Interview with DRITERO AGOLLI, given to our newspaper’s deputy editor-in-chief, Luan M. Rama Not only as a man of letters and a figure in our culture, but also as a social and political figure, with a very broad and active involvement in other fields, it is of interest to know what has impressed you most in recent political developments? - What impresses me most in recent political developments is the rulers’ fear of losing power, a great fear accompanied by frothing at the mouth, dreadful cries and terrible howling. It is the howl of an animal afraid to leave the cave it has occupied, the cave that keeps it warm and protects it from rain, snow and storms. The fear of losing power is one of the greatest and most painful fears; therefore, it gives birth to threats, deception and lies, and, finally, to lulling people to sleep with promises, in the approximate pleading expression: leave us in power a little longer, and then you will see how we will carry out the program. This plea always comes after threats and thirsty shouting, with strange emotional excesses and a complete poverty of rational thought. You can be convinced of this by looking only at the dismissal of the President of the Albanians at the PD’s elected gathering on 23 May 1995. The words of the President of the Republic of the pure-blooded Albanians threaten half, or a large part, of her Albanians represented by the PS with these cries: «Enverism is the line of the PS alternative», «the ideologues of the infamous M-L institute», «Enverism and the trumpeting of pseudo-literature from the dictatorship period», «not only because today’s socialist leaders are connected with people linked to the work of E. Hoxha and his clique, but because of the direct responsibility some of them bear for the February massacre, the arson and all the chaos, anarchy and organized crime of 1991, but also because the principles of Marx, the name and work of the Albanian Pol Pot and his guard, are as foreign to Albanians as the principles of Marx themselves». «The leaders of the PS, it is time to show the jawbone of the dictatorship»; believing their own lies, they continued as far as the sudden call on stage for those who isolated the country to lead Albanian politics.» «The fist of those who ordered unarmed people to be shot during the massacres of February and April ’91 has finally prevailed in the PS», «and the provocation of early elections», «to grab armchairs from behind the scenes, they also began making offers, showing that power and career blind them to the point of madness», «the PD understood the devilry and the traps that had been laid, supported the Meksi Government and reduced their careerist ambitions and desires to nothing», «they, from Stalinist positions», «with their campaign they think they can stuff the new Albanian reality into a sack, because this reality frightens and terrifies them greatly», «being unable to prevent the development of reforms and reality, and unwilling to take part in building it, this group of extremists has launched a campaign to blacken and deny it as much as possible. But their struggle and efforts to deny Albanian reality are the same as Don Quixote’s fight with the windmills of (Continued on page 3)

To the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Albania, Mr. ALUSH DRAGOSHI. For information: Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office. TIRANA Enclosed you will find the criminal complaint prepared by the Socialist Party of Albania. Deputy Chairman of the S P A, SËRVET PËLLUMBI. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT ALUSH DRAGOSHI. For information: Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office. Mr. Prosecutor, Prosecutor Arben Qeleshi, on the basis of a complaint by the State Audit Service and financial expert Shqyqyri Kau, appointed as such by Prosecutor Arben Qeleshi, has opened criminal proceedings against Përparim Xhixha, former director of QBE «Progresi» and former editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Zëri i Popullit»; Thoma Gëlçi, editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Zëri i Popullit»; Drìta Sheshit, the newspaper’s chief accountant; Fatbardha Carkranji, accountant-cashier; and Lutfi Dautllari, export-import specialist at QBE «Progresi», Tirana. Mr. Prosecutor, by decision of the former Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PPSH, No. 104, dated 10.12.1990, «Zëri i Popullit» is the owner of the fund of 400 thousand dollars allocated to the newspaper. Mr. Blerim Çela, Chairman of the State Audit Service, claims that the fund of 400 thousand dollars was drawn from the state budget; this is untrue. There is no document that could serve as evidence that this fund is part of the state budget. [text continues] criminal proceedings against innocent persons. The classification of the alleged offense as «abuse of office» under Article 106 of the Criminal Code, and as theft on a large scale of socialist property under Article 62 of the Criminal Code, is inaccurate and wrong. Such criminal offenses cannot exist in the case of private legal entities with limited liability. The arrest decision is contrary to the law «On Fundamental Freedoms and Human Rights», No. 7602, dated 31.3.1993, Article 5, which states: «No one may be detained without sufficient evidence». In view of these circumstances, pursuant to Article 71 of the Criminal Procedure Code, we request: - The dismissal of the criminal case against all employees held criminally liable by the Prosecutor’s Office. Meanwhile, pursuant to Article 64 of the Criminal Procedure Code, we request that criminal proceedings be initiated against: 1. Mr. Blerim Çela, Chairman of the State Audit Service, and ... of the state budget. The management of QBE «Progresi» and the newspaper «Zëri i Popullit», as legal entities with limited liability, established in 1992 in accordance with the law and under the Socialist Party, possess complete documentation concerning their economic activities, which wholly refutes the decision by prosecutor Arben Qeleshi to open criminal proceedings. The inaccurate information provided by expert Shyqyri Kau also influenced this hasty and unfounded decision, based neither on evidence nor on law. In our opinion, prosecutor Arben Qeleshi unlawfully initiated criminal proceedings against innocent persons solely because the property was associated with the Socialist Party of Albania. Tirana, 24.5.1995 who filed a false complaint, a criminal offense provided for under Article 113 of the Criminal Code. 2. Shyqyri Kau, an expert who, by fabricating inaccurate evidence, committed the criminal offense of filing a false complaint, provided for under Article 113 of the Criminal Code. 3. Arben Qeleshi, prosecutor of the Tirana district, who unlawfully initiated criminal proceedings against innocent persons, a criminal offense provided for under Article 114 of the Criminal Code. Socialist Party of Albania Tirana, 24.5.1995

Why is television silent about the hunger strike of the miners of Kami? STATEMENT by MP Dr. LUSH PERPALI Mr. Chairman, Honorable deputies, Mr. Chairman, Honorable deputies, For several days, residents of the settlement ... [text continues beyond the edge of the image]

At yesterday’s plenary session of the People’s Assembly, the deputies completed the «Law on Migration», which had begun to be discussed in the previous session. The draft law was sent back for review by the Foreign Policy Committee and the Committee on Defense, Public Order and SHIK. Afterwards, the draft law on motor vehicles was also approved. Issues ... [text continues beyond the edge of the image]

STATEMENT • MP Dr. LUSH PERPALI miners of Kami? STATEMENT • days, residents of the settlement of Kami in the district of Tropoja have been on hunger strike in order to secure solutions to some of their vital demands. As I have been informed, and as some newspapers report, they took this highly sacrificial step after exhausting all their efforts through meetings with the local authorities and the prefecture, and through letters of complaint addressed to the highest organs of the Albanian state, including the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. By taking this path of extreme self-sacrifice, they are exercising a right granted to them by law, in order to alert the broader public and all the competent state mechanisms to the resolution of their many hardships. Viewed from the standpoint of the interests of these residents, this event is disturbing because they have been compelled to take such an action, with grave consequences for their health and lives. Viewed from the standpoint of the response by the state mechanisms, it is especially troubling in two fundamental respects: First, the complete lack of willingness on the part of the state’s governing bodies, from the lowest to the highest, to discuss and resolve their problems with them. I say unequivocally that this is entirely unjustifiable, even considering that their demands are for such things as drinking water, the return of the mine administration to the mine (to everyone’s surprise, the administration of this mine has been moved to the town of Bajram Curri), medical services, housing, repair of the electricity line, etc. This silence is also incomprehensible given that all the political forces in the area have joined the strike. Second, the silence of Albanian Radio and Television. If the employees of this institution do not know (at least the director-general should know, since he is from those parts), I can remind you that Kami is on the border—that is, within the territory of the Republic of Albania—so no visa is needed. I also remind you that radio and television are not judicial bodies, to decide whether an action is legal and only then report it. Of course, robberies, murders and rapes are not legal either, yet radio and television report them with the good intention of alerting public opinion. The question arises: why say nothing at all about these people confined in a hunger strike, as it has done in other similar cases? Mr. Chairman! These are the reasons that compelled me to make this statement, in order to draw the attention of the relevant state mechanisms so that these residents’ demands can be resolved as fairly and quickly as possible, and the hunger strike brought to an end through fair, moral and lawful means. The residents of Kami are not to blame for the way the economy was run in the past or is run today, which has left them in a miserable condition.

The writer of «Zëri i popullit» writes in an odd style, as before. The draft law went law on motor vehicles was also approved. Matters of interest that had been raised, such as new appointments at RTV, were not brought up, while the issue of allocating a separate budget for the judicial system will be discussed in the sessions next week. This issue had previously also received the committees’ approval. ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

A new organization of the Socialist Party was established in the village of Gjorm in the district of Kurbin, alongside the existing one. The new organization was established with 14 members, almost all of them young. Qamil Reçi was elected its chairman.

Continuing the column: “Is there organized crime in Albania?” PESHKOPI They waited for the moment when two children, fourth-grade pupils at the eight-year school in the city center, went to the bathroom, then threw sacks of sand over their heads and kidnapped them. The child’s detailed account was given after the criminal forces of law and order had bitten him during the incident, while the other child’s scream saved them from a crime with sinister motives. In those moments of terror, the children managed to make out only the shades of the criminals’ clothing and nothing else. The attempted kidnapping of the two ten-year-old children has shattered the tradition, particularly among parents, who have increased their warnings and tightened the children’s daily routine outside the home, A. A.

— The State Audit Office is afraid — They came, began examining the file, and suddenly left. An unprecedented affair has come to light. Unprecedented even within the State Audit Office, which, compelled by the written and printed documents, can no longer turn a blind eye to the privatization of the Peshkopi gattri. They stopped and left; they began the study and then departed. It is said that Blerimi’s envoys encountered an insurmountable obstacle to privatization. There is also talk of telephone calls... by officials. The “Gattri” file has been taken away. A. ASHIKU

Shkodër – Malësi e Madhe The “spectacular” reports broadcast on TV in recent days about preventive measures to avoid breaching the embargo against the former Yugoslavia are being mocked in this city and the surrounding areas as a fight against the remnants of the embargo. This is because the intensity of fuel smuggling across Lake Shkodër toward Montenegro has fallen sharply for more than a month. The decline followed several easing measures recommended by international institutions for this embargo during this period. That was enough for fuel to flow into Serbia and Montenegro from other countries at cheaper prices, making fuel from Lake Shkodër no longer attractive. This is so true that fuel at the quay for the market in Ulqin, in the former Yugoslavia, is now cheaper than in Shkodër. In Beograd, a liter of benzinol sells for 1.2 marks, while in Shkodër it sells for 1.35 marks. So what remains on the shores of Lake Shkodër? The means used to transport the fuel are now almost out of work. Here and there you can see boats moored, an occasional tanker hidden away, battered barrels, pieces of hose, and a few people impatiently awaiting news from the other shore of the lake about the possibility of the fuel trade starting up again. At all four main points on the former shores of this lake, we were told that for now it is not worthwhile to sell fuel at the price they are offering. The rate is very low, because they are now being supplied from Tivari and elsewhere. One man in «Kamçë», who claimed to know the fuel market in the former Yugoslavia well these days, even told us that if this continues, it is likely that we who have (Continued on page 2)

BRIEFLY FROM THE COUNTRY It has now become a tradition for children and parents to come every Sunday morning to the performance hall of the Elbasan city puppet theater. This year, under the direction of Llambi Burgjia, two premieres have been staged, while works from the company’s active repertoire are also performed from time to time. The actors F. Topuzi, M. Alushi, and V. Çekani, the puppet master R. Shëngjini, and the music composer F. Sinani have, with their passion, attracted the interest of the little ones from Elbasan and other towns in the prefecture, staging 130 performances in less than five months.

For several days now, the city of Peshkopi has been supplied with murky water. The water from residents’ taps is so cloudy that sediment immediately forms at the bottom of a glass. So far, no official measures have been announced to deal with this situation. Wealthier residents, to meet their families’ need for drinking water, have turned to the market to buy soft drinks and imported water. Others have taken out their filters and lit their stoves to filter the water by boiling it. This is considered the most effective measure for preventing illnesses caused by water contamination.

The marathon over the village headman of Rrahullë in Delvinë continues. In an election attended also by the area’s members of parliament, the chairman of the district council, and the commune chairman, the people voted for the honest man Thoma Koçini and told the former village headman: hand over the seal of our vote. But the chairman of the commune council, Kristo Papaj, came forward and refused to hand over the seal, saying the election had been illegal, even though he himself had been there and signed the minutes. A business with a seal, it seems, is what the PD is making of the election. ILIRJAN MEÇE