This struggle is in no way democratic. The persistent demands made by representatives of some political party in the districts are the clearest proof of this. They are exerting pressure for the local government bodies, where the leadership of the district executive committee is formed from 13–15 positions, to be divided as follows: the SP should take 8–9 positions, the DP 4–6, the RP 1–3, and the other political parties either one or none. What democratic logic, under the present conditions in our country, accepts this division?! What kind of “pluralist” local government are we talking about? A merely formal one? Their reasoning is that the Labour (Socialist) Party has two thirds of Parliament and the Democratic Party one third. These gentlemen do not remember their most important “success”: the government they formed by virtue of the entitlement they had under this ratio, which the trade unions forced to resign before it had been in office for 40 days. Let us not forget that the national stability government was created neither by two thirds nor by one third of Parliament, but by consensus among the political parties. Precisely this consensus must also exist in appointments to local government, appointments that should continue to extend to every cell of government. But this achievement, in an 8-to-4 division, the self-evident… [text unclear] denounces you and shows that the monist communists are not giving up power, which they held for half a century under the infamous Stalinist dictatorship. Does some narrow-minded person think this is renewal? Yesterday they took everything for themselves; today they are giving you a bone? Anyone who thinks this, or who engages in such a struggle, is badly mistaken. Today we work and struggle for the people and the nation, not for bones. Is this what that gentleman has in mind as he fights to secure as many positions in government as possible on behalf of a party? This is absurd politics at a time when a considerable part of the population is tired of parties and the demagoguery of some of them. It would be more just for the struggle to be about making local government bodies genuinely democratic and pluralist by choosing the most capable people, regardless of party affiliation. In this way we will bring everyone back, including citizens who have been alienated, and convince them that this can be made possible here too; those who come after us will speak of it. What was not achieved in the elections of 31 March—the removal from the leadership of the country of the red communist rulers, Stalinists and Enverists, which would have helped Albania move more directly and effectively towards laying the foundations of a free and democratic state—is being obstructed even today by pluralist appointments to local government bodies, because party egoism and the struggle for power harm democracy. We Shkodrans have a saying: “A child dies while they chase it; it grows old and dies, and they still cannot get rid of it.” Communism, Stalinism, Enverism—the socialist method practised for half a century—have become a vice among their contemporaries, Enver’s collaborators, his comrades and friends, and those who continue his work and follow his path; no one believes they can renew themselves. I hope that the young Socialists have inherited as little as possible of their vices, for the sake of national unity and democracy. The leading cadres, government apparatchiks in the centre and in the districts, and heads of institutions and enterprises are still the same people. Some of them attended Communist Party schools and courses, were moulded by Marxist-Leninist theories, and graduated as cadres with higher party education. The new generation must put specialists in leadership, and must… [text ends/incomplete] True democracy has not yet been established in Albania. It would find its expression if it were realised in accordance with the ancient traditions of the Albanians: an Assembly of understanding, a pluralist parliament in which none of the political parties made up two thirds of the parliament. Democracy has not… [text ends/incomplete]

I had not been left with any particular thought to write about the political massacre in Shkodër, dated 2 April 1991, but members and supporters of the Lajt Republican Party raised this question directly at one of their working meetings. Their entirely justified concern was: why is the work to bring the guilty to trial taking so long? We have heard many things about this event, including that the trial or the conclusion of the investigation would take place within one deadline or another. It has become difficult for us to determine which statements were official and which were the ideas of this or that unauthorised person. Nevertheless, our professional inquiry took us to the doors of the General Investigation Office, where we learned the bitter truth as it stands. The legal time limit for completing an investigation is three months, except in cases where an extension is requested from the district prosecutor for one month and from the General Prosecutor for several further months. Thus, our investigative authorities, having requested and obtained this extension from the General Prosecutor, are within the time limit. But in this article we do not want to discuss procedural regularities, because they are of no use to the people waiting anxiously. We are interested in the reasons why the discovery of the real perpetrator has come to a dead end. Why do we say this? Because the people sent for trial are the head of the Shkodër Internal Affairs Branch, the police chief and the deputy police chief of that same district. We were even told, “It’s strange that the trial has not started.” But do you know, dear reader, why these people have been or will be brought before the court? For the crime of the explosion at the shop, because they did not take timely measures to prevent the incident. I do not want to interfere with the powers and duties of these defendants, but in this particular case, more than responsibility for preventing the incident, we need to judge who directly fired the weapon and who gave the order to shoot, from Shkodër all the way up to the relevant higher authorities in Tirana. The people demand—and rightly so—that, alongside them, anyone who failed to do their duty to prevent the attack be investigated and punished, above all those who caused the bloodshed of the four martyrs of democracy in broad daylight, in front of the District Party Committee. Besides these people, a police officer is also to stand trial. Why, you may ask? Because he left his guard post. He was on duty on 1 April guarding an object and fired a weapon. You can see how far removed he is from the political massacre in Shkodër; his inclusion in this “group” seems entirely incidental, not to say anecdotal, when what is being sought is the killer—not someone who did not kill on 2 April, or even on the day when he fired while guarding the object. Meanwhile, the investigation—the real one, awaited by members of the Republican Party, as well as by all the people of Shkodër and Albania, to identify the perpetrators of the killings—continues. These days, the investigative team returned to Shkodër once again to investigate those who fired on 2 April. Thus, as this shows, the investigation so far is still very far from identifying not only the person who killed, but also the person who ordered the killing, since the three defendants holding positions of responsibility in the district, as heads of the relevant branch and the police, are accused only of dereliction of duty for failing to prevent the bloodshed. Even if they were the ones who ordered the shooting, relaying perhaps an order from the centre, they would get off scot-free, because they do not know who fired, they had no order to shoot, and yet they are accused only of failing to do their duty?! O tempora, o mores! This is another crime against the people. I do not want to accuse those people, because they may be… [text ends/incomplete]

Unfortunately, we are facing thefts, break-ins, kidnappings and insults, and why not also the first signs of organised banditry, now openly emerging. As in old American films, “road cowboys”—outlaws who make the law—are reappearing beneath the eaves and along the kerbs, mostly adolescents, offspring of the material and spiritual crisis we are experiencing. We are facing beatings in broad daylight, thefts and rapes, even murders. And we remain silent. On particular occasions, the bodies responsible for maintaining public order and tranquillity have themselves been attacked by these people of vice and crime. They have acted when attacked, but also belatedly. There have also been incidents of insecurity and fear in the student city. The ugly acts of violence against young students, especially girls, cannot be forgotten.

At the headquarters of the Republican Party, Mr Sabri Godo, Çerçiz Minxhozi and Viron Koka held a long and fraternal discussion with Prof. Zekëria Çami. They discussed at length the events in Yugoslavia and the problems our brothers are facing today, both generally and in Yugoslavia. Mr Godo informed Prof. Çami about the difficult situation in Albania; he spoke to him for six months, and also about the Republican Party’s initiative concerning the nationwide petition for Kosovo. Prof. Çami greatly appreciated this initiative and considered the party’s initiatives to collect signatures for the popular petition in support of recognition of the Republic of Kosovo and the right to self-determination of Albanians living in their ancestral lands in Macedonia, Montenegro and southern Serbia to be a major and practical contribution. He also praised the forthcoming conference in Sofia of inter-Balkan political parties interested in stopping Greater Serbian chauvinism. * * * On 23.7.1991, a friendly conversation took place at the RP headquarters between the party chairman, Mr Sabri Godo, and Mr Majkell Telt, Assistant Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the Foreign Office, and Martin Uden, the desk officer for Albania. (Continued on page 2)

The United and Independent Miners’ Trade Union, expressing solidarity with the initiative of the Albanian Republican Party, has sent a letter to the People’s Assembly and the President, which states, among other things: “We are aware of the great difficulties and problems facing our people in Albania, but, while following closely the views and circumstances of our brothers in Kosovo, we note with regret and pain that even after pluralism and democracy were established in Albania, our state is still not fulfilling its duty towards martyred Kosovo. After half a century of the Labour Party’s complete indifference (and, consistently, that of the Albanian state as well), it is the duty of every Albanian citizen to prepare the relevant documents recognising the Republic of Kosovo and its legitimate right.” (Continued on page 4)

INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP, PROF. DOCTOR ANASTASIOS YANNULATOS, WHO CAME TO ALBANIA AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE OF ISTANBUL, GIVEN TO JOURNALIST P. DHIMITRI — — Your Eminence, we are conducting this interview immediately after your meeting with the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr Sabri Godo. As a journalist, regardless of what you discussed with him, I would like to ask whether you came to our country on your own initiative or at our request? — First, allow me to say that my conversation with the chairman of the Republican Party left a strong impression on me, especially because of Mr Godo’s breadth of vision and his outlook on democratic processes and the future. As for your question, allow me to explain that the Church of Albania is autocephalous; it has its own organisation and financial means. According to Orthodox tradition, which is accepted by everyone, there can be no autocephalous Orthodox Church without a bishop. Unfortunately, lately you have had no such bishop, either inside the country or outside it. Someone therefore had to take the initiative to revive the tradition that you once had. According to Orthodox tradition, only the Patriarchate of Istanbul has this right, and I therefore think this is very important, not only for the faith but also for the situation as a whole. — INTERVIEWER: Your Eminence, we are conducting this interview immediately after your meeting with the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr Sabri Godo. As a journalist, regardless of what you discussed with him, I would like to ask whether you came to our country on your own initiative or at our request? — First, allow me to say that my conversation with the chairman of the Republican Party left a strong impression on me, especially because of Mr Godo’s breadth of vision and his outlook on democratic processes and the future. As for your question, allow me to explain that the Church of Albania is autocephalous; it has its own organisation and financial means. According to Orthodox tradition, which is accepted by everyone, there can be no autocephalous Orthodox Church without a bishop. Unfortunately, lately you have had no such bishop, either inside the country or outside it. Someone therefore had to take the initiative to revive the tradition that you once had. — INTERVIEWER: Your Eminence, we are conducting this interview immediately after your meeting with the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr Sabri Godo. As a journalist, regardless of what you discussed with him, I would like to ask whether you came to our country on your own initiative or at our request? — First, allow me to say that my conversation with the chairman of the Republican Party left a strong impression on me, especially because of Mr Godo’s breadth of vision and his outlook on democratic processes and the future. As for your question, allow me to explain that the Church of Albania is autocephalous; it has its own organisation and financial means. According to Orthodox tradition, which is accepted by everyone, there can be no autocephalous Orthodox Church without a bishop. Unfortunately, lately you have had no such bishop, either inside the country or outside it. Someone therefore had to take the initiative to revive the tradition that you once had. — Is this your own view, or the view of your colleagues in those forums? — I discussed assistance for the Albanian Church earlier this year at an event we held in the city of Kambëra, Australia. I would like to add something, if possible: when I spoke about the school, I did not have in mind only a school of theology, but also [unclear] and patience, training in icon-making, and a school for [unclear] and for girls who could help with the work of the Church, so that as large a part of the community as possible would be involved. — When do you think church activity in our country can begin normally? — I think it has already begun. We have also received [unclear] for repairs to the Church of the Annunciation in Tirana, for which we will bring some equipment from abroad. We have distributed gifts and [unclear] in contemporary Albanian, so that the faithful do not have to read it in the old language. I have begun the first reprinting, that is, the historical secular procession becomes a priest. If, when [unclear] comes, another [unclear]. I have also made two… [text ends/incomplete]