A magnificent rally of the people of Tirana Yesterday afternoon, tens of thousands of citizens from Tirana and other districts of the country gathered in Skanderbeg Square in the capital, in response to the call by the PD, PR, PSPD to take part in the rally “Let Us Uproot Communism.” The capital’s brass band played festive marches. Rally participants carried national flags without the star and dozens of different banners, such as: “We support the civic political action of the PD, PR, PSD,” “Let the black spider, the State Security service, be dissolved once and for all,” etc. The rally began to the sound of the national anthem. The opening address was given by Prof. Dr. Ylli Vejsiu. Representatives of the PD, PR, PSD, BSP and DHSPDH addressed the gathering: Mr. N. Çeka, Mr. Z. Bushati, Mr. S. Xhe-Nalçe, Mr. H. Bardhi and Mr. Gj. Titani. The rally was brought to a close by Mr. Azem Hajdari. Participants dispersed peacefully to the melody “Für Elise” by Beethoven. Correspondent of “Republika”

The Republican Party, the republicans of the capital, together with you here beneath our free red flag, a symbol of the blood shed over the centuries by Albanians for freedom and democracy, and the black eagle, from which today we removed the heavy five-pointed stone that was crushing its proud head. Today the eagle is free to embrace with its wings all Albanians, wherever they may be, in a free and democratic Albania. The Republican Party, an integral part of the Albanian opposition, together with the united opposition political parties, expressing the will and aspirations of the whole nation, today removed the symbol of the hated Enverist communist rule. Republicans throughout Albania experience and welcome this great historical event. The years to come It looks only forward, toward freedom and democracy, toward a more dignified life that will place it among the peoples of Europe. We know well that this road is not strewn with flowers. The people will walk this road because it is their only salvation, and to keep this road free, the people must drive the communists out of power. This is the sound and beneficial logic for the people. If the communists have the ability to look even a little at the present, and especially at the future, they must give up their desire to retain a monopoly over the life of the country at any cost. President Ramiz Alia, who comes from the ranks of the communists, must understand this too. This would be the first proof of renewal. The Republican Party calls on the Government of Stability to

TREASURES WAITING TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY Our homeland, Albania, is very rich and very poor, a true antithesis. What great wealth above and beneath the ground, what beautiful nature, as in Naimian poetry, what people with the most precious virtues, a heroic spirit and creative talent. And what a grave sin it is to undervalue and squander these things throughout the country! The drama and disillusionment we are experiencing often bring to mind the wise words from a film script: “In this world there is no greater act of charity than governing and administering the people and the country as a whole well, just as there is no greater crime than governing and administering them badly.” I would wish that everyone who has held a leadership position in central and local bodies could see their own conscience in this mirror. Nevertheless, the most unacceptable thing for the Albanian world of our people, even in the most difficult situations, has been pessimism. The subject itself, I believe, allows me to end this introduction with the words of the song “Let It Be”: “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be, let it be...” Now we can move on to the heart of the matter: how large are the economy’s internal reserves, and for how long can they be put to use? There are two kinds of internal reserves: The first, and of more immediate interest, are those discovered years ago but never put into practice, because they have been forgotten: the colossal creative work of an entire army of innovators, designers and researchers, not put to effective use. The value of all this work could be determined more precisely after a survey and inventory, but in advance—based on what I know and on a number of facts that will be presented below for readers—I am convinced that we are talking about billions of lek and tens of millions of dollars in foreign currency. Without a doubt, their value is many times greater than the aid and loans we have received recently. The second kind consists of the wonders that creative work will bring forth when it moves along the “highway” that the market economy will open up for it—that is, when it is valued as it is in developed and prosperous countries. These results are very difficult to imagine, let alone calculate! Therefore, below let us focus on what is known, on the first kind of internal reserves. Their greatest advantage is that, being known and therefore also ready to be put to use, they can bear fruit very quickly, as soon as sufficient credit and joint investments, or simply foreign capital, are secured. “Facts are the air a scientist breathes,” a great scientist once said, and readers are right not to believe claims if they are content with general statements, however beautiful and enticing those may be. So let us give some examples: — About a year ago I was at a meeting at the Innovator Center in Tirana (in the “Ali Kelmendi” Palace). An innovative mechanic sitting behind me picked up an engine part displayed there and said to me: “I made this three years ago,” he said, “but it is still being imported, even though at every meeting—from the enterprise right up to the government—they call for saving foreign currency...” What could we say in reply? I myself had dozens of wounds of this kind, while he was thinking, perhaps, about what power I had... But the main thing here is to consider how many thousands of innovative craftsmen have worked for dozens of states. NEXHIAT MERSINI (Continued on page 4)

On 13 September, the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Sabri Godo, and the Party’s deputy chairman, Mr. Vangjush Gambeta, received Prof. Dr. Hajrulla Gorana, chairman of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo, at the Party headquarters. During the discussion, which took place in a brotherly, friendly atmosphere, he was briefed on the situation and the problems currently concerning Albania. For his part, Prof. Dr. Gorana briefed them on the troubling situation of our Kosovar brothers. They also discussed possible ways of providing mutual assistance between the two unjustly separated parts of the Albanian people. Prof. Dr. Gorana, as he himself told us, has come to Albania on the recommendation of the Swiss branch of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosovo for a friendly visit to our country. He stated: “I have come to Albania to meet with the trade unions of Albania. I wish to meet the personalities of the political parties and figures from the country’s scientific life. I wish to inform the trade-union public among Albanians outside Albania about the situation in Albania.” We do not understand why “Zëri Popullit” is fabricating reports claiming that Prof. Dr. Gorana came at the invitation of the so-called Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania. Correspondent of “Republika”

On Thursday, September 12, at 14:00, at the national «Qemal Stafa» Stadium, the Initiating Commission of Political Prisoners organized a national assembly. The rally was attended by members of SHDPSH from Tirana and the districts, family members, supporters of the association, and citizens of Tirana. Those present held national flags without a star and banners reading «Long Live Justice», «Glory to our brothers who sacrificed themselves for freedom and democracy», «Root out everywhere the communist emblem — symbol of terror», «Declare us innocent», «Long live our association», etc. The rally was opened by Mr. Osman Kazazi, chairman of the Initiating Commission of SHDPSH. A minute of silence was then observed in memory of the martyrs of democracy, and the national anthem was sung. The speech on the occasion was delivered by Xhenia Alihemehti, chair of the petition addressed to the President, the People’s Assembly, the government, and the entire people. On behalf of the SHDPSH branches in the districts, the following chairmen spoke: V. Martini, R. Krisp, U. Kostreci, H. Xhillaga, Gj. M. Ndol, H. Xhafa, F. Zdrava, Gj. (Continued on page 3) Republicans throughout Albania experience and welcome this great historic event. In the years to come, this rally will be hailed as a new victory for democracy. Once again, we Republicans firmly demand that the red star be legally removed, that the sickle and hammer be removed, and that the wreath of wheat ears be removed—the symbols that brought us hunger instead of bread. These symbols brought us division and national destruction, poverty and hunger. It is now up to the People’s Assembly, the government, and the President to legalize the removal of these anti-national symbols. If they do not remove the symbols at the first session of the People’s Assembly, we will mobilize again, this time in full force, and we will not leave until this demand has been met. The Republican Party is resolute and unwavering in supporting the other legitimate demands of the Albanian people as well. The State Security Service must be disbanded. This creation, a symbol of dict— —...national oppression in Albania will remain so as long as the full rights of the thousands of political prisoners who endured the torments of hell in defense of freedom and democracy are not recognized. There can be no peace and national reconciliation as long as the issue of the tens of thousands of Albanian emigrants who took to the roads of the world to escape the communist dictatorship is not set on the path to resolution. In the difficult days we are living through, the Republican Party calls on the People’s Assembly and the government to follow every step taken by our brothers who live in their native lands in Yugoslavia. The Kosovars are our brothers in blood and language. Their fate cannot be separated from the fate of Mother Albania. We Republicans are convinced that only by meeting these vital demands of Kosovo will the people have confidence in the state and social structures. Only in this way will they believe in democracy. From this rally, the Republican Party calls on conservative and renewed Communists to understand reality and abandon their devilish tactics. The Albanian people have learned the hardest lessons from the past. ...a monopoly over its own life. President Ramiz Alia himself, this. Party calls on the Government of Stability to accelerate economic reforms in continuous consultation with the people. Privatization must be accelerated and carried out by every means. Public order must be strengthened at all costs. The law must prevail, as the basis for the success of reforms. The Republican Party is ready to provide all its assistance toward this end, because this is also the people’s wish. At the same time, we call on the government to guard against mistakes in implementing laws domestically, and especially in the field of foreign relations. We Republicans support the unity of the entire people. We support cooperation with all those who hold freedom, dignity and human rights, democracy, and pluralism dear. We will fight in the front ranks to make democracy a complete reality, so that freedom and democracy may triumph in Albania. Long live the Albanian people! Long live democracy!

The Albanian Republican Party, concerned about the difficulties our countryside is currently facing, organized the National Consultation on the “Land Law” on 4.9.1991. Republican Party activists and agricultural specialists from various districts of the country took part in the Consultation. The Consultation found: 1. The Land Law, while pursuing the worthy aim of accelerating the distribution of land and creating the necessary conditions for autumn planting, has several shortcomings that have caused concern in the countryside. This is evident from the fact that in many villages the land has been distributed by the villagers themselves, without observing the Land Law. 2. The Land Law was not based on thorough studies of ownership relations in the countryside, the specific problems of mountainous and lowland areas, or of the country’s different regions. 3. The Land Law was enacted without first seeking the opinion of the rural population. To address these concerns, the Consultation considered it necessary to improve the Land Law through the issuance of legal and regulatory acts required for its implementation. To serve this purpose, and summarizing the most rational views of the participants, the Consultation recommends: 1. It is essential to implement a genuine agrarian reform, considering the Land Law as an initial document that requires improvement through legal and regulatory acts. 2. The views of the rural population itself must be taken into account when distributing land in the countryside. In every village, village councils should be elected and given due recognition so that they can work with the government commissions appointed for this purpose. Where this distribution has already been carried out by the villagers themselves without causing any concern, it should be considered valid. 3. The implementation of a genuine agrarian reform, 9. Former peasant landowners should be recognized as having the right to receive the land due to them in their former properties. 10. to material compensation for the expropriated portion, recognizing ownership up to 5 ha. 11. Ownership should be recognized as it stood in the days immediately preceding collectivization. Material compensation for the expropriated portion is to be provided by the state within 10 years. 12. Genuine economic reform must also include forest, pasture, and meadow areas. NATIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LAND LAW must include not only the distribution of land belonging to agricultural cooperatives, but also land that has passed from cooperatives to state agricultural enterprises. 4. Land should be distributed in proportion to the number of family members who currently work and live in the village, as well as those who have moved away from the village but wish to return. In this case, the village’s approval must be obtained. 5. To ensure the fairest and most humane distribution of land possible, the possibility of compensating for agricultural land between neighboring villages should be studied, giving plots of land from villages with more land per capita to those with less land per capita. 6. The Land Law may also be supplemented by establishing special measures for mountainous and lowland areas, or for the northeastern region and other regions of the country. 7. Land should be distributed by the state without compensation and, for several years, its sale and purchase should be prohibited in order to stabilize the economic situation in the countryside. 8. Families living in the countryside whose members are employed by the state should benefit from the distribution of land just like other rural families. former properties. 10. to 5 ha. 11. Owners should be recognized as they were in the first days on the eve of provided by the state withi-

On 13 September 1991, in Tirana, a group of students sympathetic to republican ideas formed the Albanian Republican Youth Organization. FOUNDING COMMITTEE