- 7 million dollars stolen - 8 million dollars in loans blocked - The tractors were bought at prices two to three times higher - The State Control has blocked the audit material Instead of an introduction The impetus for this article came from words that have been circulating for some time among various people about the financial scandal surrounding the purchase of tractors with the Greek loan granted to Albania. In recent days this issue has begun to be mentioned—even in newspaper columns—which increasingly confirms the popular saying that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And so began the possible search for facts to verify what was being rumored. The willingness of people who knew about this matter to testify to the truth made the work easier. And then a day comes when the picture of facts and events is filled in in broad outline. Then you see that you are facing a financial scandal in which millions of dollars, lost or stolen, are mentioned and in which state institutions and senior figures are implicated. To ensure accuracy regarding the figures gathered, the editorial office officially approached the departments that had dealt directly with this matter, asking them to confirm or deny the facts, and invited all institutions and individuals with knowledge of the issue to provide the necessary clarifications and additions in the newspaper. The political framework of the scandal The story begins with the visit of former Greek Prime Minister Konstandin Micotaqis to Albania on 13–14 January 1991. The official Albanian-Greek communiqué published on that occasion states, among other things: “It was agreed that a repayable loan of 15 million dollars would be made immediately available to Albania by the consortium of Greek banks. During the visit to Dropull on his way back to Greece, Micotaqis also promised a further 10 million dollars in loans to Albania.” The promises remained promises and, although the word “immediately” was used in the communiqué mentioned above, six months had to pass, until 24 June 1991, [continued in the adjacent column] An article by Abdi Baleta entitled “Why is Mr. Micotaqis coming to Albania?”, published in RD that day, drew attention to the fact that this visit should not serve the Albanian authorities as a means of winning votes on the eve of the first pluralist elections. That was what appeared in the press. Meanwhile, the many trips made by Democratic Party envoys to Greece at that time may say more about the reasons for the six-month delay in granting this loan and, later, the delay of more than a year in disbursing it. The fact that the loan was granted a few days after the Nano government fell and after the Government of Stability was formed, in which the DP also took part, adds to suspicions about this delay. At that time, the Albanian Government owed the Greek Government approximately 3.4 million dollars for unpaid trade invoices between the two countries. Therefore, on 24 August 1991, the Greek side decided to increase the loan by a further 5 million dollars, bringing it to 23.4 million dollars. This was done on the condition that the Albanian side, in turn… A day comes when the picture formed by the facts and events is generally complete. involving millions of dollars lost or stolen, and implicating institutions and even high-ranking state figures. To be accurate about the figures gathered, the editorial office officially contacted the directors who had dealt directly with this issue to confirm or deny our facts. As always, official information is locked away in many safes. The newspaper is then left with no other option but to publish the facts and scandals; while, on the other hand, (Continued on page 3)

Regarding the clarification issued by President Berisha’s spokesperson The heavy burden of the decoration weighing on Sali Berisha’s neck forces him from time to time to commit harakiri and perform stale acrobatics, hoping he can disperse the fog to cover up the scandal of dollars and power, which stretches from the State Bank and the Tirana Court to the prime minister’s office and the presidential palace. Thus, every attempt to implicate the Chairman of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano, in this shameful scandal is doomed to fail. Because the truth is against Berisha and his spokespeople. In February 1993, it was the Socialist Party and its chairman, Fatos Nano, who publicly denounced the theft of 1.6 million dollars; they were the ones who requested an interpellation in the People’s Assembly with the former Governor of the Bank of Albania, Ilir Hoti, while Berisha and his parliamentary group, on the other hand, defended him by every means so that the scandal would not be exposed. At the same time, “Zëri i Popullit” was the first to publish the compromising documents bearing the signatures of Democratic Party officials, authorizing Arsidi to negotiate Albania’s foreign debt, while Berisha was sending Ilir Hoti and his lackeys to Paris for negotiations. Agim Bendo played the role of lawyer. Meanwhile, the president’s spokesperson’s clarification that “Ndolita a” (meaning Arsidi), by bringing the medal, thought he might benefit, but that the facts prove he did not, is hardly baseless or false, and contradicts what is established by the witnesses as well. Berisha’s claim that Arsidi did not benefit at all should be supplemented with the names of those who benefited from the dollars that the award of the decoration brought to Albania before the elections of 22 March 1992 and 26 July 1992. The exposure of the Arsidi affair, which is just as much the Berisha affair, is, among many other things, one of the reasons for the political imprisonment of the Chairman of the Socialist Party. Although held in strict police isolation in the high-security prisons of the proven Berishian regime, he will continue to denounce and fight corruption in all the forms and ways in which it appears, regardless of the defense lawyers it may have.

Yesterday a working meeting was held in the city of Lezhë, where local-government issues were discussed. The real opportunities currently available to Socialist representatives in local government to resolve people’s problems and concerns.

Yesterday a meeting was held in the city of Lezhë to discuss local-government issues. It was attended by leaders of the Socialist Party and of local governments led by Socialists from the districts of Lezhë, Shkodër, Malësi e madhe, Kurbin, Krujë and Mirditë. The meeting was also attended by Comrade Luan Hajdaraga, Deputy General Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania. Its main purpose was to elaborate on the tasks set by the December meeting of the General Steering Committee of the SPA concerning local government. As was also emphasized, local government and the proper functioning of its work are of particular importance. This is all the more so following the elections of 26 July, when the people entrusted the direction of most communes, municipalities and districts to the Socialists. Therefore, although the government has taken measures to centralize their powers, there may still be considerable room, as has been the case in practice so far, for Socialist representatives to implement the Socialist alternative in concrete terms. Luan Hajdaraga placed particular emphasis on the need to increase contacts and organized meetings between local-government representatives and the people, in order to make people aware of government to resolve their problems and concerns. Another duty toward which Socialist representatives should strive is cooperation and coordination among communes, municipalities and districts, so that positive experience can be put into practice. “We, as Socialists,” Luan Hajdaraga emphasized, “as representatives of local government, must offer people concrete opportunities based on the specific conditions of each commune, municipality and district, in keeping with the Socialist alternative.” The upcoming election campaign, which is just around the corner, must be faced not only at the party level but also at the local-government level. The experience of the 6 November referendum has much to teach us. Representatives of local government should always regard their positions as political positions. Particular importance should be attached to the role of councillors at every level of local government. As was emphasized, the central organization will at no time fail to provide legal advice and political support to Socialist representatives.

- Of the 246 medium-sized and large properties transferred to former worker collectives - - Of the 246 properties, only 18 have been put up for auction - According to information from the heads of the privatization board in this district, to date 246 medium-sized and large properties have been privatized, including workshops, departments, enterprises, factories and various production lines. The prevailing feature of the privatization process for all this property has been the exclusion of worker collectives from ownership rights. Only four worker collectives have managed to become owners of their former enterprises. Even more telling is the fact that, of the 246 enterprise properties included in the privatization process, only 18 were sold at auction, while the rest were sold according to the preferences of the privatization board. This shows that the relevant decisions were implemented in accordance with the personal abuses of the board and the leading officials of this district. There are numerous examples. In 1993, the Brewery was appraised and all the documentation was prepared for its purchase by local Austrians. What happened to the promise made in that context? It seems that the framework made it possible to trust them with the door. A group of former political prisoners became its owners. Not only that, but they insisted that the working capital be deducted from the total value and that the factory be sold for a laughable sum. The enterprise’s trade union appealed all the way to the presidency, but finally became convinced that the workers’ voice was a voice in the wilderness. In April of last year, the head of the State Control, Blerim Çela, told the Poultry Farm workers that the privatization of their enterprise was illegal and involved serious violations. He therefore annulled it. But as events subsequently unfolded, Mr. Blerim turned things around and put it in a … . The workers say that the person responsible for all these violations during the privatization of their enterprise was the director of the privatization agency, Gjergji Angoni. The assessment commission had valued the enterprise at 540 million old lekë. But the well-known popular saying that “the law is like an elastic band in the hands of those in power” has been fully borne out in Korçë. The outside candidate was treated as a member of the collective and paid only 20 million 700 thousand old lekë, an amount that could be fully repaid with just a few months of the enterprise’s production. What more can one list in a short article on this subject? Korçë had two bakeries, and both were among the first to be plundered by those holding power. One went for 10 million old lekë, the other for 3. The latter even ended up in Shkodër as the property of Korçë’s former head of public order (!). The reaction of the workers at these bakeries is well known from the pages of our newspaper, where they denounced the former head of SHIK in Korçë, Llambi Koçi, and the then former head of the committee, Ilir Manushi. There are dozens of cases in which properties sold for laughable sums have changed hands, being resold over and over for many times the price recorded by the board, to the point that today it is difficult to trace their origins. One thing is absolutely clear to Korçë’s workers: the law has served those in power as a weapon for stealing and plundering their toil and sweat.

I do not know whether you are aware of it or not, and whether you are all… or whether it is all a fairy tale. But with this matter, the buyers, and especially the leaders, we have not seized the object of work within this framework of corruption exposed late. We inform you that on the … Siderurgical Combine, the plant has been kept alive. Awaiting your arrival. Respectfully, The Chairman of the Confederation for the plant NIKO THOMA(I)

At around 11:25 p.m. on Wednesday, a group of five unknown persons attacked the railway rolling-stock depot in Shkozet, Durrës. Locomotives 1018 and 1045 were there to refuel, with drivers Bektash Sipri, Kujtim Shehu, Maksim Koci and Muhamet Lita on duty. The robbers were armed with knives and pistols and attempted to force open the doors of the locomotives. They managed to steal a little fuel. Although the fueling point has a locomotive dispatch office, guarded by unarmed private security, it was not possible to notify the law-enforcement authorities because the communications system was not working. Meanwhile, the robbers had managed to completely destroy the lighting system. It should be noted that this is the second attack in three days involving an attempted theft of fuel from wagons 1054 and 1057. The railway feels powerless to withstand such attacks. Although an internal telephone system exists, it cannot function because the communications cable was destroyed and stolen long ago. Only the foundations remain of the perimeter fence. Indeed, there is an obvious lack of interest on the part of the General Directorate of Railways, and the Durrës public-order branch is also doing nothing to protect state property, especially the railway, which is a critical security site. This is all the more surprising when one learns that two tanker wagons containing 120,000 litres of fuel are constantly stationed at this fueling point.

— SAREX 95 is an excellent example of what friends and partners can do when they work together, U.S. Ambassador Xhozel Leik emphasizes Yesterday afternoon, the opening ceremony for the Albanian-American joint military maneuvers SAREX 95 was held in one of the halls of the Army Cultural Center. In his speech, Defense Minister Safet Zhulali noted, among other things, that equipment and troops from Great Britain, Germany and Italy would also take part, while Turkey, Slovenia, Greece, Spain and France had sent observers. He stressed that this first exercise of its kind, which will be followed by others in the future, would bring visible changes to all the training programs of our army. The maneuvers in question, Zhulali continued, would also contribute to friendship between the American and Albanian armies, as well as between the two peoples of our countries. Minister Zhulali thanked U.S. Secretary of Defense Perry as (Continued on page 3)