Editorial In recent days, a brief visit by President Berisha to the village of Synaj in Kavajë did not escape public attention. There, through a pathetic speech, he tried to stir popular enthusiasm in this cold winter for the magnificent successes of the Democratic Party’s government. The event was broadcast on TV, and even repeated. Nevertheless, the [unclear] of the circle completely [unclear]. Why did the dress rehearsal in Synaj fail on the eve of the election campaign? Why do people flee the DP as if it were the devil, flee from incense; why is the time of enthusiasm at its rallies gone for good; why are there now no filled halls, no hands raised high, no cries of “freedom-democracy”? Synaj failed because of Berisha. People have grown so accustomed to seeing his portrait on TV screens and on the front pages of newspapers that, we say with regret, they feel a kind of annoyance, a narrowing of the space for free thought and for their intellectual needs, and an assault on their political judgment. But this is not the only factor behind the failure of the Synaj rally. The head of state went there to commemorate an event from six years earlier, while no one had remembered its fifth anniversary, which would have been a jubilee. The rally organizers failed to gather more than a crowd of 200–300 children, instead of managing to stage the raising of the issue by a few people who happened to be there. There were also a few cries of “freedom-democracy.” That was the script for this failure. The purpose of this spectacle was threefold. First, to test whether the coming election campaign could be launched by means of rallies. In other words, could what happened before March 22 and the parliamentary elections be repeated—one event presented as a resounding victory, the other as an equally resounding failure? Apparently, the DP will not be able to organize rallies in the new election campaign. This is the tragedy of the Synaj event. Second, with the issues and the atmosphere created at the Synaj rally, a test was made of whether, with slogans and the fight against… (Continued on page 2)

Scandal: Instead of the rule-of-law state, the state of the Kanun Bajraktars gather to adapt the Kanun — They decide: blood vengeance may extend to three generations Bajraktars gather to adapt the Kanun — They decide: blood vengeance may extend to three generations The meeting was attended by the head of the Mesi commune, Fas Shabai, the area’s MP, Gëzim Luli, the police chief, Ferid Hajdari, etc. Page 2

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On 13.2.1996, at Bënça Prison, where he is being held in political and physical isolation by the Berisha regime, PSSH Chairman Fatos Nano met with a group of investigators from the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office, who sought his testimony regarding several events that took place in 1991, when Mr. Nano was serving as Prime Minister of Albania. The text is cut off after “sought testimony” in the supplied lead. On 13.2.1996, at Bënça Prison, where he is being held in political and physical isolation by the Berisha regime, PSSH Chairman Fatos Nano met with a group of investigators from the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office, who sought his testimony regarding several events that took place in 1991, when Mr. Nano was serving as Prime Minister of Albania. Mr. Nano made the following statement to the prosecution and to the public: 1. My activity as Chairman of the Council of Ministers during the period from 25.02.1991 to 04.06.1991 was legal, documented and public. In every instance and in all my actions, it was and remains entirely in accordance with the legislation in force and with the constitutional duties of the Government of that time: preparing and guaranteeing Albania’s first free and democratic elections; ensuring basic food supplies for the market, electricity, public order and people’s lives; and beginning economic reforms and opening up to the world. 2. At no time has my activity as Prime Minister and as a member of the Presidential Council been on the side of wrongdoers, or benefited individuals or dark forces operating beyond the control of the law, inside or outside the country, that sought to destabilize the situation. This activity contains no secret or improper aspect whatsoever and is fully recorded in the official minutes of the time. 3. I hope and wish that the justice authorities will fully and conclusively bring the truth to light and punish the real culprits for the killings of 2 April 1991 in Shkodër, etc. My official, political and civic commitment to this end has been and remains unconditional, and I stand alongside the victims’ families in defending the law. 4. I express my regret and disagreement that the prosecution and other specialized bodies, visibly instrumentalized by those in power to attack and arbitrarily penalize political opponents, continue to deal with 2 April solely in service of the electoral-political orders and scenarios of the Berisha regime. As a citizen and as Chairman of the largest opposition party, imprisoned and politically persecuted precisely through such scenarios and instruments, I denounce these actions and those who order and carry them out. Consequently, as I have done until now, I will not agree to be drawn, willingly or by force, into schemes of this kind that play with the blood of the victims and with the rule of law. My position toward these bodies will not change as long as they and their officials continue to submit to the regime’s primitive orders rather than to the democratic principles of the rule of law. Spokesperson for PSSH Chairman Fatos Nano Tirana, 15.2.1996

At the Socialist Party headquarters: Yesterday, at the Socialist Party headquarters, its vice-chairman Namik Dokle and Ilir Meta received the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Tao Miaofa, at a farewell meeting on the occasion of his departure to take up another post. Views were exchanged on the further development of relations and friendship between the two peoples and the two countries. The PS representatives expressed their satisfaction that these relations had by now moved from anti-Chinese rallies to high-level visits. They also reaffirmed the PS’s commitment to the stable and continued development of these relations. Ambassador Tao Miaofa praised the PS’s clear and open positions regarding relations between the two countries and expressed confidence that this cooperation would be further strengthened in the future. Voice of the PS [as printed: “Zëra e shoqit të PS”]