Today at the headquarters of the Socialist Party, its deputy chairman Servet Pëllumbi received the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova. Today at the headquarters of the Socialist Party, its of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova. The deputy chairmen of the Socialist Party, Namik Dokle and Ilir Meta, also took part in the meeting. During the meeting, in a fraternal and understanding spirit, specific issues concerning the situation in the country were discussed. The need for all political forces in Albania and Kosovo to engage in addressing the unsettled situations and choosing appropriate options for the Albanian issue was emphasized. Press Spokesperson of the SP Tirana, 17.04.1995

- Protest rally of the Confederation of Trade Unions - Yesterday, hundreds of trade unionists from the capital took part in a protest rally organized at the “Asllan Rusi” sports palace to demand jobs, higher wages and pensions, an end to corruption and the squandering of workers’ hard-earned money, etc. The opening speech was delivered by the chairman of the Tirana Trade Union Federation, Irfan Dashi. The capital, he said, now counts 35,000 unemployed, 50,000 people receiving assistance, of whom 10,000 receive partial assistance, 70,000 pensioners with incomes below the minimum, and 30,000 employees in the budgetary system with wages only slightly higher than pensions. Tirana is surrounded by “ghettos” of residents who have come mainly from the country’s northeastern areas, covered in rubbish and overrun by corruption and kiosks. Finally, even «Demokracia» of Valiash was withheld from employees. The chairman of the Tirana Trade Union Federation called on workers to protest forcefully in the streets of the capital on May 1 against the injustices done to them. Then Kastiot Muço, Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania, took the floor. He reiterated the Confederation’s demand for the government’s resignation as an indispensable conclusion. The government, he said, is no longer an all-Albanian government but one belonging to a group that steals the people’s wealth. Small and medium-sized enterprises have passed into the hands of supporters of those in power. In Albania, he said, there are 500,000 pensioners living in hardship, 320,000 unemployed, 100,000 people in the budgetary sector with low incomes, and one million minors in these families. Thus, two million Albanians live below the subsistence minimum. The government is lying when it says that 85 percent of Albanians are living well. It is taking no measures to increase domestic production or protect it. The Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania called on the Independent Trade Unions of Albania to organize together the strike of teachers, healthcare workers and budget-sector employees, thereby making the voice of trade unionists stronger and more united. Leaders of several trade union federations in the capital, as well as representatives of political parties—PAD, PSD, PS, PUK, etc.—spoke at the rally. The gathering was accompanied by slogans: «We want jobs», «we want higher wages», «down with corruption», etc. At the end, the demand for the government’s resignation was reiterated, along with a call to protest in the streets of Tirana on May 1. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

On Friday, 14 April 1995, at 2:30 p.m., the Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of the Tropojë district had planned to hold an expanded gathering with members and supporters of the Socialist Party in the large hall of the Palace of Cu- The district SP leaders, in accordance with all laws in force, obtained permission from the municipal and institutional authorities, while also notifying the leaders of the public order department. A day before the meeting, the district Socialist Party leaders asked the prefect and the public order authorities to allow the meeting to proceed as planned and in accordance with all laws, requesting that the police carry out the duty assigned to them by the district. police carry out the duty assigned to them by law. On 14 April 1995, Friday, meeting large hall of the Palace of Culture in the town of Bajram Curri. MPs of the People’s Assembly Shaqir Vukaj, deputy chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Musa Ulqini, a member of the Socialist Party leadership, and Dr. Lush Përpali were also to attend. The district PS from the municipal authorities and the institution, and also informed the leaders of the public order branch. One day before the meeting, public order officials asked the district PS leaders not to hold it, on the pretext that they were unable to prevent the possible incidents that had been forecast, even though more than 700 invitations had been distributed to people from throughout the district. public order officials for the meeting to go ahead the police perform the duty assigned to them by law. However, after all these developments, on the three roads leading to the town of Bajram Curri, before the police had taken measures, groups of ... (Continued on page 2) ... in the village so that it would not be caused, the work of art would not be stolen or looted. of Albanianism, this universal intellect. It is ... to despise party members, whoever they may be, are transient, whereas the works of Qosja, Agolli and Kadare are eternal, said Gramoz Ruçi. Selenica has many sons of its own in ... (Continued on page 3) ... announced as sensational. to pass through the antechamber of the mystery surrounding the arrest of former Albanian governor Mr. Ilir Hoti. Strongly shielded in two interpellations by the ruling PD majority, and later in a trial marked by serious procedural violations, where the suspicion against him was extremely strong, the Albanian governor was put in handcuffs on 4 April 1993. Everyone asked then: who arrested Ilir Hoti, and why? Various analysts following the scandal... This is the constitutional puzzle, precisely where the difficulty of solving the crossword puzzle embodied in there is something else, too. The arrangement of the words at the end of the solution will answer the question: Who is the boss here? Although many Albanian politicians say his name sotto voce, and although insinuations and threats over the past three years have turned the matter into an unsolvable puzzle. This is the constitutional puzzle, in Who is the boss here? (Continued on page 3) 1 SEPTEMBER 1993. The trial concludes. The court finds Vilson Ahmeti him to two years, Agim Tartara LAST TEN DAYS OF SEPTEMBER 1993. An Albanian delegation including the governor of the Bank of Albania, Ilir Hoti, and consisting of officials ...

On Saturday, April 22, the «Arsid» trial resumes SHADOW AND LIGHT: WHY WAS GOVERNOR ILIR HOTI ARRESTED? WHO BETRAYED HIM AFTER HIS RETURN FROM AMERICA? - Why does the court refuse to allow the French lawyer representing the Albanian complainant in Paris, Mr. Jean Pol Carteron, to appear before it? TIRANA — The biggest scandal in Albanian finance, the «Arsid Scandal», is expected to make a sensational return to the Tirana court. In particular, the two-week pause in the proceedings—which began two months ago—has still not put an end to the uncertainty surrounding the trial, which is now forced to ask bluntly: «Will the much-discussed and eagerly awaited Frenchman Nicola Arsidi appear before the judges in Tirana or not?» In any case, the resumption of the proceedings this Saturday, April 22, has been announced as a sensational one. Before entering the dark chamber of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of 1.6 million dollars, the trial will first have to pass through the antechamber of the mystery of the arrest of the former Albanian governor, Mr. Ilir Hoti. Having been strongly defended in two interpellations by the ruling majority of the PD, and later, at the biggest standstill in the proceedings, commentators told the newspaper yesterday that uncovering the mystery of Ilir Hoti’s arrest will be closely linked to clarifying the mechanism by which the money disappeared. They say that if the «crossword puzzle» contained in the antechamber is solved, entry into the chamber of the conditions involving 1.6 million dollars will be ready, and can even be achieved without much toil or effort. But in any case, it will not be so easy, since the hounds in the Albanian Palace of Justice have shown that miracles happen: for three years they have turned the case into an unsolvable riddle. Not because the judges do not know how to solve the riddle of the conditions, but because they are afraid to solve it. This is precisely where the difficulty of solving the «crossword puzzle» surrounding the arrest of Albanian governor Ilir Hoti will lie. But there is something else, too. The circumstances have become so open that no one dares give the question another form—the form of answers. In an effort to do at least a little of this, we present chronologically the events that fill the period before and after Mr. Hoti’s arrest. They are deeply shocking and say a great deal. 16 AUGUST 1993. The first trial in the Arsidi case begins at the Tirana Court of First Instance. Charged with abuse of office in collaboration are former Albanian Prime Minister Vilson Ahmeti and former National Commercial Bank director Agron Saliu, as well as Agim Tartari. 1 SEPTEMBER 1993. The proceedings conclude. The court finds them guilty of the crime of abuse of office and sentences Vilson Ahmeti to two years, Agim Tartari to 6 years, and Agron Saliu to 7 years. THE LAST TEN DAYS OF AUGUST-

- Meetings of comrades Gramoz Ruçi and Sabit Brokaj - When you come down to the main square of the town of Selenica, you will always find hundreds of people there, their faces saddened by the difficult economic situation the town is experiencing. The only source of livelihood for its 9,000 residents has been Selenica’s famous sulfur mine, once known for its value, now almost closed. Of the 1,500 workers it once had, around 250 remain today. Two days before the referendum, Prime Minister Meksi came to Selenica and made some strained promises, but the Selenicans’ NO vote on the draft constitution seems to have reduced even Meksi’s modest promises to zero. Thus, in this situation of complete economic collapse, the meeting with Socialist MPs Gramoz Ruçi and Sabit Brokaj was very welcome. Enthusiastic calls for the Socialist Party and for Fatos Nano filled the hall for many minutes. There is no doubt that they express the people’s trust in the Socialist alternative. Genc Xhafa, the party coordinator, Nasho Dhamaj, a member of the Vlora SP leadership, Qatip Basho, the commune chairman, and dozens of other residents from Selenica, Karbunara, Treblova, Romësi and Armeni who took part in the meeting expressed this beautifully and concisely. Selenica, says Gramoz Ruçi, is one of the SP’s principal strongholds because it is made up of poor people. And poverty in Selenica affects everyone, regardless of political views or party affiliation. The way out of this situation is not through class struggle, but through logical debate and argument. In Selenica, this important center not only of work but also of culture, a debate about liberation through the values of our national culture was bound to emerge, because, paradoxically, in these years the moral, cultural and historical values of our people are being denied. It is difficult in Albania, Ruçi said, to find a village museum that has not been damaged, or a work of art that has not been stolen and plundered. It is national madness to attack Rexhep Qosja, this apostle of Albanian identity, this universal mind. It is absurdity to scorn Agolli and Kadare because they are not members of the PD. But they are a source of pride for our nation. They have their immortal works. Those in power and party members, whoever they may be, are passing figures, while the work of Qosja, Agolli and Kadare is eternal, said Gramoz Ruçi. (Continued on page 3)

Yesterday at midday, goods produced by citizens of the economic delegation were presented in one of the pavilions of the National History Museum in Tirana; at the opening ceremony, an exhibition of the Republic of Tatarstan was introduced, along with the purpose of opening an exhibition of Russian goods. The Republic of Tatarstan, she said, is an autonomous republic in the center of the Russian Federation and has trade and economic relations with Spain, Bulgaria, all the former Russian republics, etc. Tatarstan’s industrial capacity is equal to that of three independent Baltic states—Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia—taken together. The oil industry is developed, with annual production of 28 million tons and exports of 8 million tons, as are the machine-building industry and the defense industry, where work is being done to convert here the gifts from enterprises of the Federation... (Continued from page 2)

TROPOJE Shaqir Vukaj: The SP is a party of the whole people, of all regions, of all religions, and not, as they want to call it, a “party of the south.” How the tasks for 1995 had been carried out was the subject of the expanded SP meeting in Tropojë at the end of last week, attended also by the Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, comrade Shaqir Vukaj, and MPs Lush Përpali and Musa Ulqini. Despite numerous difficulties, the SP in Tropojë is, numerically and organizationally, the most serious political force and the one best able to meet the demands of the times, said the district SP chairman, Hasan Hyka, at the beginning of his speech. It has taken root in 9 area councils and 16 brigades in 90 villages ... [partly illegible] ... noting that the townspeople ... (Continued on page 2)

Lushnjë — Committees at the PS Last week, the leadership of the Socialist Party (PS) in the Lushnjë district organized a meeting with intellectuals and specialists, ... members and collaborators of the working committees established within the district’s PD. Also taking part were Dr. Maqo Lakrori, an MP for the PS from the Lushnjë district and today PSSh, and Vlladimir Metani, an MP. The meeting focused on issues concerning ... Later, representatives of the committee ... In his opening remarks, the chairman of the district PS, Comrade Miltiadh Mata, after presenting the procedure followed and the committees’ initial activities, stressed that “the dominant support enjoyed by the alternative of democratic socialism in our district as well, among the main social groups, includes the intellectual community. This has made it possible for us, as the KD, to have a broad scope for organizing the committees, with both specialists who have many years of experience and young scientists...”. (Continued on page 2)

The education federation’s trade-union section has been established, initially with 200 members. The education federation’s trade-union section has been established, initially with 200 members, and this new trade-union organization includes teachers from schools in the towns of Elbasan and Cërrik and several villages. The reason for establishing this section, which is expected to increase its membership soon, is to wage a fair trade-union struggle, but also its separation from the BSPSH, which has not defended their interests, and the trade-union struggle it has conducted in compromise with the government. Despite pressure from the heads of some schools not to join this union, many teachers are determined to become members and support the education federation.

Bashkim Tafciu, from the village of Kllopçisht in the Dibër district, who was killed at the border, was laid to rest. Bashkim lost his life at the age of ... while searching for his daily bread, the provision of which is becoming increasingly difficult for young Albanians, with a knife at their backs.

The Shkodran mejku i lunor Behar Tull tragically lost his life on Sunday at the age of 40. The tragedy occurred in a car accident as he was returning from Lezhë to Shkodër on Sunday. He was accompanied on his final journey by dozens and hundreds of citizens of Shkodër.