— Statement of the Albanian Helsinki Committee — The Albanian Helsinki Committee has found a place in “Rilindja Demokratike” — the organ of the Democratic Party — just as it is continually being fought. One of the topics that [its] ... makes the militants think of it as a “fishmonger” — in the sense that the right to democracy, managed to say that “if the communists (or rather, socialists) came to power, it would be considered an occupation of Albania and we would fight it by every means, just as one fights a barbaric occupier...” Respect for the popular vote is the ABC of a democratic order. In today’s Albanian reality, no political force, right-wing or left-wing, can be identified with an occupier. All the parties ... (Continued on page 2)

— Berisha cannot understand that the people want to be governed differently Taking advantage of the podium at the Democratic Party conference in Tirana, Mr. Sali Berisha, President of the Republic and de facto leader of the party in power, the day before yesterday delivered the longest and heaviest string of accusations against the Socialist Party, the country’s largest opposition force. Why did he put himself in this role? Why did he provoke tension in the country’s political life, when it is already tense as it is? Why does the President of the Republic maintain this constant position of “producing” enemies on the left and right? There are many reasons, but the principal one is the crisis of governance being experienced by the Democratic Party. The clearest manifestation of this crisis was the referendum of November 6. Unfortunately, Mr. Sali Berisha showed in his speech the night before last that, although more than 9 months have passed since that referendum, he has learned nothing about the reasons for the failure of the Draft Constitution that he had so heavily promoted. It is no exaggeration to say that ever since Mr. Berisha entered the country’s political scene, carrying a past as a communist militant, he has tried, through extremist — now anti-communist — positions, to somewhat correct the image of that personal past; indeed, he has not hesitated to become the architect of successive campaigns against the country’s socialist opposition. But his speech the day before yesterday perhaps represented the most ambitious collection of insinuating accusations and insulting, contemptuous epithets he has directed at the Socialist Party since he emerged as a politician. It is understandable that, with these extreme positions, the President of the Republic does democracy no service. On the contrary, by taking on the role of the all-powerful leader of the Democratic Party, which is experiencing the crisis of losing power for good, he seeks to use this crisis as a cloak to drape over his political opponents. In his speech, perhaps unconsciously, he repeated himself several times. He was so aimless in formulating accusations against the SP that at one point he said the SP was experiencing the deepest and most comprehensive drama and crisis, from which there was no recovery, and then he said that (Continued on page 2)

— Interview with PS deputy chairman Namik Dokle, given to journalist Erion Braçe Question: The day before yesterday, President Berisha spoke at the Democratic Party conference for Tirana... Answer: The day before yesterday I didn’t hear any president speak. The day before yesterday Albania was without a president. I heard only the leader of the Democratic Party speak, the former or the current one. Can you call a politician who speaks with such malice against one party, a politician who launches a “crusade of dossiers” against another party, or undertakes deliberate state activity to isolate a third party, the president of a state that respects diversity of alternatives and represents the unity of the nation, etc., etc.? But, thank God, he proved wiser than his party affiliations, because he did not say that “the Socialists will bring back agricultural cooperatives.” Question: Still, he said quite a lot about the Socialists. They failed here, they failed there; he even said that the SP is unable to hold elections within its own organization. Does that seem like a small amount to you? Answer: Thank God he didn’t say that the Socialists aren’t even recognized by their own steps! We might yet hear even that from Mr. Berisha. But let us not forget that he left the beaches of “Miss Sea” and came to the capital, shaken by the Socialists’ rally in Tirana. We are sorry to have spoiled his vacation, but with his political actions he, too, has disturbed the peace of thousands of Albanians. Still, it seems the Labori did him good, because he was no longer shouting as he did during the Constitution referendum. His latest speech was a speech of alarm, a desperate attempt to rally the Democratic Party’s depleted energies. But it is extremely difficult for him. The former energies of this party, which had brought considerable hope for democracy, have now been lost in the labyrinths of SHIK, in government corruption, in the plundering of national wealth by those favored by the authorities, in the opposition of a clan of servile people with intellect against true intellectuals, who to this day are dismissed from their jobs and university chairs are left empty. Berisha’s anathema against the Socialists brings to mind the year 1990. The same philosophy of “enemies,” the same discrimination from the podium, the same threats and violence by secret-police units. Except that these people now have the courage to publish their threats even in the official newspaper of the party in power. What freedom, then, does the leader of the Democratic Party beat his chest over? Question: Berisha declared, no less, that the socialist alternative... is an irreconcilable enemy of democracy, an enemy of the country’s integration, a sworn enemy of all freedoms and rights of the indi- (Continued on page 3)

— The Eurosocialist Forum responds one day after Berisha’s attack — ILIR META: The reform of the SP as a political force that brings the values of the European democratic left will continue, regardless of Berisha’s provocations to push the SP toward the far left — Our ideas about a genuine Western democracy are nowhere near Berisha’s. — Berisha has no right to speak about the December students because he came to us in December as a delegate of the dictatorship... “If Berisha spoke on Wednesday about reforming the SP, I think he is right to some extent, because the PD’s policy has failed according to ... We think the matter concerns some new concepts and methods intended to retain power in the coming legislature” — said Ilir Meta, chairman of FRESSH. (Continued on page 4)

The Albanian Helsinki Committee devoted a particular category ... The Albanian Helsinki Committee devoted a particular category of attention to cases that may be under consideration by the Chambers and the Plenum of the Court of Cassation. Let us take a concrete example: a defendant has been sentenced to death at first instance and requests [something] from the Ministry of Justice, which assures [us] that the law of July 26, 1995 does not infringe any rights of those tried. We hope this is so, but nevertheless a question remains, one to which neither the law nor the Ministry of Justice has provided an answer. It still remains to be clarified why, when the application of the deadline for the entry into force of the former Code of Criminal Procedure is postponed until November 15, 1995, a particular category of cases is left in force, at first instance and on appeal; the Court of Cassation has likewise upheld the ruling; the Prosecutor General or the President of the Court of Cassation filed an appeal for a violation of the law before the date of 1... (Continued on page 3)

— Amnesty International is not seeking further written promises, but demands the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoner Fatos Nano Burrel and Spaç, and Bënçë, Qafë-Bari, Ballshi, and Batër-Mara-Tanesh, and... and... The geography of institutionalized crime. Laboratories of terror, the consequences of which have been endured by hundreds and thousands of lives inside and outside those barbed-wire fences. But hope was never killed. Despite the distortion of the laws and of the 1976 Constitution itself. Amnesty International — this authoritative organization with a worldwide reach, exemplary in denouncing violence and political revenge — manages to extend a helping hand even to Albanian political prisoners during the years of communist totalitarianism, standing by and supporting them and nurturing great hope. Not only Pjetër Arbnori, not only Fatos Lubonja, not only Leka Toto, not only Gëzimi Titani, but all genuine former Albanian political prisoners and persecuted people know what it means to have someone stand by you in the hardest days of your life, even if that someone is just one person — let alone a powerful organization like Amnesty International. One thing is true: Amnesty International’s protests do not cause much trouble for the regime in power. On this side, they fell on deaf ears, because the state of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat had class struggle as its first law. But meanwhile, the issue has another side to the coin. Not only the former political prisoners, but the state itself felt that (Continued on page 3)

Party man Berisha views the Socialists through his own primitive mindset, offering as “facts” the claim that our group of deputies supposedly voted against the Law on the Sale and Purchase of Land. If the President is speaking with his own mind, rather than that of some pen-pusher nursing adolescent grudges, we would like to remind him of the logic of a Parliament

The announcement was made by the TV presenter, specifically on August 8. The National Privatization Agency reminds interested parties that the list of properties and enterprises that will continue to be sold will henceforth be announced not only in the newspapers RD and Bashkimi, but also in two other newspapers, “Bashkimi Social Demokrat” and “Republika.” A brief look back may be useful: the heads of AKP branches in the districts will recall that at the beginning of 1993, former Deputy Prime Minister Kopliku—who was following reform-related issues—said at a meeting that notices about properties to be privatized would be published in all newspapers with a large circulation, regardless of their political affiliation. But no more than a week passed before the same agency issued a second instruction: publications would appear only in RD and the other pro-government newspapers. Thus, the state-party newspaper, as the most privileged, pockets millions of lek—or, put another way, receives millions from AKP branches in the districts. The circulation of this newspaper, which was very low, was secured precisely through this financial arrangement. Some of the ... and newspapers allied with RD. Later, with the breakdown of the power-sharing arrangement, AKP announcements stopped appearing in the newspapers “Alternativa SD” and “Republika.” Thus, quite openly, AKP finds ways to provide financial support only (Continued on page 4)

Statement by the PS Presidium, Lushnjë area Recent political developments have been accompanied by a clear hard-line policy, which is being pursued in the PD’s political struggle. One consequence of this kind of rule is the raising of the Nano case, which ultimately creates a situation in which the judicial authorities are unjustly used to serve politics and protect its opponents. By supporting political leaders and education among Albanians, along with the image of society, the aim is to create a democratic society anew. This statement by the Lushnjë Socialists ... has experienced these things in a particular way, through the “democratic” methods. The kind of lobbying used by the PD authorities during the voting. In the name of the Socialists of Lushnjë, we ask the President not to promulgate the two legal amendments, which are a stain of vengeance, and to exercise his powers to secure the earliest possible release of comrade Fatos Nano. Our voice of protest joins that of Albanians who, through democratic means and forms, will fight for justice and social peace, putting an end to political revenge.

Statement by the Presidium of the PS Shkodër The Presidium of the Socialist Party of Shkodër, prompted by the negative political reactions of the authorities and by requests from thousands of its members and tens of thousands of supporters in this district, once again publicly calls for the release of the PS chairman and people’s deputy Fatos Nano. The parliamentary majority’s approval of an antidemocratic law solely to prevent Fatos Nano from leaving prison, together with the humiliating pressure exerted on the judicial system, obliges us to raise our voices in defense of justice and democracy. Today we are not discussing Fatos Nano’s innocence, since it has been proven to everyone. We Socialists of Shkodër and our electorate in this district have always been clear that Fatos Nano is a political prisoner; ... the commission [received] the nationwide petition for his release. But through this statement we denounce the violation of its own powers, as it takes the ... of legislators in order to keep him ... in prison. For Fatos Nano’s ... (Continued on page 2)

On Friday, August 11, 1995, from 18:30 to 20:00, in the square in front of the “Lasgush Poradeci” Cultural Palace, the steering committee of the PS branch ... in Pogradec is organizing a protest rally against violations of human rights and in defense of Socialist leader Fatos Nano. The Pogradec PS Steering Committee

On Friday, August 18, 1995, at 18:00, the Socialist Party of Korçë is organizing a protest rally at the “Tamara Nikolla” Sports Palace. Members and supporters of the PS from the city of Korçë and the surrounding areas are invited to attend. The Korçë PS Steering Committee.