The army, as an instrument in the service of the state, plays an important role in carrying out its policy. At certain moments, it can even impose itself on the state. Historical experience has shown that in some cases the army, through violence, has dictated the course of events. On the whole, however, this course has been regressive and has resulted in the establishment of a military-police regime, with tragic consequences for the lives of the peoples who have experienced it firsthand. Particularly in a militarized state, the danger posed by the military remains ever-present. We do not intend by this to draw any analogies with our army. Our army, as an organic part of the people, is inherently protected by their aspirations, ideals, and feelings. History has taught Albanians a great deal. Wars, suffering, and misery did not break their character; on the contrary, they strengthened their love of country and their respect for their culture, language, folklore, ancestral customs, and traditions. In the past, as a people without an organized state, in every war our people had to organize themselves, determine their strategy and the tactics of fighting that served it, produce capable and respected commanders, and emerge victorious over their many enemies. This experience created a tradition of respect for leaders and chiefs, based on their ability and qualities, regardless of whether one was a Geg or a Tosk, a Kosovar or a Cham. Therefore, the expression often used in propaganda—that the people’s army is the work of the Party—is inappropriate, since Albania had armies before that as well. By this logic, countries without Communist Parties would have to be disarmed, without armies and without defenses. Besides, all countries call their soldiers ‘people’s’ soldiers; therefore, the Party cannot be identified with the people, nor can the army be a gift to the people from the party in power. During these years as the sole party in power, the PPSH could not remain without ensuring the country’s defense and its own leadership monopoly within the military structures it had created. Therefore, the army should not be regarded as the Party’s achievement; rather, the people should be respected for the sacrifices they have made to maintain a mechanism so formidable and so costly to our economy. In today’s Albanian political reality, with different ideologies in existence and a multiparty system, control over the army cannot be left in the hands of any political party, whoever it may be—especially when the party itself is in command. Such a situation creates the conditions for the army to be used in party-political maneuvering and arouses distrust and fear of military danger among the opposition and society as a whole. But this is not the right way to solve the problem of depoliticizing the army while one party remains in command. His concern about pluralism in the army is unacceptable at a time when the army has major problems to resolve and is awaiting further orders. It would be better to think about the future structure of the army, the authority of staffs and individual commanders, the relationship between regulations and law, the legal definition of the limits of orders and chains of command, strengthening discipline, and improving living conditions in the army, rather than racking one’s brains to find the most arrogant tone in which to respond. Publishing the response in «Zëri i Popullit» and «Luftëtari» gives it the coloring of a party struggle, from which military personnel today should distance themselves. Therefore, those who lead the army today must abandon the idea that the force of an order (since the Minister of Defense cannot conceive that, at least under the current circumstances, he could make a recommendation rather than issue an order) can change people’s convictions; or that, by an individual order contrary to specific decrees of the People’s Assembly, soldiers, reservists, and people’s volunteers organized in the army can be excluded from other parties. They must abandon the idea that the army is the garden of military hierarchs—military hierarchs—and that they can at any time take up the hoe to weed and the shears to harvest its crops. Anyone who respects the people and Albania must respect its people, their convictions, and their freedom of thought for the good of the Homeland, rather than let the view be obscured by party interests. Albania above all! … their ability and qualities and not on the decisions of those who appointed them. The basic conclusion of our history is that the people’s fighting spirit was cultivated not by political parties but by love of country. Albania existed even without political parties; Albanians fought alongside one another regardless of their political convictions and of any political party, whoever it may be, especially among the opposition, as well as unjustified controversy given the current circumstances in which the country finds itself. Under political pluralism, it is essential to depoliticize the army, not to issue orders banning the activities of opposition parties in the army, as the Minister of Defense, Kico Mustaqi, has done. This

Yesterday afternoon it was announced that the Council of Ministers of the PSRA, by a special decision, removed the name Enver Hoxha from the University of Tirana, thus fulfilling the main demand of the student strikers. Yesterday evening, in a message addressed to the people, Ramiz Alia, Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, announced his decision to establish a Presidential Council and a working government. These are two rightful decisions in the people’s interest, intended to address the serious situation that has developed in our country in recent days. Correspondent of «Republika»

With Halim Xhelo, a figure of democratic thought and concrete revolutionary action, we recall the history of the powerful democratic movement in Albania from the beginning of this century until his death in 1937. The work of Halim Xhelo is his political thought and action on how the nation can be saved. He analyzed this vital question of the people throughout the course of history, setting the people’s entire national consciousness and their practical, active opposition against those who shaped that consciousness and the direct leaders of thought and action. Not content with that, this courageous and practical political leader, an observer who drew conclusions from the psychological manifestations of the people, with his inquisitive intellect, also examined the great feudal landowner, the usurper who seized the people’s entire wealth by force, and alongside them the intellectual tyrant who [unclear], the meruro-efendilerët, who are parasites and serve the former, even though they may have come from the people’s own ranks. But in this broad social-political and economic-cultural overview, he singles out the patriots, to whom [text cut off] [Photo] To [unclear] at the turning point of your country means first and foremost to drain away the vitality of the nation’s Albanian political thought. Those who are committed bear a moral and historical responsibility, and their work must culminate in victory. Looking at Halim Xhelo’s political and social outlook as a whole, we clearly see that the revolutionary democrat believes the nation can be saved from the ruling totalitarian yoke only when the youth and students take the lead in this struggle, because, as he emphasizes, «students, being children of the people, know that this people is physically ill with syphilis, malaria, and other diseases; they know that it is uneducated, poor, and [unclear]. It lacks everything except a strong spirit and endurance, which one day will work miracles. Stu Not content with this, the political leader—courageous and practical, an observer and interpreter of the people’s psychological manifestations—understood, through his intellect, culture and intuition, that love, brotherhood, commitment and pride connected with dignity were part of the Albanian people’s nature. Yet, owing to suffering and misery, hunger and ignorance, self-interest and suspicion had taken root among these people, along with a strange, unpromising smile and, worst of all, a tendency to wait. “The people are and are called that great majority of a nation’s individuals who build and produce for its well-being. When that majority is numbed, dried up, stripped bare and trampled underfoot by a tiny minority of feudal lords, it may be said that no people remain. Despite all these miseries, the Albanian people have not yet entirely lost their spirit (spark) of vitality. With that radiance and spirit, they have inspired revolutionary intellectuals and students to become their companions and leaders in the struggle for their freedom and convictions. And this is one side of the issue. The other was observing and drawing conclusions about those who stirred the people and led them directly. In this regard, he emphasized: ‘The Albanian people are not governed by one man, that is, by the chief executioner, as public opinion generally supposes. It is different ingredients and elements that make up the governmental and supposedly state machinery. These elements are not of many kinds…’ In this analysis, Halim Xhelo also highlights their actions and character. In doing so, he brings up … [text unclear: “mbi ndërtesat që i lëfet në dorë asnjë partie politike, çanta të Kuvendit të Popullit”]. Soldiers, reservists and people’s volunteers organized in the army may be excluded from the other parties. One of military hierarchs, who can at any time take up the hoe to till it and the baskets to gather respect its people, their convictions, and people’s than let the view be clouded by party interests. Above all, Albania! But in this broad social, political, economic and cultural perspective, he singles out the patriots, whom he asks to find the right direction in these circumstances. “The government is the government… patriots are patriots… above everything is the Homeland.” Halim Xhelo directs his revolutionary thought and action towards raising awareness among and mobilizing that group of intellectuals whose thoughts still do not match their actions, or remain confined to family tables and cafés. For him, the representatives of Albania’s future are the revolutionary intellectuals, primarily the young and the students, who, closely connected with the people, will achieve victory—the triumph of freedom and democracy. Halim Xhelo would express his optimism this way: «Lintma tam brezi, që brezi që do të shkelë Shqipërinë e nga ana e vetra. Do vuajmë, por kemi burrërinë që na rre nevojë shorthia për të ngrehur shoqërinë e re të Shqipërisë, shoqëri e cila do të jetë në lidhje e në vëllazëri me gjithë shoqëritë e tjera përbënë tërë familjen njerëzore» [the passage is corrupt/unclear in the source]. From this historical and social perspective, we bring the past to the table of the present; it has continually brought to life the moments when the Albanian nation has often faced the threat of its own extinction. These are never merely historical warnings, but climactic turning points that determine the making or breaking of the nation. … his active and practical agency and, on the other hand, those who raised awareness and directly led its thought and action. up … Halim Xhelo, through precise socio-economic and political analyses, unpacks across time the most dangerous period faced by democracy, born of a people that nurtured intellectual patriotism. Nor can his tragic end be separated from despotic action. Halim Xhelo died in Moscow in February 1937, aged 43 (he was born in 1894), after going there as a representative of the Comintern to attend an important meeting. New information tells us that after delivering an impassioned speech at the meeting, he distanced himself as a revolutionary democrat and true humanist. The same information indicates that he most likely died from poisoning rather than from the ear operation, as has been claimed. At his funeral, Comintern figures spoke, along with his fellow thinkers Gjergj Dimitrovi (who also died in Moscow), Vilhelm Piku, and others. And, strangely, the grave of such a revolutionary disappeared. But Halim Xhelo, the energetic democrat, left us his struggle to save the nation as his legacy. ARBËR POSHI

We heard about the tower of confinement and being confined in a tower long ago in our grandparents’ stories. 18 February. 11:30. Seven hundred and twenty students and lecturers make their way at last to the “Studenti” cinema club, where the final act of their painful drama will be played—the hunger strike, confinement in the tower. SCENE The mimosa trees have only just begun to bloom, somewhat timidly. The little town fills with anxious, sorrowful citizens, who talk to one another, asking questions, growing indignant… Thousands of students and lecturers, thousands of citizens of Tirana, have surrounded the cinema club. Midday is passing; students and lecturers continue to enter. One of them is holding Steinbeck’s book “The Grapes of Wrath”; a little later, a dark-haired young man is leafing through “Human Landscapes” by N. H. [unclear]; a girl recites in a hoarse voice, “It is time for us to love one another”… At the entrance is a double-headed flag, without a star. Everyone bows before it. They kiss it and continue inside, silently. Their eyes reveal everything the nation is experiencing: the days of December, the grief over the events in Durrës, Kavajë, Shkodër, and elsewhere. In the “crowd,” which keeps growing and drawing closer, there are mothers who weep and men whose lips tremble. The streets and alleyways resound once again, as they did in the days of December: “The students, our children!” “Remove the name!” “Freedom and democracy!” With the pledge, “We will stay until our demands are met,” more than seven hundred students and lecturers, including nearly 200 girls, have now confined themselves in the tower. The blue color of the police is added to this scene. RETROSPECTIVE After the days of December, for the first time in the 46-year history of the totalitarian state, the student movement brought about the establishment of political pluralism. The first days of February arrived. In support of the demands of the students at ILB Kamëz, “Shehi Demokracia” gathered students and lecturers in its ranks; they expressed solidarity with them and unanimously put forward their demands for better economic conditions, the complete de-ideologization of the education system, and, in this connection, the removal of Enver Hoxha’s name from the University of Tirana. Numerous meetings were held at the Ministry of Education, the rectorate, and even the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. The students’ demands were regarded as unfounded and dangerous in the pre-election situation. The situation grows ever more tense. The boycott continues. In support of the students, as in the days of December, dozens of telegrams arrive from all over Albania. And then, suddenly, in the evening news bulletin of 17 February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announces that it has full information about the organization and movement of certain dark, destructive forces. Parents are advised face to face to protect their children from manipulation. Albanian public opinion is deeply concerned. Some of the students disperse to the districts, refusing to continue their studies unless all their demands are fully met. Once again, we boycott. Finally, the Ministry of Education decides to close the University for a week. The strike committee announces a hunger strike. Silence. 17 February. TVSH broadcasts the decision of the Council of Ministers. The strike committee has announced that it is awaiting a response to the referendum by 11:00 on 18 February. And again, silence. The final deadline has passed too. In the cinema club halls, the students begin their hunger strike. DIARY EXCERPTS FROM THE DAYS OF CONFINEMENT 18 February 1991. It is late. In many places, the usual quiet of winter nights prevails, but certainly not in our city. Even after the 17:00 announcement, citizens of Tirana are still shouting in solidarity. Inside the cinema club, there is a [unclear]. Somewhere in a corner, a girl writes in her notebook—It is (Continued on page 4) [They] provided complete information about the organization and movement of several dark, destructive forces. Parents are advised to protect their children from manipulation. The entire Albanian public is concerned. Some of the students dispersed their demands were Education decides to close the University for one February. RTSH announces has announced that it is awaiting an answer about the referendum by 11:00 on the 18th. And once cinema-club halls, the students begin their hunger strike.

The members of the Initiating Commission for the establishment of the PRSH, Hysen Çobani and Agim Zeka, and the chairman of the Tirana branch, Maksim Haviari, met with the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Aleks Luaras[in?], regarding several requests by the PR. The PR representatives once again emphasized the urgent need to inform the people about the real state of the economy and food reserves, and requested that the PR branches in the districts be provided with the necessary facilities and material resources to conduct the election campaign. They also asked the government to subsidize the PRSH on an equal basis with the other political parties. For his part, the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers accepted the PR’s requests and promised its representatives that they would be resolved quickly. Correspondent, «Republika»