Press conference of the SOCIALIST PARTY - The Socialist Party openly denounces today’s political power as a provocateur of the country’s stability. - Keeping FATOS NANO in prison is a challenge to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Council of Europe. political interests of the party of the moment, resentments and personal political revenge, trampling Albanian justice down to its very foundations, to the law itself. The government officials and Berisha’s blind tools must understand clearly that this repressive mechanism, operating through violations of the law, is acting today and will act against them tomorrow as well. The Socialist Party publicly denounces such unlawful and anti-democratic practices. It draws the attention of public opinion at home and abroad: 1. The systematic violation of human rights, which the SP has denounced, is passing into a new, more advanced phase, taking the form of legal acts—something we consider far more dangerous than the interests of a political grouping or particular individuals. 2. Berisha’s regime is openly attacking the Albanian electorate and seriously endangering Albanian democracy with its strategy of political tensions and the division of Albanians. For this reason, we are compelled to denounce today’s political power as a direct provocateur of the country’s stability and of the feelings of people who believe in democracy and justice. 3. Berisha’s regime is ... 27.07.1995 Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania

Yesterday afternoon, the presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania held a press conference concerning several troubling developments in the Albanian Parliament in recent days, relating to the urgent presentation and passage of several anti-democratic and unconstitutional draft laws. At the beginning, SP Deputy Secretary Servet Pëllumbi read the party presidium’s press statement. Then Servet Pëllumbi and MP Fehmi Abdiu answered journalists’ questions. Can you tell us about the content of the draft law presented today and explain what makes its spirit anti-democratic? Fehmi Abdiu: This is the third draft law within a month to be put before MPs urgently, in violation of the requirements of the rules of procedure and the parliament’s basic law, and to be considered urgently. The law of 31.5.1995, under which the new Penal Code entered into force, was passed using this unlawful procedure, and the SP parliamentary group reacted strongly. Yesterday, by the same unlawful procedure, an amendment and supplement to the new Code of Criminal Procedure, which is due to enter into force on 1 August, were suddenly passed; the third draft law of the day was presented in the same way and through the same procedure. In brief, according to this draft law submitted by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers in the accompanying explanatory memorandum, several amendments are being sought to the law under which the new Penal Code enters into force because, according to the prime minister, the work of the justice bodies dealing with it over the past few days has involved numerous shortcomings and errors. And, as a penalty for correcting these shortcomings and errors of the courts, this law must necessarily be supplemented. (Continued on page 3)

Numerous recent facts, following Albania’s admission as a full member of the Council of Europe, point not to an expansion of democratic space—which would be natural and expected—but to restrictions on it, reaching critical limits. The presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania is urgently holding this press conference to inform the entire Albanian press, Radio-Television, ATSH, other news agencies, representatives of the foreign press, and members of the diplomatic corps in Albania about the latest unconstitutional and anti-democratic acts being undertaken against existing legislation, indeed legislation only just adopted, through the selection of judicial bodies for prestigious international institutions such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which has long called for a resolution of the «Nano Case», and also the Council of Europe, whose membership we have just signed. 1. This fact is also a direct act that falls on the shoulders of Albanians, who still need assistance and real, rapid integration into the international community. 4. Such positions do not deter the Socialist Party of Albania in the least, nor do they divert it one iota from its consistent struggle to democratize the reforms, from which there is no turning back for us. They do not diminish the SP’s demands at all; rather, they give new emphasis to its calls for a solution to the reality of Albanians in Albania. It has made—and continues to make—a call for [unclear in source] and peaceful social pacts. Although it has not received support from the state, this is and will therefore remain its guiding principle. Determined to defend democracy and, in this context, its deputy and chairman, Fatos Nano, the Socialist Party of Albania publicly denounces the draft law presented and placed on the agenda of the People’s Assembly in flagrant violation of its rules of procedure, as the most striking manifestation of the President’s personal power, the executive’s imposition on the legislature, and the manipulation of Parliament and the law. The Socialist Party of Albania, its electorate, and the entire people know how to judge and assess such actions correctly, as wholly in line with dictatorial practices. In denouncing these shameful acts, the Socialist Party calls on the diplomatic corps, the press, and the media in general not only to defend the Socialist Party and Fatos Nano, but also to speak out strongly in defence of justice and the interests of the people and the nation. Being convinced that you fight for this interest, you will help, as you have until now, [unclear in source] the installation of violence. (Continued on page 3)

The Committee of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union adopts another decision on the «NANO case» - The Tepelenë trial was obstructed by the Minister of Justice. - The Albanian authorities should give serious consideration to the Council of the Union’s recommendation to review the proceedings against Fatos Nano. The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union has reacted strongly to the case of Fatos Nano, leader of Albania’s largest opposition party. Sources at the Union in Geneva told «Zëri i Popullit» yesterday that the Committee, which met in session between 11 and 15 July, adopted a special decision concerning the «Nano Case». The matter was brought to the level of a decision on the basis of information gathered by the Union’s Committee up to 25 July 1995 regarding events in Albania. The decision issued a few hours ago states: «The Committee expresses concern that the request for a review of Mr. Nano’s trial at the Tepelenë Court was obstructed as a result of the intervention of the Minister of Justice. In light of this concern, the Committee also requests the legal grounds explaining why the Tepelenë Court’s decision in Mr. Nano’s case is contrary to the decision to release Mr. Alia, and why the opposition leader Fatos Nano was left in prison again.» As for this entire process, the Union’s Committee has not yet issued a statement, while its latest decision says that it regrets that the Albanian authorities have not responded to the requests for information from the Committee of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union. Delegations from 130 parliaments around the world have, in two resolutions, called on the Albanian authorities to release opposition leader Fatos Nano—in Copenhagen—and subsequently, in Madrid, to review his trial from the beginning. But the response from officials in Tirana has simply been non-acceptance. And not only that: there has been a strong reaction against the Union’s decisions and the Council of Europe’s repeated requests. Minister Angel Martines, speaking about the «Nano Case» before and after Albania’s accession to the Council of Europe, referred to the Union’s decisions as those of the most serious institution specializing in the freedoms and rights of MPs. But Berisha has responded with actions contrary to the Union’s decisions and its requests. Thus, yesterday and today, the «Albanian government» has submitted to the Albanian Parliament two additional amendments to the newly adopted Code of Criminal Procedure, which has not yet even entered into force, respectively depriving Mr. Nano of the right to a trial when the judicial panel has been changed. Moreover, while the representative of the Albanian state, the Appeals Prosecutor, was requesting Mr. Nano’s release, contrary to the order received from his superior, hundreds of members of the Albanian secret police surrounded the Court of Appeal just two hours before the decision that would once again leave opposition leader Fatos Nano in prison. But the Union’s Committee has not yet commented on all this, from the Committee of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union. While the Committee of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union is making the above requests of the Albanian authorities on the basis of information available up to 20 July, their response—that of the Berisha regime—has been scandalous. The proceedings that took place after the Tepelenë trial, namely the appeal, constitute another scandal, indeed ...

Yesterday in Parliament - Fehmi Abdiu: The rushed submission and introduction of draft laws to serve political interests is unlawful. Yesterday’s plenary session, too, was characterized by debates and conflicts, for which the main leaders of Parliament and the PD parliamentary group must be held responsible. The Albanian Parliament has now become an institution where laws are passed in accordance with the political interests of the PD and of prosecutors who take their orders from the Number One of the State. This fact was also noted attentively in Parliament amid ... ... and by the internal clans as well, for a long time, in order to find the most suitable candidates for the senior positions at RTV. The debate between the government and opposition groups is no longer primarily about the hasty introduction in Parliament of an amendment seeking to change specific articles concerning the new Penal Code, recently approved by Parliament. It must be said that these changes, as was also evident from the deputies’ actions and from the comments of the deputy from the Socialist group, are intended to keep the chairman of the Socialist Party, deputy Fatos Nano, in prison. The most blatant fact is that they come ... (Continued on page 4)

After 3 years of work - Elez Biberaj: He hasn’t worked well in the last two weeks! Xhevdet Shehu, Radio «Voice of America» correspondent in Tirana, has been dismissed. The news was made public yesterday through a «Notice to “Voice of America” listeners», signed by Xhevdet Shehu himself. The dismissal took place on 21 July 1995, and correspondent Shehu conveyed the decision to Mr. Elez Biberaj, head of the Albanian section of Voice of America. According to the notice he issued, Shehu’s dismissal took place one hour after he broadcast a report on the «Nano trial» at the Court of Appeal. Shehu says that Mr. Biberaj, after giving a very positive assessment of his work over more than three years at «Voice of America», told him: «You haven’t worked well in the last week; you haven’t maintained close contact with your colleagues in Tirana.» The notice about the dismissal of Xhevdet Shehu, Voice of America’s correspondent in Tirana, is a brief summary of ... (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday at the Tirana Court : The «ARSIDI» trial comes to an end 22 years in prison for Holi, Xhyberi, Saliu and Tarari! But what about the money? - Former Albanian Prime Minister Vilson Ahmeti is released from prison. He is found innocent after serving a year and a half in prison. The theft charge is dropped, but it is not known who took 1.6 million dollars. The scandal remains unresolved. The 72-year-old Frenchman named Nikola Arsidi brought the five accused Albanians into the courtroom in the financial scandal that bears his name, to hear the verdict of the Court of First Instance. With his ruling, read over dozens of pages for an hour and a half, Judge Çeliku brought another stage of the «Arsidi Marathon» to a close, sending not only the defendants but four ... back to prison. Çeliku’s ruling marked a turning point in the entire proceedings to date. It upheld the charge and, consequently, the sentences sought for them only a few days earlier by prosecutors Qeleshi and Gjokujta. In their closing arguments, the prosecutors charged the five defendants with theft in complicity and, under the Penal Code, sought ... (Continued on page 3)

On Friday, 28 July 1995, at 10:00, the chairman of the Albanian Ecological Party, Mr. Namik Hoti, is holding a press conference at the Palace of Congresses.