Not only promises, but also their fulfillment — Interview with Mr. ALFRED GUSENBAUER, Head of the Council of Europe delegation that visited Albania, given to BBC correspondent in Tirana Sokol Gruda — What must Albania still fulfill in order to be admitted to the Council of Europe? We have received information and heard statements concerning the future independence of the courts and the appointment of judges to the highest court. We want to make sure of these things before Albania joins the Council of Europe. We want these issues to be resolved in a proper and transparent manner. This is because the CoE is very interested in a clear separation between administrative and judicial powers. In this context, we are seeking full and accurate answers from the Albanian government before Albania’s membership in the CoE. I can tell you that at the CoE we are not satisfied with promises alone, because after six months there is the possibility of reviewing the promises a country or government has made regarding that country’s integration into this organization. Albanians should understand clearly that we have not come here merely to receive promises that will not be fulfilled; rather, we have embarked on an ongoing effort to obtain clear commitments. We will review the fulfillment of the promises within a six-month period. I think the main concern at the Council of Europe is the issue of Mr. NANO’s release. There is European and international solidarity in support of his release. The report of the CoE Legal Affairs Committee contains a clear point stating that either Parliament or the President of the Republic must take concrete steps not only to release Mr. NANO from prison, but also to allow him to re-enter public life! Mr. Gusenbauer, do you think that 29 June will mark Albania’s admission as a full member of the Council of Europe? I think that if Albanian officials are sincere and serious about joining the Council of Europe and the European political system, and if all the conditions are met, a solution can be found within the next three weeks. If this cannot be achieved, then membership may be postponed until later. From Lake Bovilla—the land and homes of the people of the north-east, now occupied by newcomers, are today viewed by the Albanian government as obstructing work on the water supply system, regarded as a simple disruption of the endless hardship of the capital’s residents, who need a continuous water supply. Thus the conflict between the newcomers and the state here in Tirana has reached its peak. Yesterday, for the first time, both the newcomers themselves and various observers described it as the state’s number-one conflict with its fellow citizens settled in Bathore. This is over the demolition of houses that have now been fully rebuilt. A larger gathering was also observed on the first day, accompanied by chants. The villagers are calling for Mr. Berisha himself to intervene to resolve the tense situation quickly. The situation is becoming increasingly tense. BESI ÇELA

SPORT Bajko’s boys achieved a magnificent victory in Moldova, securing the satisfying result of 3–2. The familiar Kushta opened the scoring in the 8th minute of the first half. The Moldovan footballers equalized and then took the lead. But this did not last long: the first half ended with Bellaj equalizing, giving player Vata the great opportunity to seal the final score at 3–2 for the Albanian national team in the 25th minute of the second half. With this historic victory in Moldova, the Albanian national team achieved a major success in the turnaround it has made, promising even more in the future. Bajko’s clever tactics managed to withstand the opponents’ pressing, made the Albanian attack effective by launching surprise attacks, and crowned them with goals. The team’s position in the standings leaves much to be desired, but the results achieved are encouraging and promise well for the future. Correspondent of “Zëri i popullit”

IN THE NAME OF LIFE OR IN THE NAME OF THE LAW — These people were driven to settle here by the demagoguery and economic ruin sown by the DP’s police — Anxiety, panic, terror, people positioned on defensive barricades, but, strangely, pride in the “victory” of the previous day: this was the emotional scene in yesterday’s situation in the newcomers’ neighborhood in Bathore, near Kamza, on the outskirts of Tirana. The day before, for hours throughout the day, residents of Bathore—Albanians from the north and north-east of the country—had clashed with Tirana police forces. Everything happened yesterday, precisely on the final day of the deadline for implementing a decision no. 85, dated 2.3.1994, of the Albanian government of Mr. Meksi. Under it, on an area of 200 hectares in the Bathore region, about 1,500 meters from the national road leading north, a large village was to be built, where 382 families from the villages of Zall-Mner, Bulçet, Bruzall and Rraç would be settled. The relocation of these families to Bathore is conditional on the creation of Tirana’s largest reservoir, the Bovilla water-supply system. But the hectares of Bathore designated for relocation, whose land and homes will be flooded by Lake Bovilla, are now occupied by residents from the north and north-east and are seen by the Albanian government as obstructing work on the water-supply system, considered the salvation from drought and the endless suffering of the capital’s residents who need an uninterrupted water supply. Against this background, on Tuesday the 17th [unclear], Tirana police carried out an operation to demolish buildings now considered illegal. The organized resistance resulted in more than 40 police officers being injured yesterday and admitted to Tirana Military Hospital, and then in the temporary withdrawal of Tirana police. While this was happening on Wednesday evening, on Thursday morning around 300 new residents of Bathore—aware of a new police attack—had gathered at the beginning of the road leading into the village toward Zall-Herr, calling out and asking motorists passing by: “Are you with us, huh...?” Around 9:30, some of them, with belts tied around their heads, redirected several 20-ton trucks loaded with gravel, which was dumped at the entrance to the village road, creating a huge barricade. The barricade from the previous day had almost disappeared. Tirana has thus reached its peak. Yesterday, for the first time, the conflict was regarded by the newcomers themselves and various observers as the state’s number-one conflict with its compatriots settled in Bathore. This is over the Albanians. On Wednesday evening, when those people who had built houses there referred to Berisha—or, more precisely, to his statements after 22 March 1992: “Albanians are free to live wherever they want,” referring to the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms—the name of Albanian President Berisha was also part of the name by which residents of Tirana’s outskirts call their new neighborhood. One thing is clear. If the state has the right to enforce the law, and if Tirana’s residents also have a right based on their vital need for an uninterrupted water supply, the newcomers settled in Bathore have the right to live in the name of life. They found their paradise there, amid the terrible conditions in Bathore. No one told them not to settle there. On the contrary, they were once asked for their votes to legitimize the relocation—the settlement in Bathore. Yesterday Mr. T. Shehu also came to Bathore, where the villagers greeted him with stones, smashing the windows of his car. They are demanding the release of the four people who are being held, followed by dialogue. They are also demanding cancellation of the decision to demolish the houses, which have now been fully rebuilt. A larger gathering than on the first day has also been noted, accompanied by chants. The villagers are asking quickly. The situation is becoming increasingly tense. BESI ÇELA

The chairmen of the Fier and Skrapar District Councils, the two current heads of these local government institutions, Mr. Robert Bitri and Venetik Zajmi, have been dismissed from their posts. This was carried out by presidential decree no. 1098, dated 16.5.1995, by President Berisha. The two local officials who have now been dismissed belong to the majority elected by the people for the PS-SH on 26 July 1992. Although Berisha decreed the dismissals on 16.05.1995, it was only on Monday morning—more than 20 days later—that the Secretary of State for Local Government, one of the most active members of the PD in Tirana, Mr. Njazi Kosovarasti, travelled to the Berat Prefecture and then to that of Fier to read what his superior, Mr. Sali Berisha, had written. At the Berat Prefecture, following the arrival of the Skrapar District Council chairman, Mr. Kosovarasti read Mr. Berisha’s decree, while also announcing that from that moment Mr. Zajmi was to hand over his duties, since he no longer had the right to sign in the office. In the meantime, the duties would temporarily be carried out by the deputy chairman of the district council. Events unfolded differently in Fier. The presidium of the district council and Chairman Bitri refused to appear at the prefecture before Mr. Kosovarasti. “Your telephone notice of a meeting with the Secretary of State for Local Government, which specifies only the participants and not the subject of the meeting, obliges us to inform you that: We cannot attend a meeting whose subject has not been officially communicated to us. A presumed presidential decree dismissing the district council chairman would be illegal; consequently, it would be illegal; we cannot attend a meeting in which our role would be limited to listening to the reading of a presidential decree; it is the district council, not its presidium, that has authority over its chairman”—this was the response of the Fier councillors who are members of the district council presidium, addressed on Monday at 18:00 to Prefect Haki Mustafa and Secretary of State Kosovarasti. Following this response, Kosovarasti was forced to go to the district council, where he read out Berisha’s decree amid exchanges with council members. After reading it, Kosovarasti again announced that the deputy chairman of the district council would temporarily perform the duties. We are also informed that two instructions—one requesting implementation of the decision and the other refusing to recognize the signatures of the dismissed chairmen—were sent to the Ministry of Interior, to Mr. Musaraj. (To be continued on page 3)

I underline One of the points in the DP’s contract with the electorate has been fully implemented: the free employment of people. Every day in Sarandë, Muzinë, the villages of Gjirokastër, even in the smallest and most remote places, people come from outside and wait for work. Local employers come and go. They are domestic refugees, mainly from the districts of central and northern Albania, who need no visas, speedboats or traffickers as intermediaries. To make them seem like foreigners, the places where they gather—for example, the Sarandë Employment Agency—have been given names such as “Azila,” etc. In some cases, the daily wage is 1,500 old lekë. PD activists who see the situation respond: “Well done, you haven’t left the country; you are true patriots.” But they do not mention the new elections. TH. DINO

Today in Tirana Today the Romanian parliamentarian, Mr. Adrian Nastase, arrives in Tirana for a visit. His visit is part of the ongoing contacts at various levels in relations between our two countries. It is expected that, through his numerous contacts with Albanian parliamentarians and through the formation of delegations, he will give a boost to relations between the two parliaments and bring them into a new phase. The composition of the delegation he heads, which includes senators and deputies who are independent and belong to various political forces, means that the delegation will meet representatives of different Albanian political forces. Adrian Nastase is one of the best-known figures in Romanian politics of the 1990s, as well as a prominent figure in Romanian science. He was born in 1950 in Bucharest, graduated and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Bucharest. From 1982 to 1990 he worked as a professor of public international law and participated in many different Romanian and international scientific associations and foundations in the field of jurisprudence. He has lectured at several universities around the world, including in Paris, London, Oslo, Tehran, Caracas (Venezuela), Bruges, Athens, Geneva, Mexico City, etc. He has participated in numerous scientific or political conferences and symposia. His scientific publishing activity is extensive, with more than 130 scholarly articles published in various Romanian and foreign scientific journals. His political career began after the profound changes of December 1989 in Romania. In 19[?], Nastase served as Foreign Minister, during which period he also visited Albania. In 1992, after the new elections, he was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament.

There are 371 million lekë in securities remaining in the savings bank’s cash office in Laç, where work has begun on distributing them to the population of the Kurbin district. Distribution to pensioners has been under way for several days. There are 4,260 of them. But what about distributing them to everyone? Every day, around 400 people head to the savings bank counter to buy them. A long queue forms early in the morning and is still there late in the afternoon when work ends. Although the savings bank staff are coping with an extraordinary workload, they cannot serve everyone, and the pensioners’ wait continues. In Laç, Mrs. Adriana Vafi tells us that although we are working under an excessive workload these days, and continuing beyond official hours, we cannot serve more than 200 people a day; this number can change only on holidays. The question is: Why should pensioners have to come to Laç from Milot, Mamurras and the villages? This, she thinks, is bureaucracy that results in people being made to stand in queues. Meanwhile, as we learned yesterday at the currency exchange market in Laç, securities were being exchanged at 15 percent of their value. B. Z.

Can the state collect them back itself? A suggestion?! Pensioners have begun receiving the first instalments of privatization vouchers, but they are unsure where to take them—to the home or to the market? And the value of these vouchers reaches 17–20 percent. We say “reaches” because in previous days this value was much lower. For example, in the first days of the distribution of these vouchers, pensioners from the Malësia e Madhe district sold them for 10 percent. They were sold at this level in Shkodër too, although distribution there began several days later. The value kept rising: from 10 to 13 percent, then to 15 percent, and finally up to 20 percent yesterday. In other words, a 20,000-lekë voucher was sold for 3,500–4,000 new lekë. The money changers in Shkodër told us yesterday: “We buy these vouchers just to make a little profit, not to buy properties. We sell them,” they said, “to various people, who have begun coming from other districts too. For example, someone came from Puka and collected all of them from us at a price of a little over 20 percent. The price we pay pensioners depends on the price at which we will be able to sell them wholesale.” As for the blocks (Continued on page 2)

At 3:30 in the morning yesterday, the three children of the Osmani family from the Kiras neighborhood of the city of Shkodër returned home. As has been reported, they were abducted on Tuesday morning. We visited the family yesterday. The sadness still felt by the parents and all the relatives over the shock caused by the abduction of these children was easy to see. Edmiri, 15, was surrounded by many people and told the horrific story of their escape from the clutches of the child-trafficking mafia. They had held them for up to an hour in a forest. And there everything had ended with the three children returning to their families. A GRAVE, TRAGIC INCIDENT Yesterday at around 6:30 in the morning, on Uji i Ftohtë Road in Vlorë, near the “Aulona” café, citizen Zako Duka, 26, was shot with a pistol and killed. The investigative team began inquiries to identify the killer and establish the motives for the murder.