When this issue comes up, our socialists smile silently. They still call the army an «incubator» for the brains inside the PP(S) leadership. Their confidence comes from the current state of affairs in the military paradigm. In practice, the process of depoliticization has not been completed, either in the Ministry of Defence apparatus or in the general staffs, not to mention the fact that former monist officials dominate the other structures below them. Political and personnel officials do this by drawing their favourites around them: former commissars and secretaries of the red Labour committees, or former officials of the Central Committee of the PP. They have been entrusted, in various forms, with educating the army under the conditions of democracy. The commanding officers at divisional level, with few exceptions, are the same ones who were appointed according to monist criteria or the whims of Zeus, through his appointments, or those of the apostles of the Political Bureau. There was only one instance when Leka Çuko, during a visit to the northeast, «fished out» two «capable» officers from Myzeqeja, even changing their specialties. The method of promotion based on favouritism, regionalism and servility, wrapped in the veil of «the Party knows best», took root in the army and did so harmfully; it is not changing even today. To preserve this «status», it is the SP that holds the keys to posts in the army under the umbrella of depoliticization. It is well known that a fundamental reform based on the interests of the whole people would transform the army, turning it into a peaceful defender of the Homeland. But this reform must not be taken over by the Enverist bureaucratic caste under the umbrella of depoliticization. At all costs, the scribblers must be kept out, even those with titles who have composed hymns to «chief strategist» Enver Hoxha. This reform must be carried out by ordinary, talented officers who have never viewed, or would view, the defence of the Homeland through party-tinted glasses. There are dozens of such officers, whom democracy must identify and train—not the personnel offices, which still select for military schools and promotions people with «socialist» leanings, who know how to defend party positions even under depoliticization. There is no reason for army reform to be rushed, nor should it be postponed indefinitely. This time would serve the Homeland’s interests and deprive the SP of the opportunity to dominate the army’s pyramid behind the façade of depoliticization. The reform should be carried out without causing hardship for the body of officers, in a considered and unforced manner, and not according to the tastes of the military bureaucracy that exists in the Ministry of Defence apparatus and below it, when it should first of all affect former senior party and state officials. All the former officers who came from the field must be removed from the army unconditionally; besides occupying positions without merit, they displaced and persecuted dozens of talented officers with the necessary abilities and schooling. These «specialists» from the field are a reliable contingent of the SP, serving it blindly in order to preserve their privileges and putting pressure on the minds of officers and soldiers with talk of the possible return of the monist dictatorship, or by keeping alive nostalgia for the «golden» Enverist past. The reform must affect those who lack the relevant schooling, as well as others who came from civilian life and have only fragmentary military knowledge. Naturally, among them there may also be young people who have achieved good practical results and can remain in the army, but the basic criteria for officers are military education and the ability to lead. Army reform must «dislodge» officers who have been stuck for years, mainly in the northeastern region, and put them in the posts of those who, by crooked means, have secured permanent, immovable positions. The core of the reform will renew the army in substance and form and deepen the process of depoliticization, which, for now, has deliberately been left at the surface. Why does the SP smile silently at the depoliticization of the army, when it comes to the Homeland? The answer is simple: its roots have not been pulled out of there. They will put out new shoots to the detriment of democracy.

After squeezing into the small urban bus, we arrived in Ksamil. It was a day in August 1988. I remember that day not so much for the pleasant holiday as for the «lunch» I enjoyed with my family... Waiter Spiro barely managed to bring us fish soup and something else. He hurried upstairs to the restaurant’s second floor. «Quick!» The phone had rung from Saranda. Then the noise of a helicopter was heard. It landed in the field at Ksamil. And there, stepping out of it, was Ilir Hoxha. «Move away, move away!» The other holidaymakers left, some with bottles of beer in their hands that another employee had managed to «kindly» give them. And they ate their lunch in the shade of the citrus trees. Driven away from beside the feast... Ilir ate lunch with those accompanying him and flew off. It is not worth asking how much his lunch cost and who paid. I included the helicopter in the cost of that lunch: what a powerful material base for enjoying a prince’s lunch, Your Highness! And how many lunches he must have eaten in the air, aboard planes whose wings carried him only across Europe. At the most beautiful tourist spots. In villas in the mountain air or in hidden places in the south. He, the king’s son!... Twenty years before this event, I saw Ilir Hoxha as a volunteer worker in Libofshë, Fier, on the railway. In volunteer clothes and scarf, he was treated «just like everyone else», like the sons of the people. Above ground, underground, at sea, wherever the people were sent to toil, they were made to work for the pleasure of those whose sole merit was their father’s power. He was one of those favoured by fate. But what about the whole family? The relatives? The entire caste? How many villas? I will never forget one night when, in the middle of Tirana, the emergency ambulance broke down at the hospital gate. It was out of order. And the doctor came to me on foot... That was in the capital. What about the villages of Albania, where there is neither a telephone nor a road? What about Bena e Shllakut, where there is nowhere for a helicopter to land? A personal plane to go and eat lunch, while the people were told: «Gather up scraps and bread and make do!» «Let’s save even a drop of fuel,» and so on and so forth. What hypocrisy, what betrayal! The people tightened their belts, while the caste loosened theirs, and the other privileged people ate lavishly to work off their fat. And the people really were wonderful for him, because they endured as few others would. But hatred and revolt burst out when the limits of that endurance were tested. How skilfully he drove the people away from his own princely table! And the people had their grievance ready. Today, on the Day of the Great Judgment, have these scions asked themselves what they truly deserved? Do they have even a shred of conscience left to understand their sultan-like crime? That glimmer of logical reason and humanity would be the only sign that anything connects them with other people. PHOTO MALO

On Tuesday, the President of the Republic of Albania, Ramiz Alia, signed the Paris Charter on behalf of the Republic of Albania in the «La salle D’Horlozh» hall in Paris. In this way, Albania’s half-century of isolation came to an end, a breakthrough achieved as a result of the student youth’s heroic stance and the activity of the first two opposition parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Our road is open toward the complete victory of democracy, in developed Europe, where we have just been accepted.

On 17.9.1991, the first meeting of the city branch of the PR was held in the city of Shkodër. The chairman of the PR, Mr Sabri Godo, and the deputy chairman, Mr Zef Bushati, were present. Mr Spiro Lito opened the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, a minute of silence was observed in memory of those martyred during the communist dictatorship and the martyrs of democracy. Mr Xhevat Repishti, chairman of the PR branch, presented a report on the work of the PR branch in Shkodër. After speaking about the city’s democratic and patriotic traditions, Mr Repishti highlighted the new aspects of democracy for the city of Shkodër, linked to the work and activities of the Republican branch in the district. Re- (Continued on page 2)

On Sunday, 15 September, senior research associate Myslim Islami, on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the Pezë Conference, delivered the paper «The First Pluralist Albanian National Liberation Conference as Seen in the Light of the Documents» in the lecture hall of the National Historical Museum. The hall was full of veterans from Tirana. They were the same people who had gone to Pezë the previous day, but no one from the Pezë area had come, so it was clearly a complete boycott. In his paper, Myslim Islami said that the Pezë Conference was not the work of Enver Hoxha, as has been trumpeted up to now. He was one of the delegates of the PKSH, as were Ymer Dishnica, Mustafa Gjinishi, Nako Spiro, Koco Tashko and others; the report on the domestic and international political situation was delivered by Dr Ymer Dishnica. The Conference elected Ndoc Çoben, a former participant and member of Albania’s first government, as chairman of its leadership; the following were also elected to the provisional General Council of National Liberation: five representatives of the nationalists and three from the PKSH—Kamber Qafmolla, chairman; Mustafa Gjinishi (secretary); Abaz Kupi; Ndoc Çoba; Myslim Peza; Mustafa Khani; Dr Ymer Dishnica; and Enver Hoxha. The historian pointed out the distortions made to the conference. First, the Resolution, the principal document, was reduced from 10 pages to 6 when published. In the official text, Enver Hoxha was placed at the top, and the Resolution—which was the work of the Conference Council, with five or six people working on it—was popularized as if Enver Hoxha had written it. These truths hit the old veterans like a bomb; they demanded that they remove from the hall the historian who dared to shed light on the truth. Here is yet another compelling fact about the renewal of the Albanian socialists. ANDI BASHA

Over the past few days, a series of discussions and meetings with delegations and representatives of various organizations from all continents have been held at the headquarters of the Republican Party. On 19.9.1991, Mr Sabri Godo met at the PR headquarters with Mr Den Kiting, chairman of the Anglo-American Association, and Ms Babet Braun of the independent legal association for international relations in the field of ...; Mr ... This association, with 400,000 members, is represented in England, Scotland and Wales and is interested in providing assistance on legal and political issues in Albania. During the discussion with the others, Mr Godo emphasized that legal affairs had suffered a very severe blow over many years, one that had deeply affected the life of the country and its general problems. At present, development ... a complete and rapid restructuring of this field is required, since Albania ... (Continued on page 4)

Royal blood is also called «blue blood», to emphasize that its bearers’ origins differ from those of ordinary people. Royal blood is also called «blue blood», to emphasize that its bearers’ origins differ from those of ordinary people, that their ancestors descended from the blue sky—in other words, that their power is divine. All monotheistic religions have enthusiastically embraced this idea, for their own reasons. In fact, the mythologizing of power is prehistoric, since it is documented among the dynasties of the Egyptian pharaohs, who claimed to be sons of the Sun or of the goddess Ra, and therefore to have been granted the right to rule. Kings, princes and their descendants make a favourite subject of the antiquity of their dynasty and the depth of their family tree; they boast of their ancestors, especially those who have left their mark on history. This subject still features in Europe’s royal courts and especially in the salons and clubs frequented by the descendants and heirs of dynasties that have been overthrown, abdicated or driven out. These are history’s pitiful figures, kings without kingdoms, dreaming that the golden age of monarchies will return once more. After the turbulent events of the last two years in Eastern Europe, the fallen dynasties became more active than ever, appearing on TV and radio, issuing press statements and patriotic appeals to their countries, and asking to make apostolic or tourist visits to rekindle the extinguished flame of nostalgia. The most zealous were the descendants of dynasties from former socialist countries. They had a logistical base: after experiencing the savagery, arbitrariness and merciless oppression of communism, the people of these countries might come to regard the monarchical system as a lost paradise. The small parties ... There was a fallen Hungarian feudal family, down on its luck, which passed itself off as aristocratic. The Hungarian Geraldine Apnon, however, could not bring her king any province, city or small estate—not even a dowry or a gift—apart from her physical beauty and youth. It was only after several years that the Albanian Parliament, in order to raise the dynasty to a respectable level, at least close to that of other Balkan dynasties, decided to increase subsidies to the Palace and grant Zog a couple of state estates and several hectares of forest, and so on. In conclusion, I can say that there is not a millimetre of royal blood in Leka Zogu’s veins. This is the simple logical, historical and genetic truth. Leka Zogolli’s only claim to royal origin, in the eyes of others, is that he was conceived and born at a time when his father had already been ruling as king for ten and a half years. To be historically precise, Ahmet was «proclaimed» king by the legal forces of power, or, as the newspapers of the time put it, by «the will of the people»; his son, for his part, has a greater claim in this regard, because he «proclaimed himself» king in exile, with no monarchist forces or royal throne nearby—the throne which they had been unable to seize by military force. He had plenty of reasons to declare himself the king’s heir, if for no other reason than to enter the ranks of defunct kings and join their elite, even from the sidelines; perhaps to arrange a marriage with some royal family, even one deposed but in good financial circumstances, or to gain other diplomatic, economic or financial advantages. We do not know much about his moral character or personality, but one known fact—that many democratic states in Western Europe have barred him from residing in their territory—does not speak in favour of the heir. His father was once an international arms trafficker; the son chooses to trade in other goods as well. It is said that he has amassed a great fortune in South Africa, the most racist country in the world. So be it! This shows his abilities as a businessman, but as a politician he remains a utopian. We remind Leka Zogu that before the Second World War there were 200 monarchies, including the celebrated kings of Polynesia, who were said to have ruled over vast territories. After the Second World War, only 20 remained—one tenth. In the third quarter of the last century, the monarchies of Egypt, Libya and Greece disappeared, as did the last one, that of Riza Pahlvi of Iran—the oldest dynasties in the world. Medieval dynasties are disappearing from the face of the earth; where any remain, they are entirely ceremonial. Leka Zogolli missed a golden political opportunity with our refugees of August. If he had had any sense, and even a quarter of the money he is said to have, he could have invested in bringing them to South Africa and finding them work; then they and their families would have been grateful, and would have helped him in return. Did he not know what to do? Did he lack the financial means, or are kings, by tradition, used only to taking and not giving? Leka Zogolli, alias Zogu II. NAUM PRIFTI (Continued on page 2)