition; all the devices were used, and according to the employees, these machines are very expensive. When asked about the documents, they did not rule anything out; Mr. Gjinushi never leaves materials on his desk. The law-enforcement authorities were notified immediately, and forensic experts conducted preliminary investigations. A. M.

Only days after the celebration of the 50th anniversary of liberation from the fascists, and of the country’s heirs [source wording unclear], a group of former partisans led by Ramiz Alia, the first President of the political-pluralism era, once again found themselves before the judges. Wearing the black robes of representatives of the law, Zef Brozi, Zef Nika and Vangjel Kosta, together with prosecutor Gani Dizdari, had a file, a cheque and a Penal Code on the table, on which “People’s Socialist Republic of Albania” was clearly written. In one of the Court of Cassation’s chambers, they faced former senior party and state representatives accused of abuse of office and violating citizens’ equality by creating privileges. Having come from the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal, the former senior officials Alia, Marko, Stefani, Isai, Cela, Mino, Ramizi and Haderi, Myftiu and Qarçani had been found guilty and sentenced to spend months and more in the cold cells of 313. Represented by their lawyers, they all sought acquittal, addressing this request to the president of the Court of Cassation himself, Mr. Brozi. “I seek acquittal for my client,” stressed the lawyer for former President Alia, rejecting with arguments the decisions of the lower courts. He argued that R. Alia was being sentenced as head of state and that he had been the first president of Albanian political pluralism. “The charges have no legal basis and are illogical,” said the lawyer for the defendant Stefani, requesting as [text cuts off]. (Continued on page 3)

As part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the Homeland, a somewhat special event complemented the program of this magnificent celebration. At the initiative of the Socialist Women’s Forum, the 25th anniversary of the title “People’s Artist” was celebrated for two of the best-known actors on the Albanian stage, Violeta Manushi and Kadri Roshi. On this occasion, a gathering was held in the PS Club hall ... ... On this occasion ... well-known actors such as: People’s Artists Reshat Arbana and Luljeta P... Merited Artists Lazër Filipi, Drita Agolli, Pritë Pelingu, Roland Trebicka, Viktor Gjoka, well-known actors Eldita Janushi and Esma Agolli, and directors Fehmi Oshafi, etc. The event went beyond the boundaries of a ... and ... with the participation also of ... filled with ... The chairman of ... Namik Dokle, the chairman of the Tirana PS ... Ulaj, deputies Dhimitër Agolli, Moikom Zeqo, Bardhyl Agasi, Erme... (Continued on page 3)