The Governor of the Bank of Albania gives assurances before the deputies Cani: the measures taken have one purpose: protecting depositors and protecting the money deposited Page 3

WE EMPHASIZE: AFTER THE ATTEMPTS TO EXPLOIT THE REFUGEE DRAMA Berisha said that people were following him—the man who, while at the head of the Albanian state, devised the causes and the gravest crisis this country has known since the establishment of the state 85 years ago; the man who mercilessly [unclear in source] and tried to drag the Albanians of the North into a war with those of the South—in short, the symbol of this country’s evil, has once again tried to gain political credibility by shamelessly exploiting the grief and tragedy of the unfortunate emigrants, to whom the law of the Italian parliament is being applied, as a result of which they are being sent back— The readmission agreement signed several weeks ago between the two governments establishes, on the one hand, the Italian government’s right to return to Albanian territory all refugees from third countries (for example, Kurds, Chinese, etc.) who reach the Italian shores via Albania, and, on the other hand, the Albanian government’s obligation to readmit them. Berisha-style demagoguery, stale and rancid, vainly hopes to turn Albanians against the new democratic government, in which responsible people and citizens with a clear vision have committed themselves to— All Berisha’s exploitative demagoguery has no real basis. The readmission agreement signed several weeks ago between the two governments establishes, on the one hand, the Italian government’s right to return to Albanian territory all refugees from third countries (for example, Kurds, Chinese, etc.) who reach the Italian shores via Albania, and, on the other hand, the Albanian government’s obligation to readmit them. Berisha certainly knows all this, just as he knows that he was responsible for ensuring that the agreement was not made in Albania, precisely so that Albania would become a transit route for the trafficking of clandestine refugees, and so that the Albanian people could be manipulated by the PD authorities; he also knows that Albania had remained the only country that had not signed the agreement on the repatriation in question. Thus, when he screams and pretends to care about the fate of refugees (during five years in power, he was never once heard to raise his voice in defense of the interests of Albanian refugees), his real concern is this: the disruption of trafficking schemes for clandestine migrants and the loss of his monopoly over them. But let him scream. Albanians have seen through him by now. Meanwhile, the Albanian government, determined that this country should no longer produce refugees, has no intention of retreating even an inch from its policy of integrating Albania into Euro-Atlantic structures as a worthy partner and a normal democratic country, where citizens can live and work freely and with dignity. It is certainly not easy, but this is the necessary direction, the path toward our overall advancement, which requires everyone’s work and contribution. PAGE 9

THE 85TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL ARMY IS COMMEMORATED THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, REXHEP MEIDANI, ALSO ATTENDED Page 2

THE MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S VISIT HAS CONCLUDED IN JANUARY, PRIME MINISTER NANO WILL VISIT SKOPJE Page 2

BERAT: POLICE STATION ATTACKED ANY ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE ITSELF ON THE POLICE FORCES IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW WILL BE PUNISHED SEVERELY Page 8

All members of the National Assembly of the AD are hereby informed that the meeting of the Assembly of the Democratic Alliance will be held on Saturday, December 6, 1997, at 10:30, in the PSD meeting hall. The Presidium of the AD Assembly

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