Statement by the Presidency of the Socialist Party of Albania The official news media reported that the day before yesterday, on 17 February, police and army forces of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in an act of unprecedented and chauvinistic violence, also used tanks against the gathering of Albanians in the Reçicë e Vogël neighborhood of Tetovë, killing a young man and injuring 15 others. The reason was that the Albanians had gathered to celebrate the opening of the University of Tetovë. This is an unprecedented, inhumane and anti-Albanian action by the government in Shkup. The Socialist Party of Albania denounces and strongly condemns it. The government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is fully responsible for this criminal act, carried out entirely of its own free will. To kill and injure Albanians because they want freedom, knowledge, education and culture in their mother tongue is not only inhumane and anti-democratic, but constitutes chauvinist-type genocide, unacceptable in the spirit of civilized Europe and its fundamental documents protecting basic human rights. In its consistent political stance, the Socialist Party of Albania has- consistently called on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to play its role realistically and effectively as a factor of stability in the region. The Socialist Party has repeatedly declared that official Shkup can never play such a role without the Albanian factor. It has called, and will continue to call, for the Albanian people in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to enjoy all their national rights as a state-forming people, freedoms and recognized standards set out in international instruments, including the right to be taught in their national language. But the opposite has happened. have been discriminated against, oppressed and continually insulted. The events in Bit-Pazar in Shkup, in Ladorisht, the insult to the Albanian flag at the football match and the repeated chauvinist and racist calls on several occasions for a united Macedonia, the removal of signs bearing Albanian names, the killings at the border. The mistreatment at customs checkpoints, the manipulations through mechanisms (Continued on page 5)

The KSHH strongly protests the criminal act carried out by Macedonian police forces and state authorities in the outskirts of the city of Tetovë (a city whose population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian), killing the young Emin Abdyl on the afternoon of 17 February 1995 and injuring several others during a ceremony for the University of Tetovë, attended by all the local [representatives?]. [The] Human Rights [Commissioner?], Mr. Milem Fejziu. The KSHH condemns this barbaric act and calls on international institutions to denounce such practices, which are becoming commonplace in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and trample on people’s fundamental rights, such as the right to live and to be educated in one’s mother tongue. Such a criminal act against the Albanian population, which according to official sources constitutes 20 percent of the population, and [the?] Albanians 40 percent, not only shows that [the text repeats itself and is garbled]: fundamental rights, such as the right to live and be educated in one’s mother tongue. The KSHH openly supports the legitimate aspiration of the Albanian population to have its own university and calls on the Macedonian authorities to stay their hand and create the necessary democratic climate for the ethnic Albanians of this republic.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW? What is happening today within the PD leadership is presented by some simply as a conflict over how to proceed with the adoption of the constitution: by referendum or through parliament. Without underestimating the great importance of this issue, we think that it is not the real problem; we think that the worsening crisis in the PD leadership has deeper causes. The PD’s boat, which has been leaking for some time, is currently heading for the bottom. The loss in the referendum; more than the rejection of the draft constitution, showed that the people no longer trust Berisha’s government. The regime’s stance after the referendum showed that there is no force capable of saving the boat from sinking. But there are also people in the PD who do not want to accompany Berisha to his end and go down with him. For the time being, Eduard Selami has emerged as the representative of this group. Two groups and two captains are lined up face to face: Berisha and Selami. The Selami group appears to us more or less as follows: - Realists; moderates; those who had aspired to something different from what was done and is being done today in Albania. These are honest people who believe that, first of all, the PD should still have been supported. - Those who, thanks to their character, hold positions in the party or in the admi- (Continued on page 5) less as follows: - the PD should still have been supported. - Those who, thanks to their character, hold important positions in the party or in the admi-

SERVET PËLLUMBI: “Berisha’s aspirations to personal power pose a serious danger to democracy. For Berisha, communism died in March 1992 and came back to life in February 1995. The facts call Berisha’s democratic credentials into question.” On Friday, a meeting of the PS executive committee for the city of Tirana was held, attended also by the PS Deputy Chairman, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi. The Chairman of the PS in the city of Tirana, Musa Ulqini, presented a report on the party’s work during the past year and the political objectives for the coming year, particularly with regard to giving concrete form to the PS alternatives for the city of Tirana. During the past year, the PS in Tirana consolidated further, not only its structures but also the quality of its political struggle, Ulqini said. He said that the PS in Tirana now has around 7,500 members, and this number is growing rapidly, especially recently. During the past year, 600 new members were admitted; half of them were young people, mainly students. The activity of the Tirana Euro-Socialist Forum has become more lively and quite noticeable, as reflected in the many activities of this forum. Then, after pointing out some of the weaknesses in the PS’s work in the capital, Ulqini presented the political objectives for the year for the PS in Tirana and announced the organizational measures adopted to give concrete form to the PS alternatives through the reorganization of special committees attached to the party and in the city of Tirana. The speakers who took the floor afterward supported the report presented, made observations and raised issues concerning further improvement of the party’s work in the capital. They said that the work of the committees attached to the party should aim, through the alternatives they develop, to overcome the skepticism of people who think that the country cannot be put right, etc. To this end, stu-

- No turning back. An end to the political vendettas of recent years. We will not create hunger, cold, hatred or violence. - I have no doubt all of this will come naturally to Albania, too. - Fatos Nano will soon be released as an innocent man. - At a press conference in Sofia, Pavllo Gjidede interviewed the socialist Bulgarian Prime Minister Vidanov and Foreign Minister Pirinski. What are your government’s objectives? We aim to reduce people’s poverty to a minimum. So far, we have secured government funds to renovate and restart the plants and factories that had been abandoned. This year, foreign investments of up to more than 1 billion dollars will be made. A concrete agreement with the International Monetary Fund will be signed in March. We have calculated that we will use bank reserves, which we do not lack. As for President Zhelev’s initiative for a high-level meeting of the Balkan countries, it has long been and remains necessary. The majority in today’s parliament will insist on understanding among the Balkan countries and on the development of democratic processes. In response to a question about the effectiveness of the initiatives undertaken by the government before them, the Foreign Minister replied that there is no room for speculation. Aid was received before as well, but the government of the Bulgarian Democratic Party (SAS) misused it. We did not go to the USA for alms, but to put things in order, to do business. Our economic policy will be successful, without violence, without political coloring. An agreement on cooperation and friendship, and on trade, was also signed. President Clinton noted with satisfaction the constructive nature of the discussions with Bulgaria, and promised concrete assistance of every- (Continued on page 6)

A precious gift for nearly 500 families in the village of Rrajcë-Fushë

A precious gift for nearly 500 families in the village of Rajcë-Fushë, in the municipality of Përrenjas in Librazhd: the Austrian Caritas will build the village’s water-supply system free of charge. of Rajcë-Fushë, in the municipality of Përrenjas in Librazhd: the Austrian Caritas will build the village’s water-supply system free of charge. Work on it is expected to begin today. Funding for the construction of the water-supply system amounts to around 170 thousand US dollars. Meanwhile, in two other villages in the municipality of Përrenjas, Bardhaj and Skënderbej, construction has also begun on another water-supply system, funded by the government and worth 4.6 million lekë, which will provide drinking water to 260 families. The example of the municipality of Përrenjas clearly shows that when local-government leaders make an effort, funding sources can be found for public works.

- Albanian ministers do not attend the government meeting with Gligorov - Police violence in Tetovo against the first university teaching in the Albanian language has made the situation there very tense. A large number of police officers have been deployed to keep the situation under control after the police killed a student, Abdyl Selam Emini, wounded many others and arrested 20 people. On Friday evening, this police force, adding more fuel to the fire, also arrested the rector of the University of Te- (Continued on page 6)

The Peshkopi water-supply system, built 13 years ago to supply water to the city’s residents, the food industry and several villages, was subjected, after being put into operation, to a powerful attack along its entire main pipeline, an attack that would reduce the flow to a minimum and make losses increase without limit. These endless leaks, together with the fact that the Korab springs dry up in winter, that abundant water flows are lacking in spring, and that in summer they are tapped for the city’s needs in the area of Kalaja e Dodës, left the city on the brink of water shortage. This was an acute phenomenon even before, and it became increasingly pronounced with the new water-supply system connected to the old network. The water-supply network, established in 1959, supplied water in many places and distributed it to many others; even the water collected in the reservoir, which is plentiful for the population, was siphoned off, with the result that the city was left without water. This is neither the time nor the place for stories about the past. What draws attention and pushes the solution to the drinking-water problem in Peshkopi onto the Greek calendar is the tender game—a game whose outcome and cost are impossible to know when it is in the hands of people who look only after their own interests. In August of last year, a tender was organized on the basis of a fund allocated to the city municipality for the reconstruction of the water-supply system. With five million lekë less and half the allotted construction time, the tender was won by a company that

- Interview with dr. Fehmi Abdiu, chairman of the legal commission at the Socialist Party, given to editor Hamdi Jupe - What are the duties of the legal commission recently established within the General Steering Committee of the Socialist Party? The commission’s main direction of work in the upcoming elections will be to guide the group of MPs in drafting modern legislation for the People’s Assembly, and to engage continuously in parliamentary activity to draft specific laws that are anti-democratic. On the other hand, the commission’s work will focus on combating the unlawful activities of the administration, the executive and the judiciary. Proceeding from the principle that the rule of law is essential for democratic countries, this commission will seek to influence the work undertaken by the People’s Assembly and the Socialist Party’s alternatives concerning the drafting of democratic Albanian legislation, paying particular attention to work on drafting the Albanian constitution. On this last issue, efforts are being made through joint work with other parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties that opposed the draft constitution, which failed to win the vote of the majority of the population in the November 6 referendum, and in particular through efforts to fully connect the Albanian electorate with the Socialist Party, which considers a European-level Albanian constitution essential. To this end, we have focused on drafting such a proposal with specialists from various political forces. This proposal will help a new and possible constitutional commission, elected by parliament, accelerate the work of drafting and adopting the constitution. At the same time, we will insist on amending the law “On Referendums” so that it is harmonized with Article 16 (paragraph two) of the law “On the Main Constitutional Provisions,” with the sole aim of ensuring that the constitution is necessarily considered and adopted in Parliament and, if necessary, that a popular referendum is also held with Parliament’s approval. On this occasion, I wish to welcome the position of PD chairman Eduard Selami in favor of adopting the Constitution in parliament, and to declare that this new position of his will receive our full support. The commission will continue its work to address the unlawful conduct and positions of the Albanian Constitutional Court concerning its refusal to consider our parliamentary group’s request regarding the unconstitutional nature of the aforementioned referendum. Besides the Constitution, the commission’s focus is on drafting the main organic laws, especially the Criminal Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Labor Code, the Family Code, etc. To this end, we will continue to identify, both in parliament and outside it, the unlawful procedures followed by the Presidium of the Assembly and by Parliament itself in connection with the adoption of laws. Through its group of MPs, the legal commission aims to challenge by legal means any kind of law that conflicts with the spirit of the law “On the Main Constitutional Provisions.” We will also make these efforts for (Continued on page 6)