The Labor Party is reformist in words only, because in essence it is the same as before. To see this, we need only refer to the facts of this period and to what has been presented to people today, merely to calm the deep revolt and anger over the deception that continues in more sophisticated forms. Although decrees allowing the implementation of joint-enterprise projects were issued some time ago, their number is negligible, and what they have done so far is utterly insignificant for the country's economy and for changing the situation. A survey we conducted in several ministries shows that the number of joint enterprises established so far is truly laughable. Thus, at the Ministry of Industry and Mines, we were told that only five joint enterprises had been established throughout the previous year, and that they still had no real activity and had yet to prove themselves. The same was true at the Ministry of the Food Industry, and so on. Meanwhile, it is said that other worthwhile projects are also under discussion, but they remain worthless things until the signatures have been put on paper. Can this be called attracting foreign capital? Certainly not. The mountain labored, as they say, and gave birth to a mouse! Meanwhile, the economic situation—whether people wanted it or not—was just left to drift. A journalist, sitting in his car, was indignant, and in the article he wrote he scolded the people of Kavajë for not working, but instead chatting! When I read the article, I was ashamed for my colleague, because he did not know the situation. The people of Kavajë were not working, not because they did not want to, but because the two main enterprises they have lacked raw materials and the technical readiness needed to put all their workshops into operation. Were they to blame? No, the Labor Party was to blame: it had left them without work. For many years, this party had not laid the foundations in Kavajë for a single new industrial facility where thousands of young men and women could be employed. But what are these things for the…? Just sunlit dreams of the Labor Party! Not only in Kavajë, but in all the country's towns and districts, no foundations have been laid for new, modern industrial facilities to employ young people. Since there are no new factories and plants, the Party has resorted to administrative orders to ease unemployment, placing thousands of people in existing enterprises in any old, insignificant job, with no effectiveness. The young people themselves are not satisfied, because the wages they receive do not meet their minimum requirements for a cultured life in keeping with their living needs. Such an existing form of employment has destroyed the economy. This was carried out through campaigns by the Labor Party committees, and directors were summoned there to report and account for how they had fulfilled the assigned task. Yet young men and women have often been disappointed by the jobs they began. Their question is: When will the Labor Party build modern factories and plants at a contemporary level, where computers or machinery and modern equipment in demand in today's market can be produced? To this question from the young people, the party in power has yet to give an answer. It does the same thing again and again: thousands of people are employed in existing enterprises in any old job, without purpose and without effectiveness, jobs that do not satisfy the young people themselves …we also have other meaningful projects, but they still remain worthless things until the contracts have been signed. Can this be called a withdrawal of foreign capital? Certainly not. As the saying goes, the mountain labored and brought forth a mouse! Meanwhile, the country’s economic situation is catastrophic. In dozens of enterprises, imported raw materials, spare parts or machinery are lacking, and as a result no work is being done there. Meanwhile, the Party is calling on people to return to work! But what work, when there is none? The Party’s bombastic communiqués, which continue to be pompous, routine and Stalinist in style, say nothing about these major shortages. A colleague of ours wrote an article some time ago about the collapse of work, and in another article mentioned that, when passing through Kavajë, he had seen many people strolling and talking. Thousands have been employed by existing enterprises in any old job, with no real purpose and no effectiveness; even the young people themselves are dissatisfied, requirements for a cultured life in keeping with their basic needs. This existing approach to employment has ruined the economy. It was carried out through mobilization by the Labour jobs they have started. Their question is: When will the Labour where computers or modern machinery and equipment in demand on youth, the ruling party has not yet given an answer. It keeps saying one thing and another…

At a press conference, U.S. State Department spokesperson Margaret Tutwailer, answering journalists’ questions about the elections and the situation in Albania, said, among other things, that based on reports from American and other countries’ observers, as well as international groups monitoring the voting, it appeared that the election process had not been conducted in accordance with some key points of the CSCE standards for «free and fair elections». During the campaign, opposition parties had limited access to the mass media, although they were allowed to use television broadcasts and publish their newspapers. There are also reports of threats against opposition-party candidates and activists during the campaign and on election day. It is questionable that the authorities did not announce the results. (Continued on page 4)

As reported by the «ROJ-TER» agency, in a statement by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy called on the Tirana government to respect the opposition. «We hope,» the statement said, among other things, «that the new Albanian government will know how to lead the country into a new phase of political and civil coexistence that takes into account the need for the existence of an opposition. This is the only way to prevent further violence and repression, which could block the recently initiated process of political democratization. Any slowdown in political liberalization could have significant negative consequences both in the country and internationally.»

— FROM THE STATEMENT OF THE FORUM FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS — «The election campaign was not conducted under equal conditions; not all political forces had the same access, the same opportunities, and the same means to present their programs.» «The election campaign was not conducted under equal conditions; not all political forces had the same access, the same opportunities, and the same means to present their programs. Opposition forces were unable to bring their ideas to the various sections of the population, especially in rural areas. The one-party system had a clear impact both on the conduct of the election campaign and on its results. There is evidence that there were also numerous cases of irregularities, manipulation, and pressure, sometimes overt and sometimes indirect. The Forum notes with profound regret that the atmosphere of dialogue and ideas has once again been seriously damaged by tragic events such as those that occurred in the city of Shkodër on April 2. The Forum appeals to the state authorities to take urgent measures to put an end to violent practices, to define rigorously the limits of police forces’ actions, and to investigate the facts that caused this deplorable event. The Forum also considers it essential to establish as soon as possible a competent body with impartial participation, to bring to light both the truth and the specific responsibilities. …Zhulali, verified the events at the scene at 11 o’clock that day. On behalf of the PR, a written protest was sent to the local authorities, emphasizing that, since this concerns two candidates for parliament, this incident is nothing other than political terror, carried out with the aim of creating a tense situation in the city. The same text was also sent by telegram to the chairman of the Central Election Commission, Doctor-Professor Rexhep Mejdani, and to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Fatos Nano. Strangely, by 3.4.1991 we had received no explanation of the above-mentioned incident from the government institutions to which we sent the letter and telegram. DURMISH SHEHU

During the election campaign, the PPSH in the district of Dibër maneuvered to attract votes unfairly. We will describe two cases. Two days before the elections, committees were hastily set up to distribute land and livestock to peasant members of the agricultural cooperatives, without any proper decision, but simply on party orders, in Trebç, Doshisht, and elsewhere. In the city of Peshkopi, on 31.3.1991, at around 3 a.m., flammable material was thrown at the door of Mira Neziri’s apartment, the PR parliamentary candidate for the city of Peshkopi, and it was set alight by unidentified persons. Her family, awakened by the smoke and flames, managed to put out the fire before it could spread. The outer door was completely damaged. Her husband, Bastri Neziri (also a PD parliamentarian), notified the law-enforcement authorities, but they showed no interest in carrying out the necessary investigation. The chairman of the PR branch, Durmish Shehu, and the chairman of the PD, Safet Zhulali, inspected authorities, emphasizing that despite the fact that…

Man face to face with man, eye to eye, barrel to barrel. Man over man, killing his spirit, spilling his blood. What is happening, what are we hearing, what are we seeing? The guns spew fire. The socialist unity, held together by an iron hand, crumbled like ash, as if it had never existed. National unity, rickety and weakened, lies in a pool of blood, in a pool of tears. Hold back your hand, people, save this sacred thing. That trigger, pulled first, was an assassination attempt; it wounded democracy. Democracy groans, the law is silent. It is vandalism to break, to burn, to destroy! Are you backing down? Can the spilling of a person’s blood be called bravery with the mild word «vandalism»? Man groans, the law is silent, history records. They speak of democracy and spill blood. They speak of the people and shed tears; they speak of change and are torn to pieces. Where are we going?! Barbarity? Barbarism? They keep dragging us backward. How many looks from a close-up observer? Observer, how difficult it is to set out on a new road. A whole lifetime with the psychology of war, with the psychology of the rifle. History hung a rifle on the Albanian’s shoulder; socialism turned it into a limb. A child is given a rifle as a gift; at school and in the army, it is rifles again. The Albanian has been asked to be a soldier forever. And a person becomes accustomed to killing and death. — Kill the enemy of the party, kill the class enemy, kill hostile thought, kill!... kill... And the word death has entered our vocabulary so deeply: I’m dying for water, I’m dying for bread; I’m dying of fear, I’m dying of exhaustion. So hold back your hands, people! Life overcomes death, love drowns hatred. May those who say the Albanian is a warrior be cursed. No, the Albanian is a human being! A human being who loves love, who loves life. So much has been said about the people, and the human being has been forgotten. They have spoken of the people’s well-being and failed to see the well-being of the individual. They have defended the people’s rights and trampled on human rights; they have abused the people’s will and ignored the will of an… (Continued on page 4)

Biography! The biography of the individual, of the family, of the clan! For several decades it has had a profound influence and has often been decisive in the life of every person. every person. Since this method of judging people from the past, through the ideological and political «purity» of blood ties, still affects the current atmosphere in our country. Naturally, the painful history of Albanian society, primarily its political and economic history, is now viewed with the aim of distancing ourselves from it, through both assessments and reassessments. But meanwhile, any inclination to deal with the past also comes from the inertia of a policy—the policy of class warfare—now theoretically denounced by all the country’s political forces. This divisive policy, which drained society’s intellectual, cultural and economic strength, was denounced even before political pluralism was established, but after pluralism was legalized, that denunciation became deeper and more visible. The idea that every individual should be judged by their present-day behavior, views and actions was expressed by everyone. In practice, too, before this idea was challenged, a different, more relaxed atmosphere began to emerge. But lately, especially after the emergence of new parties, instead of finally breaking with class warfare, the opposite has happened. The former class war has now appeared as a war of biographies between political opponents, which during the election campaign became more overt and harsher, occupying entire pages of the party press. Thus, the weapons used in the past have not been brought back solely through inertia, or simply because people cannot unlearn them, but also because there are people who do not want to abandon them. The revival of the biography war is now taking two forms. First, it appears in its traditional form: the past of this or that person, of their family or clan, is revisited and brought up. The past becomes a criterion for judging the present. Thus, for example, a member of the Democratic Party is reminded of what his father did more than 40 years ago, even though this had never been mentioned before. Apparently, the son of a disgraced father must still pay a debt to the class war, and must settle it now, after all these years! The press, it seems, is called upon to help, committed to bringing things up against a supporter of the Republican Party… …political stance on pluralism in the context of what happened in December. Another person tries to identify a difference of opinion even where none exists. Thus, a poet whose discussion of the past is dominated by criticism is reminded of what he wrote about communism, even though the poet explains that by communism he means well-being, equality and freedom—things he has aspired to and will continue to aspire to. According to all the positions outlined above, it is a sin to change one’s opinion on the same issue, even at different times. For people who express such views, the true virtue is apparently loyalty to a promise made long ago, even if time has rendered it obsolete. Indeed, they demand that this loyalty also be supported by our customary traditions, invoking the besa, the pledge to keep one’s word. It follows that changing one’s opinions and positions in step with the times, new social developments, or a better understanding of various issues is considered immoral. Just imagine how far we would progress if, for the sake of «consistency» in our opinions, we insisted on preserving the view of class warfare. Nevertheless, these new forms of the biography war are creating a generally unhealthy situation. (Continued on page 3)

The editorial staff of the newspaper «Republika» wishes «HAPPY EASTER» to all Orthodox believers!