These days Ilir Meta, deputy chairman of the Socialist Party, is visiting London after being invited to take part in the International Conference “The Future of Europe.” During his stay in London, he is also holding several working meetings. Yesterday afternoon he met Mr. Luis Ajala, Secretary-General of the Socialist International, at the International’s headquarters. During the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, they discussed at length and exchanged views on the political, economic and social situation the country is going through, as well as the situation in the region and the positions of the Albanian Socialist Party on various issues. A special place in the meeting was also given to the international relations of the PSSH and recent developments concerning the Nano issue. PSSH Press and Information Office

THE AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT IN TIRANA Austrian President Tomas Klestil, at the head of an official delegation consisting of Foreign Minister Alois Mock, the Minister of Justice and a number of businesspeople, paid a visit to Albania yesterday. Their visit was very intensive: talks between the presidents and between counterpart ministers, an address by President Klestil to the Albanian parliament, a meeting between the latter and Prime Minister Meksi, a photo exhibition at the National Gallery of Arts featuring photographs of the great Albanian artist Aleksandër Moisiu, which will later be donated to the Aleksandër Moisiu Foundation in Durrës, etc. President Klestil’s visit to Tirana had several aspects: advancing bilateral relations in various fields, Austria’s political support for Albania’s integration into European institutions, and the crisis in the region. Both sides shared the same views on the Balkan crisis, its resolution and the Kosovo issue. At the joint press conference on this matter, President Sali Berisha declared that there was Albanian-Austrian understanding regarding developments in the Balkans, based both on efforts for peace and stability in the region and on the inalienable rights of the peoples living on this peninsula. Berisha went on to say that the Albanian issue had had a full dimension in the chancelleries of Austria-Hungary and Austria. For his part, addressing the Albanian parliament on this issue, Austrian President Klestil stressed that the terrible war being waged in Yugoslavia was the greatest challenge to security in Europe. “We share with Albania our concern about the development of resistance in the region connected with it.” He went on to say that “Austria has continually condemned the ongoing oppression of Albanians in Kosovo, which could result in an uncontrollable expansion of this conflict.” The Austrian view is that “a resolution of the Kosovo issue must be an essential element of any comprehensive solution for peace in the former Yugoslavia. According to Klestil, the rights of Kosovo’s Albanian population, in accordance with the principles of the OSCE, must be restored, and only swift talks can (Continued on page 2)

On Sunday President Berisha was in Fan, Mirditë, for the inauguration of the Church of Shënmarku. He would have been a welcome sight if he had gone to Fan to inaugurate a school, had one been built, of course, or the new hospital, whose three-storey building was completed in 1990 but is not in operation. Nothing has been built in the remote area of Fan during the time the Democratic Party has been in government. They have only become lumberjacks. The former workers’ centers in Thirrë and Qaf-Kumbull are in the same condition. Very close to the church that was inaugurated stands the secondary school, with broken doors and windows and destroyed desks and tables. The eight-year schools in Shëngjin, Konaj, Sang and Domgjon are in a miserable state. The people of Fan live on social assistance, and some on the smuggling of timber. All this is just to keep body and soul together. The mines, geology, wood processing and forestry operations were shut down. Now people are damaging the forests in order to survive. Hundreds of hectares of forest have disappeared over these three years. Vehicles from all over the country transport timber illegally, on Sundays or at night. The rebuilding of the Church of Fan was the wish of the people of this area, and we thank Katarina Austriak with all our hearts. Your mistake, Mr. President, is that by speaking in the church of Fan, you confused religion with politics. Places of worship—churches and mosques—accept this less than anywhere else. If, on every occasion or whenever you have the people before you, you have to talk politics, as you did in Fan, this harms your standing as a politician and at the same time damages your image as the hope of the people’s unity. People may forgive you this desire to politicize everything, all the more so in a place of worship, but that does not mean they must necessarily trust you. They believe in God; that is why they have gathered in the church. But after promising Albanians “the finest things on earth” before March 22, 1992, and badly disillusioning them with an “earthly paradise,” now, as your term of office is nearing its end, whether you like it or not, you are promising them “heavenly paradise”(!). You also made no small number of promises to the people of Fan: that you would asphalt the national road, that telephones would be installed in every household, that you would create new jobs and tourist facilities would be established. But your promises went with the wind. You also made a serious mistake when you tried to link the inauguration of the Church of Shënmarku with Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe. If, as you said on that occasion, “we are on the path of God,” then it follows that, having waited a full three years outside Europe’s doors—practically longer than other states—we must not have been on God’s path after all(!). Religion does not deal with the affairs of governments. God has left democracy on earth for people to shape according to their own will. But apparently you are afraid of that will. And the will of the people is not up for debate. In the newly rebuilt Church of Shënmarku, you took the opportunity to attack your political opponents. The people know very well that there will be no turning back, neither to Marx nor to the philosopher. I say this because, before you, Mr. Tritan Shehu said in Berknsh that if the Draft Constitution did not win, there would be collectivization and cooperatives would be set up. People only laughed. You came to Fan by helicopter. You returned to Tirana in it as well. It would have been better if you had travelled by car, since the roads in this area would have given you the chance to see the reality more clearly: the difficult drama of life faced by nearly 10,000 residents. At religious ceremonies it is said that “God regards all people equally.” You, Mr. Berisha, are also equal to everyone else before God. When you enter a place of worship, it is best to truly feel that you are the President of Albania and to preach unity, not division. NIKOLLË LOKA BEKTASH ZENELI

ILIR META: Chairman of the PSSH Foreign Affairs Commission. between our two countries - On the occasion of the visit of the Federal President of Austria, Dr. Thomas Klestil - ILIR META: Chairman of the PSSH Foreign Affairs Commission. Klestil, is a further affirmation of the traditional ties between our two countries. Albanian-Austrian relations are historical and have developed into relations of cooperation between our two countries, serving their national interests. It is a historical fact that, at difficult moments for our country at the beginning of this century, Austria opposed chauvinist anti-Albanian designs to partition our country and also provided international assistance for the proclamation of Albania’s independence. Friendly relations between Albania and Austria began to revive in the second half of the 1950s. This was when the Government of Albania supported the 1955 State Treaty on the re-establishment of an independent and democratic Austria, as well as the Federal Constitutional Law on permanent neutrality. The two countries subsequently restored diplomatic relations, giving new impetus to their traditional political, economic and cultural ties. Austria is well known to us Albanians also as a country where distinguished figures of our nation, such as Aleksandër Moisiu and Karl Gega, worked and made their mark, and where many others, such as Prof. Buda, Prof. Çabej, Poradeci, etc., studied. Austria is also the homeland of distinguished Albanologists such as Norbert Jokl and Maksimilian Lamberg, who made a valuable contribution to the study of the Albanian language and the lyric ethnogenesis of the Albanian people. Thus, relations between Albania and Austria did not begin today, but we undoubtedly believe that this very important visit by the Federal President of Austria, Dr. Klestil, will help bring about fruitful cooperation between our two countries, especially in the economic field, where Austrian investment is welcome. An important role in bringing relations between our two countries to the very good level they have reached today has been played by Dr. Thomas Klestil, who visited Albania in the second half of the 1980s in his capacity as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the new era in which Klestil, is now taking place offers far greater opportunities to strengthen and further develop relations between our two countries. Austria’s commitment to establishing peace and security in the Balkans is also well known; in this context, we therefore regard this visit as an expression of political cooperation to contribute constructively in favor of regional stability. Meanwhile, since last June Austria has been a member of the European Union, so this visit is important not only bilaterally and regionally, but also in terms of providing greater support to Albania in the process of European integration it seeks. From the speech by Federal President Dr. Thomas Klestil before the Albanian parliament on May 2, 1995 My visit to the Republic of Albania and to this esteemed assembly is not merely an expression of the friendly bond between our two peoples. With this visit I also wished expressly to underline the great interest Austria offers to the new Albania—with the appreciation of my colleagues for the path followed so far toward democracy. Parliamentarianism is the heart of every democracy—and therefore the good wishes of democratic Austria extend in a special way to… You, ladies and gentlemen deputies. The political fate of past decades has relegated to the background much of the special closeness our two countries have felt for one another over the long periods of our shared history. But today we live in a new Europe that changes every day, a Europe that has profoundly changed its structures. It is therefore time to recall with joy and pride the special moments of a centuries-old glorious history, of an age-old friendship, in order to build our future coexistence upon it. Let us not forget that the proud Albanian and national hero of Albania, Skënderbeu, led in the 15th century—and inspired later Austrian rulers—the resistance against the then-advancing Ottoman Empire. - Let us not forget how diverse our relations became after the establishment of a general consulate. (Continued on page 2)

9 drown, 8 of them children!... The tragic news became known to the wider public in Shkodër yesterday, in the early hours of the morning. The tragedy occurred at around 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Fifteen children were returning by boat from the village of Zogaj, where they had gone as a group to spend May Day. A powerful wind caused waves reaching up to one meter high. Within moments, the boat sank, along with eight children aged 10–12 and the boatman Agim Mataj. One of the drowned children was the boatman’s son. The other children were saved thanks to assistance from a nearby fishing boat. The regular police and border police forces went to the scene. Likewise, throughout the night, residents of the Kras neighborhood in Shkodër waited anxiously on the lakeshore... Yesterday the team of divers from Vlora also arrived. It was hoped that the bodies would be found, but by the afternoon it had not been possible to find even a single body. The search continues. The editorial staff of “Zëri i Popullit” extends its condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.

The Apulian authorities call on Albanians to make an effort to stop the wave of illegal migrants. Italian sources reported yesterday that, despite strict measures to monitor the Apulian coast against the wave of migrants arriving from the opposite shores, 218 illegal migrants had been apprehended. Earlier, some of the migrants had landed on the Apulian coast, trying to evade surveillance by law-enforcement forces. Some of them were taken to ports yesterday to be repatriated. Most of the illegal migrants were found in the villages of Otranto and Lecce. Meanwhile, the Italian authorities announced that the army’s operation to monitor the Apulian coast would begin after Sunday’s runoff election. Thus, until May 7, the 700 soldiers who will prevent the landing of illegal migrants arriving from the Albanian coast will be assembled to provide high security near polling stations. The Apulian authorities are also calling for illegal migrants.

The fallen of Tërbaç are commemorated Dozens of people from Tërbaç, from Vlora and other cities in Albania, gathered these days for a ceremonial meeting to commemorate, on the eve of May 5, Martyrs’ Day, their sons who gave their lives to liberate the Homeland from the occupiers and traitors of the country. Former partisans, war and labor veterans, young men and women, and sons and daughters of the village of Tërbaç took part in the meeting; this village made a significant contribution to the national liberation war. Honoring the fallen has been the leitmotif of many commemorative events in Vlora in recent days.

For the second time this month, Elbasan has been cut off from Tirana and several other districts. Repeated faults in the intercity telephone cable or in the overhead lines have caused difficulties both for citizens communicating with their relatives and vice versa, as well as for business activities and for local government bodies to stay connected with the central state administration. It took 48 hours to locate the fault and resume communications.

At 11:30 on May 1, 24-year-old Ilir Reçi, a resident of this town, was shot with a pistol by persons not yet identified by the law-enforcement authorities. Although he was rushed to hospital, it was impossible to save his life. This tragic death deeply grieved the residents of Rrëshen and the surrounding villages.

Your mistake, Mr. President, is that | …tically more than the other states, || BEKTASH ZENELI