EQUIVOCAL ATTITUDE TOWARD THE FIGURE OF ENVER HOXHA, SOFT-PEDALING HIS SERIOUS MISTAKES — CHANGING THE NAME DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE HAVE A NEW PARTY OF THE EUROPEAN TYPE — EQUIVOCAL ATTITUDE TOWARD THE FIGURE OF ENVER HOXHA, SOFT-PEDALING HIS SERIOUS MISTAKES — — CHANGING THE NAME DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE HAVE A NEW PARTY OF THE EUROPEAN TYPE The 10th Congress of the Labor Party, unlike the nine previous Congresses, which opened up prospects for development through the five-year plans and were therefore awaited with interest by the whole people, could not be like that. The main reason was that the people did not expect it to resolve the deep and severe economic crisis into which we have sunk, but only wanted to learn how much this party-state felt responsible for the abyss into which it had led us. Of course, the communists (I have in mind the honest rank and file, who are in no way co-responsible for this national catastrophe) wanted to know what would happen to their party, what path it would follow after this major economic defeat and crisis of confidence in the future. For, regardless of the fact that it won the election on 31 March, this victory was like that of Pyrrhus of Epirus. Life has confirmed that this victory was short-lived, when the communists sought an opposition coalition in order to govern the country. Add the general strike and the fall of Mr. Fatos Nano’s government, and the picture becomes more complete; that is why there was no dizzying, euphoric run-up campaign for this congress as there had been on the previous nine occasions, but it passed quietly, almost without a sound. DO WE REALLY HAVE RENEWAL? One would be shortsighted not to see that, especially in the past year, the Labor Party has made changes. They are numerous and rapid. So much so that at times it seems astonishing to us when we think how suddenly they are changing. [text interrupted] minute of silence. I must call this a change. But changing one’s position on this or that issue is one thing; renewal is another. Renewal is a much broader concept, with far-reaching demands. To renew, you must change the path you have followed, give up the dogma of Leninist, Stalinist and Enverist communism that brought us to this state, seek new paths, and open up a new horizon for yourself and your homeland. Renewal does not mean changing your clothes and only some of your opinions—the ones that do not touch this or that personality. It requires a break with nostalgia for the past, for those deeply mistaken, even inhuman practices that made Albania, for half a century, the most orthodox—and thus the most conservative—country in world communism, or at least in European communism. Those practices, that model, did not appear in Albania out of nowhere. They were imported from Russia and, not only that, were «enriched» with unspeakable cruelty by Albanians themselves. That is to say, not by everyone, but by the upper echelons of the Labor Party leadership, and especially by Enver Hoxha. Therefore: WITH ENVER HOXHA AS AN IDOL, THE PARTY REMAINS THE SAME Strangely, in the background behind the Congress presidium there was neither a portrait nor a bust of Enver Hoxha, nor any quotation from his works. Could it really be that the Labor Party had broken with Enver [text interrupted] ...the gold and says that even after the two articles I published in the newspaper «Republika», doubts, confusion and hatred have increased. To clarify matters further, not only for Mr. Zef Deda but also for other readers, I consider it necessary to express some views and offer a deeper analysis to address this very important issue... Although I appreciate the sincerity with which he generally raises the issue of the gold, I disagree with Mr. Zef Deda’s conclusion that, following the publication of articles in the newspapers «Republika» and «Rilindja Demokratike», the mystery surrounding the gold has become more obscure. In my article «Who Holds the Key to the Gold Mystery», I pointed out that solving the mystery raises two main questions: First, is the figure for the gold discovered and confiscated by the security organs up to the end of 1948, first given in the magazine «Në shërbim të popullit» in Mr. Nuri Mehmeti’s article entitled «When the Economic Foundations of People’s Power Were Being Laid», accurate? And second, where did all this gold go? I believe that in the article on the gold, it also for all the go? I believe that in my article

IN SEARCH OF THE ALBANIAN GOLD The article by Mr. Zef Deda, prosecutor of the district of Lezhë, entitled «Why Do Some Officials Not Speak Out in the Press», published in the newspaper «Zëri i Popullit» on 6.6.1991, compelled me to return once again to the mystery of the Albanian gold. In the article, the author expresses his concern, and that of the people, regarding the implementation of regulations concerning the safeguarding, administration and documentation of material and monetary assets. He also touches on the mystery of Zef Deda but also for all the other readers, I consider it necessary to express some consi- [text interrupted] Mystery», sufficient arguments are given that leave no doubt as to the accuracy of this figure. The many people with whom I have been in contact have expressed no doubt that this figure is real. This is also reinforced by the statement of Mrs. K. Leka, published in the newspaper «Republika» on 30.5.1991, in which she says that 45,000 gold napoleons were taken from her family alone, in addition to a large quantity of silver and jewelry taken by the security organs using the barbaric, deceitful methods she describes to discover and confiscate this gold, for which she has documents. She says there were many other merchant families in Durrës [text interrupted] calculated using the 20-franc coin as the basic unit, with each coin weighing 6.25 grams, amount to a total weight of around 276 tonnes of gold. The specific gravity of gold is known to be 19.6 grams per cm³, equal to 19.6 tonnes per cubic metre, so the total comes to 14.14 cubic metres; calculated as «loose» coins, that is, not divided into rolls of 50 and arranged according to origin (the denomination of each type of coin). The State Bank, given the nature of its activities, keeps coins separated and arranged in this way, so storing such a large quantity of gold would take up a volume of about 26 cubic metres, the volume of a small 3x3 room. Therefore, such a large quantity of gold would have attracted attention [text interrupted]

One would be shortsighted not to see that, especially in the past year, the Labor Party has made changes. when we think how suddenly they are changing. Just remember the change of heart of Mr. Xhelil Gjoni, who, on the day around 5,000 refugees left Tirana and entered the grounds of foreign embassies, organized and led that shameful rally against them. Yet they were not hooligans, they were not the army, but people seeking work and a decent life, who wanted to live like human beings, even if the path they chose was not to be praised. Still, they did not deserve to be showered with poisonous arrows by Mr. Gjoni and the other lackeys at that rally, directed against our wretched young people who took the road of exile with no prospect of return. Now, dear reader, compare that rally with the report Mr. Xhelil Gjoni delivered at the 10th Congress and see how he has changed. He even manages to criticize Enver Hoxha, the system, socialism, pointing out so many shortcomings (although he does not put his finger squarely on the wound) that even the opposition press has not described them at such length. Go on, then, and tell me this is not a change of position, regardless of the circumstances that compel this or that person to change course. We need the outcome more than conjecture. To illustrate this point, let me give an even more recent example. The people cannot easily forget the anti-Albanian act of the Labor Party deputies when their Democratic colleagues stood to observe a minute of silence for the four martyrs of democracy from Shkodër, and they remained seated. Less than two months after that undignified scene, at the opening of this Congress, Spiro Dede, secretary of the Party’s Central Committee, asked that a minute of silence be observed for the four martyrs of Shkodër and the other victims of the democratic processes, [text interrupted]

Strangely, in the background behind the Congress presidium there was neither a portrait nor a bust of Enver Hoxha... that the Labor Party had broken with Enver Hoxha in graphic terms? No, because opposite the presidium, against a white background, was his portrait in relief, also in white. Apparently so that it would not stand out too much?! The report went even further. For the first time, it was officially acknowledged that Enver Hoxha had made mistakes. It was said that «once the mistakes are identified, let whoever deserves blame bear it, and let the broad mass of the Party be freed from undeserved moral condemnation...». And yet, the criticism of Enver Hoxha barely scratched the surface. It is to be welcomed that both the report and many speakers took a firmly critical stance toward the negative aspects of the subjectivist development of the class struggle, centralized leadership and dogmatism and bureaucratism, the stifling of criticism by confusing unity with unanimity, the cult of the individual, the dictates of party officials, economic mistakes, and even the self-proclaimed Albanian utopia, which, they say, went so far that in some villages chickens were removed from cooperative members’ homes. But the question arises: who made all these mistakes? All the more so given that it is understood that under dictatorships an ordinary person, whether a communist or a low-ranking employee, not only has no power, but must remain silent, otherwise persecution and legal punishment await them?! Therefore, the causes of this misfortune, or of the great evil that afflicted Albania for 50 years, should not be sought only in the model. That model is bound together like flesh and nail with the leader who chose it, Enver Hoxha himself, a disciple of Stalin who, in some respects (perhaps in the intensification of the class struggle

Last night, at 10:10 p.m., the new government, with Ylli Bufi as Prime Minister, won Parliament’s confidence. Before this solemn moment, Mr. Ylli Bufi presented the government’s program. He gave a realistic analysis of the country’s severe economic situation and presented the government’s main aims and objectives for the period ahead. He called not only for the cooperation of political forces, but also for the spiritual and physical mobilization of the entire people to make every possible effort to get the country out of this situation. The new government will rely on this, and Deputy Prime Minister Gramoz Pashko, responding also to the questions put to him, stated that they would make every possible effort to secure aid, and especially loans, to stabilize the situation and lay the first foundations for the future. Nevertheless, the basis will be our own work and sweat. The deputies who spoke in support of this program also supported it, emphasizing industry, grain, the easing of the crisis, and agriculture. The problem of the countryside has today become acute and difficult, so the new government will urgently submit the land law for Parliament’s approval. In this government of stability, 12 ministers or secretaries are from the Socialist Party (until yesterday, the Labor Party), 7 are from the Democratic Party, 2 from the Republican Party, 2 from the Social Democratic Party and 1 from the Agrarian Party. With this government of economic stability, for the first time after 45 years of one-party rule by the Labor Party, the LP’s 100-percent share was reduced to 50 percent, thus reflecting the pluralist reality of our day. We wish the new government success in the difficult and patriotic task it has undertaken at this difficult historical moment. «Republika» Correspondent

To facilitate the construction of economic and socio-cultural facilities, the implementation of city development plans, the construction of defensive structures... To facilitate the construction of economic and socio-cultural facilities, the implementation of city development plans, the construction of defensive structures and any other need, the state reserves the right to expropriate individuals’ real estate, on the basis of Decree of the President of the People’s Assembly No. 4494, dated 31.3.1969. Looking at how this Decree has been applied, it is not difficult to understand that there has been much abuse, both in the forms of expropriation and in the procedures followed so far, to the detriment of property-owning citizens. I want to make clear that this is not about the expropriations of enemies of the people in the years after liberation, but about the expropriation of ordinary citizens for state or social needs. Thus, someone’s home would be taken because a socio-cultural facility, a school or a hospital, an apartment building or an embassy was to be built; it would be turned into a people’s council office; a private establishment would be taken and turned into a state-owned one, and so on. Up to this point, there is nothing wrong. It is clear that, for urgent and specific state or social needs, such expropriations might be necessary. But we say that the state has greatly abused its power at the expense of private owners: an instruction of the Council of Ministers implementing this Decree states that «expropriations shall be made in return for compensation, which must be symbolic and must not be a source of income for the owner». Thus, even though the expropriated properties were valued highly, in many cases the compensation was symbolic or was not paid at all. How real this situation was is confirmed by the subsequent amendments to Decree No. 7394, dated 12.6.1990. Article 2 states: «Compensation for expropriation shall be set ... at the real value of the property at the time of expropriation...» Thus, the term «symbolic» is no longer used; instead, compensation is set according to the real value of the property. Furthermore, according to the Council of Ministers’ instruction mentioned above, «the Executive Committee assigns one of its departments to assess the property, make a compensation proposal and preserve the expropriation documentation». In many cases this procedure has been so [unclear in source], effectively resulting in entirely arbitrary expropriations, without the necessary formalities (at least for the sake of respecting property rights). That is why many citizens today are seeking recognition of ownership rights over properties taken from them without an expropriation decision. This Decree, then, which in today’s conditions of privatization, competition, formalization and changes in ownership, [text interrupted]

At the meetings concerning the formation of the Government for the country’s stability, the post of Minister, Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, was allocated to the Republican Party. In the notice dated 11.6.1991 concerning the composition of the Government, the post of Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers does not appear, because the candidates put forward by the RP were not accepted. On 12.6.1991, the Prime Minister, Mr. Ylli Bufi, was informed at a meeting with representatives of the RP of the decision of the Initiating Commission that, if one of the candidates put forward for this post was not accepted, the RP would not participate in this Government. The Prime Minister undertook to announce his final position on this issue by 13.6.1991. «Republika» Correspondent