TIRANA - Yesterday, the chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party of Albania, Mr Namik Dokle, returned to his homeland after taking part in a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. As has been reported on previous occasions, the meeting also discussed the draft agenda for the proceedings of this Assembly, which will be held on 26–30 June. The draft agenda also included discussion of Albania’s admission to the Council of Europe, a discussion to be held at the Assembly of this Council on 29 June this year. The meeting will also discuss Moldova’s admission to the Council of Europe. Correspondent of «Zëri i Popullit»

AT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEETING: BERISHA’S FEAR — A SIGN OF IMMINENT DEFEAT... The ferocity with which Sali Berisha spoke yesterday at the DP meeting could only have come from fear. The leaders of the DP are terrified. The defeat of 6 November gives them no peace, day or night. They know they have lost the case; they feel that demagoguery and deception have been exposed, that people have woken up and are no longer being fooled, and that in reality what is called the Democratic Party in Albania is nothing but a heterogeneous group of people bound together only by trade and other benefits drawn from this people. The seat-warmers have been terrified by the results of the latest surveys announced by the Socialist Party. They deny that this is the opposition, but they want an opposition that is merely for show, one that only applauds and gives flowers, not one that offers an alternative for power. The victories of left-wing forces in elections held in many countries of Eastern Europe have sent shivers through the current regime. These demagogues, who bask in the vote the people gave them on 22 March, know full well that even the 15 percent which, according to surveys, the Democratic Party is expected to win is not assured. The current ruling caste is now being attacked even by its former domestic allies; important international institutions, right up to the UN, are also attacking it and denouncing in harsh terms its shameful violation of the embargo with Serbia. The outlaw is scared stiff, which is why Berisha tells fairy tales nobody believes. According to him, if the opposition wins, it will change the «Charter of Human Rights». He deliberately pretends to forget that the main opposition parties have drafted and made public a draft constitution that includes the «Charter of Human Rights», which meets the highest standards of contemporary democracy. The violent state of today has been seized by panic, which is why Berisha is compelled to abandon all etiquette and forgets that he is the President of Albania. In yesterday’s speech he showed that he stands behind the harsh repression exercised against «Zëri i Popullit», behind Blerim Çela’s bluster and that of the prosecution, and behind what is heard on TV and written in RD. Berisha feels the coming defeat more than anyone else, and that is why he cannot control himself. With yesterday’s speech he once again showed that during these three years he has learned nothing about democracy, that he remains an intolerant party man, and that he can never become a symbol of national unity. With yesterday’s speech, which outdid even the «peaceful rallies» once held by the former DP, Berisha and the regime made it clear to the world that they are suffering from a fear complex. Whatever happens, the opposition is determined to follow the road to victory. It has long known who Berisha and his regime are. The whole point is for us to stay united, vigilant, committed to democracy and the national cause, and to take care not to fall victim to the traps and provocations which, judging by what was said yesterday at the DP meeting, will not be in short supply. BEQIR SKRELI. READ ON PAGE 2.

Would you like to learn about prosecutor Qelesht’s «objectivity»? Would you like to know how «impartial» and «depoliticized» he is? Would you like to be convinced of the «ethics» of this man of justice and, finally, would you like to verify how, and to what extent, he applies the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence? Please read his interview in the newspaper RD dated 23 May 1995, where he gave «clear» and «definitive» explanations regarding the 400 thousand dollars for the «printing press that was to be bought for “Zëri i Popullit”». Among other things, he says: 1. «Regarding the financial scandal of the 400 thousand dollars received from the Solidarity Fund to purchase a printing press». Under which article of the Penal Code is the expression “financial scandal” used? We have read such expressions in newspapers. For example, there has been talk of the «Arsidi Scandal». Other scandals have also been mentioned in the press. We do not know why the prosecutor is silent about these scandals, or perhaps he is supposed to remain silent? 2. «When the investigation of the case began and the experts confirmed it with evidence». Mr Prosecutor, this is not quite as clear to us as it may be to you. Do experts confirm things, or express an opinion? If they confirm them, what remains for the prosecution and the court to establish? To establish what the experts have already established? We are not even speaking of the uninterrupted [text unclear], because according to you (not according to the law), their claims are not evidence and there is no reason to hear them, much less to verify them! 3. «They began advancing the other thesis, that this sum of dollars was supposedly the property of the ZP newspaper». We would like to ask you, esteemed prosecutor: In which article of the Penal Code is the word «thesis» mentioned? In which dictionary do we find this word? Who are they? The defendants, or the body that makes you allergic to them? ZP speaks in its own «language», but what business do you have with ZP? Deal with the defendants, substantiate the charges you have brought against them, and at the end of the investigation, with the «objectivity» that characterizes you, you will be able to reach a conclusion as to whether the 400 thousand dol- (Continued on page 2) The 400 thousand dollars belong only to Zëri i Popullit

The institutional crisis in Albania continues Since 19 May 1995, the Constitutional Court of Albania has been operating outside the law. This sensational fact concerns the legal terms of office of three of the Constitutional Court’s members, which have expired under Article 23, point «c», of the «Basic Constitutional Provisions». Although these terms have expired, no official source confirmed otherwise yesterday. It seems the decision has been directed toward the Court of Cassation, which has become the focus of attacks by the political majority, in order to leave another, equally important court in a parliamentary republic forgotten. But perhaps the political power of the DP has a majority on this court, leading people to turn a blind eye to a flagrant violation of the law, and, moreover, of the Constitution. Various analysts attribute the silence over this violation precisely to this majority — necessary for taking decisions of common interest with the government — which has been controlled by the political majority throughout these three years of rule. Everything, they say, has been embodied in concrete actions. Last October–November, the flagrant violations of constitutional laws in approving Berisha’s draft constitution by referendum were brought before this Court by the Albanian parliamentary opposition. But the postponement, or the opposition’s request for a declaration that the method proposed by Berisha and voted for by his majority in parliament was unconstitutional, led three members of the Constitutional Court to resign on the eve of the 6 November vote, in protest. Meanwhile, Sheshi and, I think, Myrto were denounced for failing to hand over the official records, which were replaced with three others that would vote three months later under a self-declaration by the people expressed on 6 November, demonstrating the Court’s deepest crisis. In any case, the Court, already out of operation because there is no law governing its functioning and no Constitution, has now also been found to be outside the law. E. B.

Sources from Rome report that a demonstration was held there yesterday against Parliament’s approval of a law to deploy a contingent of troops to stop the wave of clandestine trafficking of refugees. The demonstrators, members of anti-racist associations in Italy and associations defending immigrants, carried placards reading, “Soldiers in the barracks: hospitality for refugees, etc.” The demonstrators said that sending troops to the region of Puglia was an expression of the old mentality of solving problems. The solution should be political, not through force. A member of parliament came out and met with the demonstrators, promising them that the comments of both associations would be taken into consideration during the discussion of the immigration law.

MALESI E MADHE; It is not known whether any official will keep their post. In the Interior Branch of the Malësia e Madhe district, all the leadership positions in the branch have been called in by the Ministry of the Interior in recent days, starting with the chairman and extending to the heads of the police. (Continued on page 2)

Former Democratic Party MP Arben Lika has been arrested while on temporary release. And he has ended up back in prison cells, following the announcement of the Court of Appeal’s decision, which sentenced him for smuggling. The prosecution had appealed against the decision handed down by the Tirana district court, which had found Arben Lika not guilty, sentencing him to three years’ imprisonment but on probation. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal has ultimately upheld the decision of the Tirana court and, following his arrest, sent MP Lika from the district courtroom to Tirana prison. Correspondent for “Zëri i Popullit.”

ALBANIA GREECE A meeting between the Albanian and Greek delegations in the joint subcommission on consular and legal affairs began in Tirana on Tuesday afternoon. According to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana, it is confirmed that, for the first time, the issue of the Cham people’s property in Greece will be officially addressed. This subcommission will discuss the issue as part of discussions on the property of citizens of both countries in the respective territories of the other state. Discussing this issue for the first time appears to be a positive sign in relations between the two countries, as it touches on matters that were previously very sensitive and taboo. Another issue is easing the procedures for issuing visas to citizens of each country visiting the other. Likewise, a joint military exercise involving Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania, under the observation of the USA and within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program, began on Tuesday in Kalamata, Greece. This is the first time Albania has taken part in joint maneuvers in Greece, which is a positive sign in the new political climate in relations between Tirana and Athens. The maneuvers have the significant code name “Albania.”

In an interview given yesterday to RD, the Tirana district prosecutor, Mr. Qeleshi, states that the 400 thousand dollars are not the property of “Zëri i Popullit,” but of the state. In support of this, he refers to Council of Ministers Decision No. 183, dated 24.5.1992. By reprinting the decision in question once again, we clarify:

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REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA Council of Ministers DECISION No. 183 dated 14.5.1992 ON TRANSFERRING TO THE REVENUES OF THE FOREIGN-CURRENCY BALANCE AND THE STATE BUDGET FOR 1992 THE BALANCE OF THE FOREIGN-CURRENCY ACCOUNT OF THE FORMER CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PARTY OF LABOUR On the proposal of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Council of Ministers DECIDED: 1. Committee of the Party on 31.12.1991, amounting to 1.865.016.80 USA dollars, together with the corresponding interest in lek, shall be transferred budget for 1992. 2. The use of the funds in foreign currency and lek, pursuant to point 1 of this decision, shall be made with the authorization of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. 3. The economic and financial documentation reflecting the establishment and use of the foreign-currency fund from 1964 to 1991 shall be subject to a financial audit by the State Audit Commission. This decision enters into force immediately. CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ALEKSANDËR MEKSI Signature — Point 1 of this decision states, inaccurately and unclearly to everyone, that the state budget receives the account balance of the former CC of the PPSH, amounting to 1.805.016 dollars. This amount does not include a single cent of the 400 thousand dollars belonging to “Zëri i Popullit.” By Decision No. 104, dated 10.12.1990, the above-mentioned sum of 1.865.016 dollars was thus transferred from the foreign-currency bank account held by the PS after its creation, for which the relevant documents are available. Meanwhile, point 3 of this decision refers only to the State’s carrying out an audit of the sources from which the fund was established and its use, a fund accumulated and used as a form of legality from 1964 to 1991, and in no way to the success of the fund used by its majority. Since this decision was issued, no legal or regulatory act has determined the amount of 400 thousand dollars belonging to the editorial office of “Zëri i Popullit”; therefore, they continue to be the exclusive property of “Zëri i Popullit” and the Socialist Party.