Yesterday, at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Socialist Party Deputy Chairman Servet Pëllumbi and Parliamentary Group Chairman Namik Dokle met with the U.S. Ambassador to Albania, Mr. Joseph Lake. The discussion focused on the political situations in Albania and the region. The U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Albania, Mr. Douglas R. Smith, was also present at the meeting.

FROM DECEMBER TO DECEMBER: STUDENTS PROTEST AGAIN - Power and water shortages, as well as long queues for bread, spark protests on student campuses December 1994. There is once again no peace on student campuses. Students break the darkness of night and protest. Because, just as four years ago, they have no electricity and no water. And they can barely get bread. The first to rise in protest were students of the Faculty of Civil Engineering. And then the others... This is not about drawing parallels between December 1990 and December of this year. But the students’ circumstances have not improved since last year; they have deteriorated even further. The government and the Democratic Party have kept none of their promises. That is why students are protesting, to make change possible. And they will protest again... Because they cannot rejoice, they can no longer endure it... Police forces with rubber truncheons once again surrounded the students, as if to show that the state is ready and vigilant in defending order. But can an entire people demanding light be held back by the police? Demanding bread and water? Absolutely not. This December, the Democratic Party has students surrounded by police. The state threatens. The state shows its weakness. The state heralds its end. The failed reforms of the Meksi government cannot be measured by trips abroad, nor by Berisha’s rallies and the support of Ibrahim Rugova, who is not disturbed when, from his villa in Tirana, he sees Tirana plunged into darkness, covered by night. Because the government is incapable of ensuring even the lighting of the capital. The students issue a warning...

- Today the delegation will go to Tepelenë to meet Fatos Nano The delegation of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union, headed by the chair of the Union’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, Ms. JOSI MEIR, arrived in Tirana yesterday. The delegation’s aim is to establish contacts with political forces and official authorities concerning the Inter-Parliamentary Union Council’s resolution on the “Nano Case,” which, as is known, also calls for the prospect of Fatos Nano’s release. Yesterday afternoon, the delegation held separate meetings with representatives of the Social Democratic Party, the Socialist Party, and the Democratic Party. Namik Dokle and Luan Hajdaraga took part in the meeting on behalf of the SP. Today the delegation will go to Tepelenë, where it will meet the Chairman of the Socialist Party and MP, Fatos Nano. Correspondent of «Zëri i Popullit»

- Interview with Socialist Party Deputy Chairman Ilir Meta, given to journalist Lulzim Çota - What significance does the establishment of an Albanian-language university in Tetovo have in itself for you? For us socialists, as for all Albanians inside and outside Albania, wherever they live, this act constitutes a major event for national culture. This University of Tetovo will serve the new generations of Albanians living in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), enabling the transmission of national culture in the Albanian language today and in the future. In this sense, the establishment of the University of Tetovo is a historic victory for Albanians living in their own lands in FYROM and for all of us. We were very pleased that all the Albanian parties in FYROM united to establish this university, taking a united position that helped bring about this historic act. We socialists hope that this cooperation among the Albanian parties in FYROM will continue in their efforts to defend the national and human rights of Albanians living in their own lands. This is a fresh message calling on all Albanian political forces, wherever they are, to cooperate in order to resolve ... (Continued on page 4)

- 20 percent more votes than the Union of Democratic Forces - The Bulgarian election results show that the socialists have achieved an important victory, receiving 20 percent more votes than their rivals in the Union of Democratic Forces. This means that the socialists’ victory is greater than had been predicted. BBC analyst Steven Eshli, reporting from Sofia, says, among other things, that the results suggest Bulgaria has joined the European leftward wave, which began in Lithuania and Greece, where the socialists achieved an important victory. Although the final results will not be announced before the weekend, it is clear that the new parliament will be dominated by the socialists. The latest opinion polls had predicted a 10-percent victory for Zhan Videnov’s party. Nevertheless, many undecided voters crossed over to ... (Continued on page 4)

Following the government’s decision, the independent hospital union threatens to strike At yesterday’s meeting of the district council, which is held in broad daylight, a telegram from the independent hospital union was also read. It stated that on December 21 it would go on strike in protest against the power utility. This is not about heating and lighting; it is about endangering people’s lives during daytime operations. Endangering people’s lives during daytime operations. The deterioration of the situation is evident day by day. The decision is to use one quarter of the electricity used up to now. The council members who spoke said that at home we sit with blankets on our heads. They pleaded that at least at night our electricity not be cut off. At the meeting it was said: a heating task force will be set up, an energy task force, and so on and so forth. A fuel-and-gas task force could also be set up, but apparently this will not bring even a glimmer of light to this crisis of darkness and cold. THANAS DINO

The economic crisis is becoming as bright as darkness Albania in the evening — The government ensemble “Economic Growth” cheerfully sings “How lucky we are to live without lights.” — Since 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, Albania has been under a “state of emergency,” declared only a few hours earlier by the Albanian government because of the severe energy situation. And so, only in the final days of December, the Albanian government understands that the situation is extraordinary. Meanwhile, the effects of the news of the state of emergency appeared immediately. “All this situation has only one solution—drastically reducing consumption by 50 percent”—that was the solution the newly appointed deputy prime minister, agricultural economist Dashamir Shehi, left for Albanians huddled in the dark to consume. And everything worked perfectly: the knives were put away, and people were left without electricity in the dark for more than 20 hours a day starting Sunday. Thousands of people could be seen yesterday on the dusty, garbage-strewn streets of Tirana, walking and walking—perhaps to take advantage of the networks and the lights. No lights, no water, no bread. Although Shehi said electricity would not be cut off at the water-pumping stations, this has brought Albanians salvation from the horror—hardly comfortable—of appalling filth, and why not cholera, a disease whose endemic home we risk becoming! The bakeries have also had no electricity since Sunday. Their private status and location among residents’ homes have deprived them of the right to work and, subsequently, to supply Albanians with the essential basic food, bread. Bread queues have returned to Tirana. Sunday evening’s spectacle made you laugh. People queuing to buy “hamburgers” at the kiosks in the center because there was no bread—that was the painful sight not seen in Tirana for three years. Meanwhile, pasta consumption has reached its peak. Candle consumption has also peaked. In Tirana alone, over 100,000 a day, at a price of 200 lekë each. This time Albania has reached another first place: first in banana consumption; first in the East and in Europe for economic growth; first in candle consumption.

Housed in a building whose owner has come forward, the highest administration of the Muslim Community has constantly felt its own temporary status. The leaders of this community have sought a solution to this problem, and their interest has been communicated officially and verbally to the President of the Republic and the prime minister of the Albanian government. But while awaiting a fair solution, the opposite happened yesterday. That is, yesterday morning, as we were informed at the newspaper, at 10 o’clock the owner of the building arrived at the offices of this community, currently located in “Avni Rustemi” Square, together with representatives of the police and the enforcement office. Their arrival to carry out the decision returning the building to its former owner, who once owned it, caused the Muslim Community’s entire administration to be put out onto the street along with its desks and all other office equipment. The Muslim Community administration’s being put out onto the main street is due to the fact that there is still no arrangement for the return of properties to religious communities. In fact, the Muslim Community has asked for the old National Library building, located at the beginning of Elbasan Road, to be provided as offices. In fact, as we learned, this problem needed to be addressed by the Municipality of Tirana, whose mayor is... (Continued on page 2)

Although Shkodër bears the burden of electricity problems despite having two hydroelectric power plants, Vau i Dejës and Koman, under the extraordinary measures now announced by the government, electricity will be restricted by only 40 percent, which is what is needed. That is, from 1 million and 100 thousand kWh, the minimum should be 500 ... (Continued on page 2)

TIRANA: Bread and police — Great confusion outside the bread factory in Tirana. — Major difficulties supplying Tirana with bread. Since ... and when a state of emergency was declared because of the severe energy situation, residents ... have faced great difficulties obtaining bread. As a consequence of the government’s decision to drastically cut electricity supplies by up to 50 percent, bakeries that operated specifically on this type of energy have ceased operating. This has meant that the needs of Tirana’s population are not being met. Seeing yesterday’s situation, thousands of Tirana residents found the bread queues growing from the early hours of the day. But the government decision on supplying ... the bakeries—those that use firewood—are the responsibility of ... Meanwhile, many people are returning to pasta and pilaf. There was also great confusion yesterday outside the bread factory ... in Tirana. People gathered in groups, and because of the shortage, by midday—the time production came out—several thousand people had gathered, trying to buy bread at two outlets opened by the factory itself under police guard. But this factory could not meet all of Tirana’s needs, precisely because it, too, is not operating at full capacity. The ... with private ... and bakeries is forcing it to ... jobs at one of the workplaces, putting hundreds of workers on assistance and considerably reducing production. Naturally, here too, as in all state administrations, ... such a situation. In any case, late into the evening, when darkness had blurred everything, the queues outside the bakeries could be seen ... after ... (unclear name) TIRANE ÇELA (Continued on page 2)

KUKES — The government is turning a deaf ear — KUKES THE STRIKERS’ HEALTH IS IN A SERIOUS CONDITION — The government is turning a deaf ear — The low temperatures in these December days, down to minus 8 degrees, have made life and health much more difficult for those confined in the hunger strike. Yesterday they entered their 17th day. Their health is continuing to deteriorate further; 18 people are hospitalized, while another 9, because there is no room in the hospital, are receiving various treatments. Despite the suffering ... by the state, a strange silence is being maintained, says the deputy head of the hunger strike, Besnik Oruçi. In the hunger-strike hall we are holding a committee meeting with representatives of the flooded villages, and if Parliament does not make a statement, we will take the appropriate decisions. Television, too, continues to remain silent; it cannot find the courage—or has not received the order—to come here, film, and speak freely and specifically about our demands. Yesterday and the day before, no meetings, no conversations. Nothing. Correspondent of “Zëri i Popullit”

TODAY IN «ZËRI I POPULLIT» MIKHAIL GORBACHEV The former head of the Kremlin interviewed for the first time by an Albanian journalist, exclusively for «Zëri i Popullit»

The Albanian reader has the opportunity to learn his opinions, judgments and thoughts on current developments. Interviewed Albanian reader has the opportunity to learn his opinions, judgments and thoughts on current developments. (READ ON PAGE 3)

From December 20 through December 21, 1994, contracts for selling the newspaper in 1995 will be concluded. All legal entities and individuals who have previously had dealings with the newspaper, as well as others wishing to begin this activity, must apply to the editorial office of the aforementioned newspapers. Applicants must have: 1. Authorization from the Socialist Party’s District Directing Committee for the relevant district, stating its approval of entering into this contract. 2. The relevant license authorizing the conduct of such an activity. 3. Bank confirmations verifying that accounts with the newspaper have been settled up to the date of signing. 4. Unsold newspapers. No contract will be concluded if any of these required documents is missing. THE EDITORIAL OFFICE