The «Arsidi Case» and the «Ara Case» conclude with Ruli’s victory - The owner of the giant «casino» was forced to order the PD majority to «pass» - The socialists’ proposal for an open vote was opposed by the PD majority - the answer to who protects corruption The «Arsidi Case» and the «Ara Case» conclude with Ruli’s victory. The ARSIDI decoration?! Influence-peddling worth 1.6 million dollars! - The owner of the giant «casino» was forced to order the PD majority to «pass» - The socialists’ proposal for an open vote was opposed by the PD majority - the answer to who protects corruption It has once again ended with the big «pass» that began in September 1992 between the former finance minister, Mr. Genc Ruli, and the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha. The two gentlemen rose from their table, laden with money, without so much as glancing at the other players, who were also compelled to «pass». Everything stayed there on the table—the cards, the pot of 1.6 million dollars, the «Curtuazie François» decoration, the threatening smiles—with the distinction that, despite the «pass», the «superman» of the game is Genc Ruli, who for the second time since December 1994 has beaten Mr. Berisha. The transformation—after 22 March 1992—of the state administration into a giant «Casino» brought the biggest Albanian financial game, «Arsidi», into the public eye, and placed the head of the Albanian state, Mr. Sali Berisha, publicly decorated by the Frenchman Arsidi, in the face of an unprecedented public bluff. Having found himself quite by chance, or deliberately, at the centre of the cyclone that wiped 1.6 million dollars from Albanian finances, while bringing to light a decoration advertised as bogus, President Berisha would find himself at the centre of a high-level web of suspicions and accusations, which began when the name Nikolas Arsidi appeared in the main headlines of the Albanian media in January 1993. Although an amount of 400 thousand dollars was sought, said to have been used to finance Sali Berisha’s rise to power. Here the scandal reaches its peak and then freezes. Arsidi—from a [unclear] of 400 thousand dollars scandal reaches its peak and then freezes. [Unclear text: “A-kullimit me kompetencën shtetërore për «përgjigjen vetes ose ja fshinin opinionit vetën duke përballuar me këto vese këdo tjetër... Dhashtë dorëheqjen..., ju krijova organeve të drejt-»] The scandal was spectacularly halted: it was also discussed just as spectacularly by public opinion. Particularly notable was the comment on «Arsidi» by the imprisoned socialist leader and Berisha’s accuser, Fatos Nano: «I think Ruli’s resignation is a poker move, a game he plays not badly, even outside the rules set by the “owner of the casino.” With the 1.6-million-dollar pot of the “Arsidi Case,” the decorated owner got very angry in the face of the public bluff, but at this point Ruli, who has begun using the computer too, will have pulled an “ace” from his sleeve, and this hand ended with a “pass.”» Temporarily, Nano wrote in January 94 from Tirana prison. And indeed, the game ended temporarily. In January 1995, the court, which had heard Mr. Ruli as a witness, sought to charge him as a defendant, stating: «Taking him as a defendant (together with four others) will lead to the explanation of the “Arsidi” scandal.» In parallel with this, Ruli is accused of illegally exporting walnut wood. Responding fully to the accusations concerning «Ara», Ruli commented on the court’s decision as follows: «An absurd decision, made in flagrant violation of the law, was put before the judge in the case for his signature; it made me responsible, seeking to implicate me...» This was said on Thursday, while after the court’s decision Ruli threatened: «We will not have the good fortune to resolve the “Arsidi Case”; the socialists will resolve it when they come to power,» suggesting that a higher power was preventing the case from being uncovered. The threat that began when Ruli said: «Meksi and Berisha ha-» (Continued on page 6) whether deliberately or otherwise, at the center finances, exposing a decoration advertised as fake, President Berisha came under intense pressure from suspicions and accusations that began when the name of Nikolas Arsidi appeared in the central headlines of the Albanian media in January 1993. Although efforts were made to minimize the effects of the scandal, the summer of 1993 saw the arrest of two trusted men—appointed to their posts by Berisha himself: Governor Hoti and the director of the Bankë Tregtare, Xhyheri. Meanwhile, July ’93 increased the scale of the scandal. Alberto Alessi, a Democratic senator and chairman of the group investigating aid and Italian cooperation with Albania, did not spare Finance Minister Ruli or President Berisha, accusing them— Journalists said then that Berisha, faced with unacceptable accusations, chose as his way of freeing himself from them not to discard the “fake decoration,” but to put the “smaller” people involved in the scandal behind bars. The turn came to the head of Albanian finance, Mr. Ruli. But the icy man, who knew the behind-the-scenes dealings very well, was being strongly defended and threatened. “I have had the malice of individuals (officials or otherwise) on my back, whose zeal and instinct for stealing or spec- ial interests gave them the opportunity to explain every action of mine as minister. But what happened was the most arbitrary and unjust. The prosecutor’s office arrested dozens of traders and customs officers in the hope of uncovering the threads of the cigarette-smuggling operation—the motive that would implicate Ruli in it, as former minister Ruli himself pointed out. So why was it done this way? Why was Ruli investigated over cigarettes rather than Arsidi? Was Ruli involved in the “Arsidi scandal,” or did he know a great deal about it? It seems that Ruli’s knowledge forced the withdrawal of the most co-

THE FIFTH WAS ABSENT UNDER THE «ARSIDI UMBRELLA» - Agim Tartari in the prison hospital with paralysis - With little hair on his shaved head, the acting director of BKT, Agim Tartari. Judge Çeliku, following the Court of Appeal’s decision and the barber’s work; less hair also for the former director of BKT, Agron Saliu; a little more hair above the ears for former governor Hoti; glasses on the face of BKT director Adrian Xhyheri; and fewer and fewer watchful eyes in the Tirana court—this was the latest picture reflecting the changes at the fifth resumption of the trial, which has been dragging on for more than two years, the «Arsidi trial». The fifth person under the «Arsidi» umbrella was also absent. Former judge Çeliku delayed the continuation of the trial by 20 minutes and said that the on-duty doctor at the prison hospital had reported that Agim Tartari had suffered an epileptic paralysis and that, despite intensive treatment, his condition continued to be serious. Under these circumstances, Tartari could not appear at the hearing. On this basis, Judge Çeliku yesterday postponed the hearing until next Saturday, 25 March 1995. E. B.

As early as 7 July 1992, the PS parliamentary group submitted a draft law on opening the files. . Since 7 July 1992, the PS parliamentary group has submitted a draft law on opening the files. Dozens of times, Socialist MPs have requested that this draft law be placed on the agenda. Once again, on 6 December 1993, the draft law was resubmitted to the Presidium of the People’s Assembly to be included in the programme and on the agenda. But... this draft law is still lying in the drawers of the Speaker of the People’s Assembly. Who is preventing its approval? The Speaker of the Assembly, the chairman of the PD Parliamentary Group, or others?! As a reminder, we are republishing the draft.

Yesterday afternoon, PS Presidium member and MP Bashkim Zeneli met with PS members and supporters from the village of Mazrek in the Kashar commune. The meeting was organized by the village PS organization in connection with the handing over of 27 membership documents, all belonging to young people. It is worth noting that the number of PS members has grown over the three-year period. The chair of the village PS organization, Pellumb Mici, spoke about the many problems troubling the villagers. Those who spoke at the meeting said that the PS MP elected on 22 March, the MP to whom they had given their vote, had not sent anyone to the village. At the meeting, Bashkim Zeneli spoke about the party programme, and especially about the need for elections and new alternatives for solving the many problems troubling the village. He focused in particular on the PS’s positions on foreign relations and on enhancing its standing through its clear foreign policy, especially the PS’s European orientation and the need for consistently maintaining good-neighbourly relations in the region. Our positions as the PS, and those of Bashkim Zeneli in the field of foreign policy, have been thoroughly tested over time. At the end, he answered participants’ questions about developments concerning the Nano case, in the context of the forthcoming meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Council, which will convene on 26 March in Madrid. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

TIRANA SALI KELMENDI ORDERS THE OCCUPATION OF KINDERGARTENS — More than 70 families out on the street. Also out on the street, but in kindergartens too, are 8 families forcibly evicted from a building. The mayor of Tirana, Mr. Sali Kelmendi, has begun to block even the kindergartens for children’s education. Just when it seemed that the destruction and occupation by irresponsible people of many premises belonging to educational institutions, including kindergartens, was coming to an end, it is the Mayor of Tirana, Mr. Sali Kelmendi, who orders, with his signature and seal, the occupation—«legal, moreover»—of these educational institutions. On Friday, at around 10:00 in the morning, carrying document no. 3858, dated 16.3.1995, five families, accompanied by the Head of Administrative Unit no. 6 and a group of police officers, forcibly entered and occupied premises in kindergartens 34 and 3. According to Mr. Sali Kelmendi’s order, these families were supposed to be accommodated in the local government offices and other vacant premises. Having occupied his own offices, the Head of Administrative Unit no. 6 directed the families to the two kindergartens in question. The director of kindergarten no. 34 told our editor that the premises occupied in her kindergarten are being used to house one child aged between one and 24 months, and 30 others without their parents. «The kindergarten has been the target of illegal invasions before, by people who took shelter there “temporarily”; these latest occupants, too, are once again being sheltered there “temporarily”,» says Mrs. Zografe Spiro. The word «temporarily» has been imposed on the entire kindergarten by order of the Tirana Municipality, too. One morning, the staff of this kindergarten met with the Minister of Education, who, surprised by the Municipality of Tirana’s action, gave them hope that the problem would be resolved. But it seems the matter does not end here. A major problem is finding shelter for more than seven families who, just three days ago, were forcibly evicted by the police from a building that had been sold to a businessman to build a bakery. The ordeal began two years ago, when these families, during the heyday of their confidence in the district’s MP, forcibly occupied the premises of the building that had just been sold. Its lawful owner took the matter to court, won the case, and the «Bailiff» repeatedly threatened to enforce the court ruling, but to no avail. Meanwhile, one resident of this building said that he had a document from the Municipal Council ordering that they not be removed from the building. Thus, the housing problem for these 7–8 families, raised by the PD, is “solved” by the Mayor Sali Kelmendi, who orders the destruction of kindergartens. How long can this go on? TEDI ÇELA

DIBER Visits by Turkish doctors Around 500 residents of Dibër have been examined by the team of Turkish military doctors who came to our country as part of the Medceur 95.1 exercise. Mustafa Ger, the team leader, tells us that they have conducted examinations and distributed medicines to patients with diseases of the kidneys, gallbladder, heart, liver, throat, nose, etc. «You have wonderful doctors,» says Mustafa, «very capable, but they lack modern equipment and supplies.» This is a conclusion drawn from the meetings and discussions the team of military doctors held with the doctors at Peshkopi Hospital. Yesterday they left Peshkopi for Burrel. A. ASHIKU

Healthcare services in the villages of the Krujë district, particularly in the mountainous area, leave much to be desired. In Nr. Gruz, Culli, Shkreti, Mafsheq, Picrragë, etc., not even the foundations of healthcare facilities could be found. Under these circumstances, healthcare workers «practice» their profession in the field, which has had significant consequences for the health of the population. Almost every time medical assistance is needed, residents of these areas are forced to travel for hours to the town of Krujë.

Funds for social assistance and economic support to help strengthen livelihoods this year are also arriving late in Vlora. The same is true for March. So far, not a single lek has arrived to be distributed to 2,830 families receiving full assistance and 339 families receiving partial assistance. What is the government doing, and does it think about this segment of the population?

The allocation of land within the old boundaries in the villages of Muhur commune in the Dibër district has left 75 families, comprising more than 500 people, without a single patch of land. Because state sources of employment and support for improving living standards in Muhur have disappeared, these families have no source of livelihood.

The position of legal adviser at the Elbasan Municipality has been vacant for several months. Since no one has been appointed so far, one might think that the municipal leaders do not really need a legal specialist in matters of legality.

Pursuant to Article 16 of Law No. 7491, dated 29.4.1991, «On the Main Constitutional Provisions», upon the proposal of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party The People’s Assembly of the Republic of Albania DECIDED: Article 1 To verify whether state officials entrusted with the duties of President, member of parliament, member of the government, heads of central institutions, and chairpersons of communes, municipalities and districts, had ties to the service of the former State Security, serving the dictatorship to the detriment of the interests, freedoms and rights of the individual. Article 2 A temporary parliamentary commission shall be established to vet the records of state officials. Acting under a mandate from the People’s Assembly, it shall carry out the verification and publish the results of the verification at a plenary session of the People’s Assembly. Article 3 The archives of the former Ministry of Internal Affairs and its district branches shall be made available to the commission for vetting the records of state officials. Article 4 State officials holding the positions specified in Article 1 who are found to have served the former State Security shall have their mandate revoked or be dismissed from their positions. Article 5 This law shall enter into force immediately. 7 July 1992

1,220 school buildings repaired 440 reconstructed 60 entirely new schools built All of this, as well as equipping laboratories with the most essential teaching materials and equipment, was made possible, according to Minister Teliti, by coordinating investments from the state budget with aid provided by foreign foundations and international organizations, as well as with the World Bank loan. But Minister Teliti stressed that there is still a shor-

The meeting of the General Steering Committee of the Socialist Party will be held on Monday, 20.3.1995, at 10:00. Agenda: 1. The political situation in the country requires positions and active support from all structures of the Socialist Party. 2. Informing the members of the General Steering Committee and the Socialist Party MPs, so that they may attend the meeting. The Presidium of the S.P.A.