The electoral speech delivered the day before yesterday by Ramiz Alia, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PPSH, astonished us with its highest degree of political demagoguery. Demagoguery is the only lifeline when you lack arguments, to make it across to an uncertain shore, the shore of hope, if you escape the raging, muddy river. You read it to the end and remember the expression of the great Shakespeare: “Words, my lord, words!” Here is the quintessence of this speech. The people will supposedly vote for the PP, because this party supposedly lifted them out of misery and ignorance, out of exploitation and bondage, made them masters of their own fate and of the sovereignty of the Homeland, and placed them among civilized peoples and countries. The truth: the Party of Labour left the people in misery and ignorance, took them out of one bondage and thrust them into another, the bondage of a failing ideology; filled the country with prisoners and internees; and, after physically eliminating its principal opponents, became mistress of a profitable economy that has left us with empty plates and nothing to eat, that has told us to eat grass, and that has driven tens of thousands of young people to lose faith in this “progress” and this “profitability” and abandon the Homeland. We need not look far back; it is enough to recall that in 1985 Ramiz Alia said: “We have not held out, and will not hold out, our hand to anyone for anything, now or in the future; we will take no loans from anyone and will never go into debt to anyone. Our Party, as Comrade Enver Hoxha used to say, will never put such chains around the necks of our people.” And a few lines below: “Our domestic situation is very healthy.” Healthy indeed! Just six years later, from a country with no debts, unexpectedly and out of the blue, we find ourselves with a debt of 350 million dollars(?). How were such “chains put around the necks” of the people? Ah, yes! You are reforming! But how? 99.99 percent...? The leaders did not have political power in their hands. They only had the villas, the cars, the luxuries, the passports. All of Albania belonged to the people. Only the Bloc belonged to them. How little! The only injection that can heal our country’s economy is the people’s work. But what is the microbe that caused the illness? No answer has been given. What a “clean” state of accountability! At the initiative of the PPSH, a study is supposedly being made on reinstating military ranks, which will serve to strengthen order and military discipline. Some time ago, the PPSH conducted a study on abolishing military ranks, which “served to strengthen order and military discipline.” The PPSH has supposedly fully established relations with the USA and the USSR. And who was the culprit who ruined them? How strange! How could they not be ashamed of committing such a misdeed? We will also join the CSCE, and Europe. It seems the CSCE has also been reformed; it is no longer an instrument of bloodthirsty imperialism! So let us join, please, let them accept us!... Words, my lord, words! It is hard to analyze this speech any other way. The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PPSH could not have spoken differently. But the people expected different content in a speech delivered these days by President Ramiz Alia. The people see him as the only figure capable of maintaining the balance, so that voting on March 31 takes place properly and peacefully, and so that the new People’s Assembly can begin its work normally, until the new president is elected. This is our unshakable opinion, and we maintain that it is the opinion of the entire Albanian people. The truth: The Party of Labour left the people destitute and unemployed; it took them out of one bondage and put them into another, the bondage of an ideology that failed. It filled them with ideas, imprisoned and interned them, and, after physically eliminating its main opponents, became master of their fate and separated them from the peoples of civilized countries. The Party of Labour is the only political force entering this campaign with a sense of accountability. That is true. What other political force could enter this campaign (with a sense of accountability), when it is known that every such force was treated as an enemy and eliminated? Should those shot and those who died in prison have to rise from their graves to give account today? But how could that happen when even their graves are unknown? The genuine opposition parties have nothing to account for, because they have not yet started work; they have not been in power for a single day. Today, only the PPSH must give account, along with some new party that fully supports it, such as the Ecological Party. The socialist mode of production apparently carried material progress to every corner of the country and apparently created a profitable economy(!). Words, my lord, words! Material progress— ...materially, it accounts for a great many people and civilized civilized countries. The Party of Labour is the one that apparently devised the platform for Albanian democracy, making real efforts in response to circumstances and situations to build a society in which everyone lives by their own work and their own physical and intellectual abilities. Quite true. The PPSH, responding to circumstances and situations, realized it had no way out and had to reform. From now on, we are promised, everyone will live by their own work and abilities. Let them tell that to the bureaucrats, seat-warmers, incompetents, and sycophants who have lived off the work of others. It’s over! No more! From now on, everyone according to their work. Long live socialism! Since liberation, the Party of Labour has been the only political force, and the people have held political power in their hands. A true miracle! Indeed ...it was: “Our domestic situation is very healthy.” Healthy as all get-out! suddenly and without warning we found ourselves $350 million in debt(?). How were such chains put around the people’s necks? Ah, yes! You are reforming! But how did you so quickly forget the unforgettable lessons of the legendary leader?!... Truly legendary—a tale people will tell from generation to generation! in their hands. A true miracle! Indeed all get-out! legendary—a tale people will tell from generation to generation! in their hands. A true miracle! Indeed ...of on abolishing military ranks, which supposedly “serves” to strengthen military order and discipline. The PPSH has apparently fully restored relations with the USA and the USSR. And who, then, was the scoundrel who broke them? How strange! How could he feel no shame when he committed this outrage? We will also join the CSCE, and Europe too. It seems the CSCE has also been reformed; apparently let us join, please, accept us!... Words, my lord, words! It is difficult to interpret this speech in of the PPSH could not have spoken otherwise. as the only personality capable of maintaining the balance, of ensuring that the vote on 31 March takes place properly and peacefully, and until a new president is elected. This is our steadfast opinion, and we believe it is the opinion of the entire Albanian people.

The President of the American Republican Institute, Xhek Bueshner, delivered this message from former US President Ronald Regan especially for our editorial office: “Dear friends! On the eve of the March 31 elections, I wish the pro-democratic forces every success and all the best. The newly established political parties have played an important role in the democratic process in Albania. Thanks to your devotion, the world hopes that Albania will become a country where human, economic and political rights are respected. Your commitment to the ideals of a pluralist society is impressive, and the results of your efforts are therefore highly meaningful. The Albanian people have an important duty to take part in these elections. As the whole world can see, our hope is that the pro-democratic forces will make visible efforts and that Albania will embark on the transitional path toward democracy. All the best. Yours sincerely, RONALD REGAN Former President of the USA March 26, 1991.”

March 31, this magical day, full of wonders, anxiety and hope, has arrived... A day—a laboratory, where its result depends on the precision (?) of the experiment. There is also a cog in this mechanism, without which, just as a child is at risk during childbirth, democracy would be at risk... And that is the secret room. If in the one-party elections it was as absolutely necessary as it was impossible... should the power of the bullet, which agreed to immure itself in the tower of hunger, now become its victim? Would it not be better to do as the students do? In any case, we will all go in there. We have to. Into its magic. There we can free ourselves from every complex: cowards can become brave, the brave restrained, extremists calm, pessimists optimistic... the secret room invites us all with its “silence” into a ...The day came amid turmoil, anxiety and hope... A day—a laboratory where the outcome depends on the precision (?) mechanism without which, just as during a birth, the child—democracy—would be at risk... And that is the secret booth. In monist elections, it was as absolutely essential as it was impossible and absurd (just like a murderer making his victim testify against him). Now it serves more as a symbol of justice, of respect for a legal and moral right... Because few are those whom fear compels to enter it. I, for one, would not go in there; I would sign that ballot in full view of everyone—a wave of democracy, in front of communists, democrats, republicans, foreign observers, and so on. Should I be afraid of them, perhaps? Is that really what it has come to—that we should be afraid? Could it be that the student who agreed to confront violence, who overcame the all-powerful fear of

I do not know what time of day it will be, but at some point during the voting Mol Elezi will arrive too. But who will he vote for? The PPSH, PD, PR or the Front? These parties are listed in his electoral district. These past few days he has kept asking himself that question. He reasons. He weighs things up and has now finally decided whom to vote for. When people ask him who he will vote for, his answer is decisive, like a knife. The harshness of his answer comes from the confrontation with life. The days that have passed have been days of extraordinary political intensity. Never before has the peasant world discussed politics and the economy. Convictions, hesitations, debate, bread; land, the cooperative, privatization. A kind of chorus of competing arguments, and finally convictions and thoughts about the road we should follow tomorrow. Moll, son of Met Elezi, too, has considered all this with cool logic. Each party has publicized its electoral program as best it could. The PPSH, too, has worked through the Party’s basic organization in the village. But people (and Moli) feel an aversion to the PPSH’s campaigning, just like in Fadil Hasa’s scene with the sugar. They tried to kill the peasant in the man, with his honesty. To wound his pride. As I went from village to village, people also told me about their attitudes toward the PPSH. Here are a few: A war veteran, a former senior official in the state administration, knocked on the door of a villager who, during the war, had opened his heart to the Party. They had just had coffee when the former official tactfully broached the subject and told him he should vote for the PPSH. The homeowner looked him straight in the eye and said: — If you have come as a friend, welcome, come in and make yourself at home; if you have come to talk about this, then have a safe journey! “Another one said: ‘But you are my electoral candidate.’ And with the sugar. Is it really true that you’re stuffing the peasant’s pockets with lies, as you used to do with words? Mol Elezi was told the same thing by the two leading figures of the socialist village: the secretary of the Party’s basic organization and the chairman of the people’s council (a communist as well). He gave them a firm answer: “I will vote for democracy, that is, for the opposition! Enough of your lies, enough of the privileges you gave yourselves, enough of the trouble you caused us!” Moll is an honest man, like his father. One of his brothers, just as honest and hardworking, is a communist. His family was connected with the National Liberation War. Their house was also a house of Myslym Peza. These were people who believed the communists’ promise of a beautiful future, just as spring comes to our village. These people do not live as if

To the editorial office of the newspaper “Republika,” Tirana Unable to campaign in electoral district No. 166, Lower Mokër, Pogradec, because of provocations organized by Mr. Belul Lufo, First Secretary of the PPSH committee of the district and, at the same time, the PPSH’s parliamentary candidate in this district, we withdrew the candidacies put forward by the two opposition parties in Pogradec, taking the corresponding steps in accordance with the law. The leading committee of the PD in Pogradec endorsed the withdrawal by the PD parliamentary candidate in that district, Adriatik Haxhi Merolli. Likewise, the leading committee of the PR in Pogradec endorsed the withdrawal by the PR parliamentary candidate in that district, Ferzi Isuf Çollaku. The withdrawals came as a result of the terror inflicted on both parliamentary candidates in several villages in this district, such as Kriçkovë, Shabëni, Rodokal, Selcë, Proptisht, etc. By this action, Pogradec’s red feudalocracy demonstrated that it is undertaking the most monstrous acts, in violation of every moral and legal norm, in order to preserve its inviolability. For the Leading Committee of the PR, Pogradec Chairman: (Ferzi Çollaku) For the Leading Committee of the PD, Pogradec Chairman: (Gjergji Ilo)

On March 21, at around 10:30, the village militia of Radishë and Orikum, in the district of Vlorë, found a drowned body. The competent authorities were immediately notified; they carried out investigative procedures and also established the identity of the body. From forensic medical expert Servet Kodheli, we learned that the deceased was Hiqmet Demiraj, 25, from the village of Kropisht, a worker at the Orikum Military Agricultural Enterprise. His identity was established from distinctive marks, although the body had been damaged by the time spent in the water. It is believed that the body is connected with the incident of March 6, 1991, when Robert Zoto, 28, from Dukati, was found drowned in the same area. On that same date, another drowned body was found at Pish-Poro. Documents found on him show that his name was Resmi Cenaj, 44, from the city of Vlorë, a bricklayer by profession. According to the forensic expert, their deaths were caused by mechanical asphyxia in water and the difficult environmental conditions.

• Mr. Jimmy Carter, former president of the USA, sent a congratulatory telegram on March 21, 1991, to Mr. Sali Berisha, chairman of the Democratic Party’s Founding Commission. Among other things, he wrote: “I wish you the very best for complete success. The world will be watching you, with sincere hope that all voters will be able to participate freely and fairly in the voting.” • On March 29, the first conference to establish a branch of the Republican Party was held in the city of Peqin. We are also informed from Devoll, Korçë, that a branch of the RP has been established for the area. Correspondent of “Republika”

Only after 46 years has the PPSH, as the “greatest defender” of workers’ interests, remembered that workers should be paid for public holidays?! What else could you call this late campaigning but “crème caramel” for votes!

BY VOTING FOR THE CANDIDATES OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, FOR DEMOCRACY, WE WILL RESTORE TRUE FREEDOM TO ALBANIA AND LEAD IT TOWARD EUROPE ...for Pranda to put forward the candidates, and for you to...

Here it is, the day has come when we can openly, indeed officially, wish one another well on a significant day in the religion of Catholic believers. And this is happening after many years. Let us repeat our sincere good wishes once more, as the people say: “Many happy returns of Easter, Catholic believers.”