Yesterday morning, PSSH Vice-Chairman Ilir Meta and Presidium member Musa Ulqini were in the city of Shkodër, where they expressed their condolences to the family members and relatives of the victims of the tragedy that occurred in Lake Shkodër on May 1. On these visits they were accompanied by leaders of the PS in the Shkodër District. “Voice of the People” correspondent.

Interview with Socialist Party Vice-Chairman Servet Pëllumbi Question: You did not take part in the televised discussion held on May 1 with the prime minister and the leading representatives of several parties on the issue of investment. The journalist who moderated the discussion said that you believed specialists should discuss this issue. In your opinion, what issues should the leading party representatives discuss? Answer: In all fairness, I want to say that a TV journalist called me and invited me to take part in this discussion. I replied that I would recommend a member of the party presidium, a specialist in these matters. I told the journalist that we should not return to the old positions that were rightly criticized, where the person at the top could talk about oil, agriculture and artificial construction as well... The journalist told me he would ask. He asked, and they told him that I should go, not the specialist! If the leading political party representatives attend meetings, even in front of the cameras, they should discuss issues of nationwide importance that require consensus among the political forces, such as the constitution and the procedures for its adoption; major issues that do not concern any specific completed investment, when unemployment is rising instead of falling and the standard of living of the overwhelming majority of people has fallen by over 50 percent. People rightly ask: If this money really has been invested, where has it gone? They have every right to ask this, especially when they learn that “of the 280 million lekë that the EU donated to Albania for the period ’92–’93, only 27 million, that is, less than 10 percent, were paid into the state budget” (Gazeta Shqiptare, 26.4.95). Question: How do you comment on the attacks in recent days by the PD and its propaganda over your absence from this discussion? Answer: It is an interesting situation. Instead of RD and Tritan Shehu dealing with the substance of the issue, with the failure of the propaganda about the roughly 2–3 billion dollars supposedly invested, they are dealing with my not taking part in this discussion! It seems Tritan is very angry with me because the greater part of his discussion was burned up. That is why, during the discussion, he tried to vent his anger on others. Question: Now that you have seen the discussion on TV, what do you say: were you right or wrong not to take part? Answer: I agree with the assessment Mr. Godo made of the discussion. It was a discussion that gave a headache not only to Godo but also to the viewers. As for me, I had less of a headache because I probably watched only half of the discussion; I did not watch the other half because, as a result of Mr. Meksi’s investments, I had no electricity. I would add that our absence from that meeting gave the parties of the former coalition more room to confront the Meksi government directly. Question: What is your opinion of the impression made by Socialist representatives in the televised discussions? Answer: That depends on each specialist’s individuality. The main thing is that when each person appears on TV, they are obliged to defend the party’s platform in keeping with their abilities and specialty. But it must be stressed that these specialists are not always given the necessary airtime, and they are often cast as extras in the prepared scripts. Thank you. ... our school and not the specialist. The main leaders of the political parties, when they go to meetings on this matter, even before the cameras, should discuss important issues, while representatives seek consensus among the political forces on matters such as the constitution and the procedures for its approval, a common platform for resolving the national question, election campaign platforms, etc. These matters should be discussed at round tables with the President of the Republic. Party leaders may also meet with the prime minister, but not to verify whether or not the euphoric figures in the Democratic Party’s propaganda are accurate: the figures the president announces in some church or mosque. As for issues requiring expert opinion, such as various aspects of economic reform and different areas of the country’s life, as well as the subject of investment under discussion, specialists should be called in. If Prime Minister Meksi were transparent on an issue such as investment, he should have faced either journalists or specialists. There is no reason for him to seek a façade with some of the political parties in order to make the euphoria of deceiving public opinion credible. He and the others who think they can deceive people by claiming that 2–3 billion dollars’ worth of investment was made during the PD’s three years should know that, under democracy, people cannot be hoodwinked. People are able to reason, especially when 23 percent of the vote in these elections is at issue. The result achieved by the Labour Party and that of the Conservatives, the two traditional rival parties in Britain, needs little comment. It speaks of a resounding victory for Labour and a shocking defeat for the Conservatives. Question: Now that you have watched the discussion on TV, what do you say: was it right or wrong that you did not television because perhaps I watched only half of the discussion; I missed What is your opinion of the performance of the socialist representatives in the discussions held on television? is that when each one appears on TV, they are obliged to defend the alternative of the party they represent in accordance with their abilities and field of expertise. But it should necessary time and space, and you. Interviewed by BEQIR SKRELI

KORÇË May 5, this day has now entered the storehouse of the Albanian people’s memory as the day of remembrance for its sons and daughters who laid down their lives as the foundation of its future. This year, people went to the war martyrs’ cemetery in the city of Korçë in greater numbers than ever before. The authorities did everything to ensure that the official ceremony went smoothly, laying wreaths and bunches of flowers. But the people can never forgive their nihilistic attitude toward the blood and countless sacrifices of their martyred sons. The PSSH Vice-Chairman, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, had also come to the martyrs’ cemetery to pay tribute. He laid wreaths on the graves of the martyrs Koco Dhimo and Niko Pandeli. As soon as Comrade Servet came out of the tribute room, the people filling the cemetery burst into applause. This was the people of Korçë’s appreciation of the Socialist Party’s stance toward the national liberation war. The conversation at the home of People’s Hero Koci Bako was deeply moving. The hero’s son, Niko Bako, spoke about the attitude of today’s authorities toward his father’s legacy. “They brought in a crane in broad daylight,” he said, “to tear the bronze letters off the memorial. They summoned me too and told me to declare that my father had been killed on November 3, 1942. What am I supposed to believe? There is only one thing they will never manage to do to Koci Bako,” the professor said: “They cannot tear him out of the people’s hearts.” Throughout Martyrs’ Day, Comrade Servet Pëllumbi and the leaders of the Korçë Socialist Party visited many martyrs’ families, both in the city of Korçë and in Maliq and the surrounding villages. As part of the visits to the families of the martyrs, Prof. Servet Pëllumbi went to the family of Mihallaq Pendavinji, which lost five members in the national liberation war. The household and their relatives expressed their appreciation for the Socialist Party’s stance and respect toward the fighters for freedom. “The PS message for this day, and for the day of Albania’s liberation, has been clear,” Pëllumbi told those present. “A party that does not know how to value the nation’s memory is destined to fall out of history. Initiatives such as the conflict after the harvest are simply hypocrisy, noise and commotion.” “I was 13 when I slung a rifle over my shoulder,” says veteran Dhora Terova. “Will Sali Berisha go to Moscow with honor, where the 50th anniversary of victory over fascism will be celebrated? The democratic world has always taken a firm stand against collaborators and accomplices of fascism, whereas here the opposite happens: decorations are taken away from those who fought, and those stained with historical disgrace are decorated.” This is what everyone said in the various conversations in the homes of the families of the war heroes and martyrs in the city of Korçë. M. MEKO TIRANË As part of the many commemorative events organized yesterday for May 5, the Day of the Glories and Martyrs of the Homeland, a prominent place was given to commemorative visits by Socialist Party leaders and MPs to the families of those who gave their blood and lives for the homeland. Yesterday in the capital, the families and relatives of martyrs were visited in many homes by Socialist Party Vice-Chairman and parliamentary group leader Namik Dokle, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Assembly Shaqir Vukaj, Socialist Party Vice-Chairmen Luan Hajdaraga and Ilir Meta, and Presidium members and People’s Assembly MPs Musa Ulqini and Maqo Lakrori, together with other members of the Socialist Party’s General Steering Committee. Yesterday, PSSH Presidium member Bashkim Zeneli, a People’s Assembly MP, and Leontiev Çuçi, an MP and member of the PSSH General Steering Committee, also went to Pezë and visited martyrs’ families. During all these visits, they remembered with respect and deep gratitude all the sons and daughters of this country who sacrificed themselves for the homeland’s freedom and its liberation from the Nazi-fascist occupiers and their local traitorous servants, reaffirming the Socialist Party’s position on the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War, a glorious epic and a source of heroism and pride with which generations will be proud for centuries. No one will ever be able to deny the blood shed for freedom; no one can replace countless acts of heroism and sacrifice with the treachery of fascist collaborators. “Voice of the People” correspondent. PEZË Yesterday, Socialist Party Presidium member Bashkim Zeneli and PSSH General Steering Committee member Dr. Leontiev Çuçi, both People’s Assembly MPs, went to commemorate May 5 among the residents of Pezë, a heroic place in the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War. Together with representatives of the Albanian Veterans’ Committee, the party and the local government in the municipality, they laid bouquets at the Pezë martyrs’ cemetery and at the memorial to the distinguished commander Myslim Peza, who founded and led Europe’s first partisan detachment. Bashkim Zeneli and Leontiev Çuçi also visited martyrs’ families in Pezë and Pezë Helmës, and the Spahja family in Pezë e Vogël, where in 1943 the fascists killed and massacred 11 members of the family. ... future, G. Ruçi emphasized. In the family of Kadri and Drita Murraj, the deeds of its four martyrs are honored. To strike at the martyrs means to strike spiritually at the people. Even someone who asked in parliament for May 5, the symbolic day, to be abolished is today obliged to bow before their glorious deeds precisely on May 5, it was said in conversations in this family. Deputies Ruci and Brokaj also visited the family of Skënder Latifi in the village of Babicë. Meanwhile, deputies Dritëro Agolli and Moikom Zeqo went to the distant mountain village of Kuç to take part in the ceremonies organized by the people of Kuç in memory of the young men from their village who fell as martyrs. G. TUSHE

- Another crushing defeat for the ruling Conservative Party - The British Labour Party, in the local elections held in England and Wales on Thursday. The results of these elections are as follows: The opposition Labour Party candidates won 48 percent of the vote, the Conservatives fell to 25 percent, while the Liberal Democratic Party gained ground, securing 23 percent of the vote in these elections. (Continued on page 4)

Hundreds of citizens of Vlorë, including members and relatives of martyrs’ families, paid tribute at the martyrs’ cemetery in honor of their glorious deeds. Socialist Party leaders also took part in the ceremony, among them Gramoz Ruçi, PSSH secretary-general, and Presidium member Dr. Prof. Sabit Brokaj. Tributes were also paid at the cemetery of the martyrs of the 1920 Vlora War. May 5 in Vlorë was celebrated with visits to all the martyrs’ families. MPs Ruçi and Brokaj visited the family of People’s Hero Shyqyri Alimerko. The Hero’s wife, Refika Hoxha, and his nephews, Alberti and Hodo, welcomed the Socialist MPs. Anyone who does not honor the martyrs and heroes has no

An unusually ordinary day was the backdrop to May 5 in Elbasan. The ordinary appearance was evident in the placement of just two banners across the whole city to mark this date, one of the most notable in history; add to that the silence of the Museum of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War, now permanently closed, and the former Qemal Stafa house museum, which is almost entirely out of operation. Nevertheless, at 11 o’clock, the residents of Elbasan set off for the martyrs’ cemetery to honor the memory of the fallen and lay bunches of flowers on their graves. Unexpectedly, at this official ceremony, the first to arrive at the martyrs’ cemetery—which was quieter than ever—were the comrades and fellow fighters of the fallen partisans, among them, leaning on a cane, People’s Heroine Emine Bahja. Later, to the sounds of the city band, wreaths were laid at the memorial obelisk by Elbasan’s MPs in the People’s Assembly, the prefect, the chairmen of the district and municipal councils, the division, political parties and veterans’ organizations. On behalf of the district Socialist Party steering committee, the wreath was laid by the committee’s chairman and secretary, Dritan Çerma and Bardhyl Konda. After the ceremony at the cemetery, visits were made to the families of the martyrs and their relatives. S. CEKANI

On the occasion of May 9, the Day of Final Victory over Fascism, the National Committee of LANÇL Veterans of the Albanian People has received many invitations from counterpart veterans’ organizations and associations in several European countries. At the invitation of the National Committee of Veterans of the Patriotic War of the Russian Federation, a delegation consisting of Comrade Pirro Dodiba, chairman of the National Committee of LANÇL Veterans, and Qamil Poda, secretary-general of this Committee, set off for Moscow. Likewise, at the invitation of the President of “Romë Congress S.R.L.” of Italy, a delegation consisting of Comrades Qazim Kapiszy, vice-chairman of the National Committee of LANÇL Veterans, and Nikolla Mallisi and Feti Rugji set off to take part in the events organized for May 9. These days, a delegation led by People’s Hero Ndreko Konomi is also setting off for England, at the invitation of Dr. John Morrison, chairman of the “Rally for Reconsili ation” Association, to take part in the celebrations for May 9, Victory Day over Fascism. A delegation of the National Committee of LANÇL Veterans, led by Committee Presidium member Pëpi Mitrongji, is setting off for Greece to take part in the event to be organized there for May 9. Meanwhile, at the invitation of the Macedonian Organizing Committee, another delegation of consisting of Comrades Figri Vogli, Bilal Parruca and Hatixhe Deliu, is setting off for Macedonia to take part in the festive ceremonies to be organized there for May 9.

More than 400,000 new lekë intended to pay pensioners and residents of the municipality of Prap in Elbasan who receive social assistance have ended up in the thieves’ pockets. The robbery took place in the early hours of Wednesday. The cashbox was broken open with heavy tools while the guard was asleep.

In Korçë, all teachers from the different categories of schools who took part in the school strike had a day’s pay deducted, with the money withheld. Money was even withheld for the one-hour warning strike that preceded it, although in both cases the strike was conducted in accordance with the legal framework, as confirmed by the official information media.

Although the municipality of the city of Durrës had allocated a fund of 110 million lekë for filling potholes in the roads, 6.5 million lekë for repairing the industrial market square and the farmers’ market square, and 10 million lekë for asphalting and installing drainage on the Hospital-Cemetery road—a total amount worth more than 30 million lekë—the roads of Durrës continue to be full of potholes and mud.