A DRAFT LAW THAT “BRINGS TO LIFE” AID FOR THE POOR Compulsory labor imposed by those who profess their devotion to human liberties and rights. By public works, the government means cleaning streets, sidewalks, gardens, public toilets, digging canals, building footbridges, painting schools, etc. A threatening note: Those who oppose the draft law, which has reportedly been drawn up by the Democratic Party government, will be threatened by law—their economic assistance will be cut off. These days, a draft law drawn up by the Democratic Party government, “On Public Works,” has reached the desks of members of the Albanian parliament. Its main purpose is to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the financial assistance the state provides to a not-insignificant number of unemployed people, a group that has definitively lost eligibility for one-year unemployment assistance. The economic assistance received by these families, whose unemployment assistance has expired, and “families receiving economic assistance are offered the participation of their members in public works,” by which the government means cleaning and maintaining premises, constructing simple infrastructure elements, improving reservoirs, and repairing schools—or, put more plainly, cleaning streets, sidewalks, gardens and public toilets, digging canals, building footbridges, and painting schools now that the summer holidays are approaching. This helps one better understand the temporary nature of the public works laid out in the text of this draft law. State bodies, from the top of the pyramid down to municipalities and communes, will be given by this draft law the opportunity for officials to hide behind doors, then go out before people in need and address them proudly: “Here you are, here you are; the government and parliament, though late, have thought of you. Entire fronts of work have been opened, reminding the poor that work is an honor. Do you want work? Go clean streets, dig canals, repair and paint schools, etc.” And nothing very serious will happen to those who refuse or raise objections to the work offered—only their economic assistance will simply be cut off. Thus, those who do not wish to take the jobs offered by the government and its subordinate bodies, whether they have degrees or not, whether they are teachers, agronomists, engineers, have secondary or higher education, have a profession or none, will be threatened with Party government, “On Public Works,” has reached the hands of members of the Albanian Parliament. Its principal aim is to increase, reduce, or even completely eliminate the economic assistance the state provides to a not insignificant category for the one-year assistance benefit. The economic assistance received by these families, whose assistance has run out and who have been unable to find any work, raises the question of whether it meets even the most basic economic needs and keeps them from falling below the subsistence minimum—a situation that makes it difficult for anyone to console themselves when faced with people who even have to get their bread on credit. The draft law “On Public Works” has been put forward by the government to be enacted into law, and there is no reason to expect otherwise, since it was conceived by the PD government at a time when its economic and social program to open up new employment opportunities every day—and thereby supposedly develop the country’s economy—had completely failed. In fact, large numbers of unemployed Albanians have taken to the streets and left the country. The lack of foreign investment in material production—and there can be no question of state-budget investment in this field—has brought the government team running the country to its knees. And now, at the end of its term, here is the draft law “On Public Works.” Article No. 1 of this draft law states Even with all the government’s efforts, nothing has changed. Naturally, this government action will solve nothing in the economic and social sphere. Nor will the government’s image to date—an image that has continued to fade day by day—have the hoped-for chance to improve. DEDË KOLA the complete and permanent termination of economic assistance. It is stated ... in an even more threatening way in the four-article draft law, which informs you that “Families receiving economic assistance whose members refuse to participate in the public works offered will have their economic assistance discontinued.” This is nothing more or less than a simply anti-democratic, demagogic, and propagandistic measure which, among other things, also runs counter to a provision in the chapter on human rights, specifically the one stating that a person is free to choose their own work. No. Forced labor has come into being. They are offering forced labor on harsh terms—those who profess devotion to human freedoms and rights, those who preach every day about the Albanian miracle and Europe’s highest rates of economic growth.

Yesterday, the Tirana prosecutor’s office ordered house arrest for Fatbardha Carkanji, cashier of the newspaper “The People’s Voice.” This measure was taken immediately after yesterday’s RD newspaper, as usual, issued the party’s orders to the prosecutorial authorities. The so-called scandal at the printing house of “The People’s Voice” appears to be moving toward an investigation of the newspaper’s financial transactions and verification of its paper-purchase invoices, while also violating the “Law on Political Parties.” It does not take much thought to understand that all these actions are part of the campaign of pressure and political persecution launched against members of the Socialist Party, its leaders, and the newspaper “The People’s Voice.” It is worth noting that, in addition to the newspaper’s former editor-in-chief Përaprim Xhixha, finance chief Drita Sheshi, and cashier Fatbardha Carkanji, journalist Bashkim Koci and deputy editor-in-chief Luan M. Rama are also being held and are facing trial. This is a full-scale offensive aimed, no more and no less, at keeping the newspaper and its journalists under constant pressure and, why not, at closing the paper, which is today the country’s largest newspaper, with a strong reputation and a readership that is continually growing. The newspapers and journalists of the independent and opposition press have also experienced such pressure through blind and deeply politicized bodies. Meanwhile, the government press continues its perverse attacks, insults, and slander with aggression, under the blessing and protection of the state’s highest figures. It continues to be printed in high-cost printing houses and sold at a low price, to swim in abundance, sharing in the proceeds of privatization funds and receiving substantial financing from the National Privatization Agency under the guise of advertising, etc. The attacks on “The People’s Voice” are intended to cover up the real corruption that is penetrating every part of society today and is denounced daily in the pages of this newspaper. “The People’s Voice” calls on Albanian democratic public opinion, other newspapers, and journalists’ associations to stand by it in this battle, which concerns democracy in Albania and the defense of freedom of the press.

— Statement by the group of Socialist councillors on the Tirana City Council. — The group of Socialist councillors on the Tirana City Council notes that recently there have been increasingly frequent violations of the laws governing the activities of the Council, the Mayor, and the Administration under his direction, particularly in the following respects: notes that recently there have been increasingly frequent violations of the laws governing the activities of the Council, the Mayor, and the Administration under his direction, particularly in the following respects: 1. The Mayor is assuming powers that belong to the City Council in several areas, such as the appointment and dismissal of directors, which are provided for by law. A typical example is the delay in submitting the material on privatization by the Tirana Branch of the National Privatization Agency (AKP), an action that led to the meeting on this matter being postponed for two months and its reconsideration deferred to future meetings. 3. Some councillors representing the Democratic Party show a tendency to lead the Council into a dead end by refusing to listen to the relevant specialists, especially lawyers; to drag citizens through the courts; to systematically violate the Council’s internal regulations; to engage in unjustified politicization; and even to resort to threats. In light of the above, and out of a desire and a duty to voters to remain constructive in implementing the laws of the state, on 9 May 1995 the group of Socialist councillors issued a protest statement and left the City Council meeting. It will attend the next meeting as soon as it receives assurances that the above violations will end and that the Mayor, Mr. Sali Kelmendi, will also participate. The Group of Socialist Councillors of the Tirana City Council Tirana, 11.5.1995 It is becoming clear that in recent times there have been increasing instances of the Mayor, and the Administration he heads, particularly in the following areas: 1. The Mayor assumes powers that belong to the Municipal Council in several areas, such as appointing and dismissing managers of enterprises under the Council’s authority, distributing residential apartments, establishing joint enterprises, etc. In flagrant violation of the law on “local government” and the regulation “On the powers and duties of the administration of the Municipality and Commune,” the Mayor “suspends” and “appoints acting” managers of various enterprises. Moreover, those who prepare and carry out these actions are not required to provide explanations to the relevant Commission or to the Municipal Council. 2. The Municipality’s administration as a whole, and especially some of its individual departments and sections, [are obstructing] the Municipal Council by failing to implement its decisions and instructions within the proper timeframe and to the required standard, thereby creating obstacles to the exercise of its powers—

The day before yesterday in Tirana, the National Council of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania met and discussed several current issues facing the trade union movement, as well as preparations for the Confederation’s First Congress, which will be held on 29–30 May of this year. The Council unanimously supported the demands of the trade unionists of the Education and Health Federations for a 35–40 percent increase in wages and rejected the Government’s offer of a pay rise of up to 21 percent. It called on trade unionists in these sectors to defend their legitimate demands all the trade-union means, including a strike. If the government gives no other response, the trade unionists of the Confederation will take part in a strike on May 15, continuing it until their demands are met. The Council approved the report and other materials to be submitted for consideration to the Confederation’s First Congress and assigned the tasks for organizing it, in accordance with the provisions of the Confederation’s Statute.

— On Monday, 15 May, they will begin a hunger strike — They are in the village of Laknas, in the commune of Berxull, in the district of Tirana, having settled there back in 1956. At present they have been left without land, livestock, or any kind of support from the local authorities—they are the local authorities’ representatives, they write to “The People’s Voice”—who have ignored the law on land distribution approved by parliament and instead apply the law on the buying and selling of land, a law privately approved, stamped, and signed by the commune chairman, Mr. Maksut Shehu, and the chairman of the central land-distribution commission, Qemal Vrapi. The heads of the 40 families go on to report the dealings of these individuals, who have been selling agricultural land as building plots to people who have moved there from the northeastern regions. “We have spent all this time knocking on every office door,” they say, “not to mention the petitions and telegrams sent all the way to the top of the state hierarchy.” They also report the extreme hardship that has befallen all 40 families, who are now at risk of being left without even bread. In response to the state’s indifference to this problem, which is so important to the fate of the 40 families, they announce that on Monday, 15 May, the heads of the families will begin a hunger strike, demanding that land be granted in accordance with the law and that they be compensated in cash for the two-year period during which they have been without land. Correspondent of “The People’s Voice”

The obituary notices were particularly grim yesterday and the day before in Gjirokastër. Two of the deaths were far away: one in an accident in America and another in Greece. There has been much discussion these days about the Albanian-Italian shores. But look at the border with Greece. At any hour of the day, if you are there, you will see 14- and 15-year-old boys leaving. And at any hour of the day, if you are at Kakavijë, you will see police buses bringing refugees back. Enough people have left Albania already, and there have been more than enough who have returned dead. Even now this state and this society should be in mourning. TH. DINO

On Friday evening, Drilon Saliha, a 34-year-old police officer at the Elbasan Police Commissariat, was shot with a firearm near an apartment building and died. The motives for the killing have not yet been clarified, while police authorities are searching for the perpetrators of the crime. Correspondent of “The People’s Voice”

- Statement by the Albanian Helsinki Committee - Through the media, and especially Italian television, our public has been made aware of a deeply distressing fact: the exploitation of a group of children as beggars in Italy’s major cities, particularly in Milan. The Italian authorities have acted in accordance with the law and have once again held to account unscrupulous individuals who exploited the children without compunction and mistreated them in their miserable condition as street beggars. Under Italian law, the crime is extremely serious: reducing children to a state of slavery. It is now reported that the group of children has returned to their homeland. The Albanian Helsinki Committee shares the profound indignation this human tragedy has aroused among our public. In addition, our committee is convinced that the matter cannot be considered resolved solely through the Italian authorities’ efforts to prosecute this crime. The roots of this phenomenon must also be investigated and identified in Albanian territory, the place of origin of the crime. The matter must be pursued in two respects. First, from a social perspective, to uncover the reasons that have compelled families to let their children roam the roads of the world for a piece of bread. A democratic society cannot remain indifferent in the face of such a grievous wound. The phenomenon is particularly troubling when linked to the similar phenomenon of children leaving school, which, according to available information, has increased considerably. It is the duty of the competent bodies, and especially local government, to supervise and take the necessary measures to ensure rigorous enforcement of the law on eight-year compulsory education. Second, the matter must also receive proper attention from a criminal-law perspective. The competent Albanian authorities are expected to pursue the case to the end, conducting the necessary investigations and bringing those responsible before the court to answer under Albanian law. The Albanian Helsinki Committee is convinced that the prosecution authorities, courts, and relevant institutions will act with the sensitivity and seriousness that such episodes demand, since they risk seriously tarnishing the image of Albanian democracy and its efforts to gain the international community’s regard. Albanian Helsinki Committee.