CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAM TO THE ALBANIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY Tirana, 25.3.1992 The Albanian Republican Party sincerely congratulates the Democratic Party on its sweeping victory over the communist-socialist system. With the victory of the Democratic Party, our country has begun a new life. We, the republicans, wish the Democratic Party success in its daily work and in restructuring the life of our country in the interest of the Albanian nation. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

DID A SECOND TREASURE EXIST? With the victory of democracy, political debates perhaps will find old problems that had been buried, but with the 50-year activity of the communist regime, they will come to light with even greater force. I assume this will happen because our country will become a democratic, transparent country that will address the most sensitive economic and political issues. And the solution to these problems, one hopes, will be progressive. One of these problems has sparked a nationwide discussion: the gold issue. After it was discussed at length in the press, in parliament and in the broad public sphere, about the fate of the commission, the arrests used and the arrests of the Germans, the issue of the gold haul was thrown back onto the hot plate by valuable testimony. We should speak by discussing. This time, apparently, things became tangled, and voices about different orientations also emerged. These matters, which dealt with this, should not be burdened with others in order to help the problem and clarify what it was that was being raised before the church of the cleansing of the state reserve soldiers, in chorus at office 20. We have all said that the gold that exists is not the gold that was taken for the liberation, for which the banks were more heavily burdened, making documents more secret than for the gold of liberation, but for the voice that was taken into account in the form of the people from Prague to the president of changes. So even one of the hardened cadres of the regime nomenklatura, took(?) to give valuable testimony. His data obliged him to give us these testimonies at another time. But perhaps he will now testify about the gold issue, without fear? Will anyone testify among those who hid the gold or among those who say who had it, or were these very people used for this job and are now silent out of fear? I am bringing some testimony, but without mentioning names, leaving time to solve this complicated issue. How was the gold collected? There was a list among informers, who during the war were registered and…[?], those about whom it was thought that FERHAT GRUA (To be continued on pages 3-4)

The people gave their vote of confidence to the PD, once and for all, farewell to communism

A. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE ELECTION RESULT? B. DO YOU THINK THE PR SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED AS A PARLIAMENTARY GROUP? C. WHAT SHOULD BE STARTED FIRST? OPINIONS Our editors Ylli Rakipi and Lutfi Dervishi collected the following opinions one day after the elections A. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE ELECTION RESULT? B. DO YOU THINK THE PR SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPRESENTED AS A PARLIAMENTARY GROUP? C. WHAT SHOULD BE STARTED FIRST? SALI BERISHA (Chairman of the PD), when previously asked about the predictions, I said 7 to 3 (70 percent to 30 percent in favor of the opposition). I said accurately that the result would be 5 or 2, and even these approximate percentages confirm that. It seems to me that this part of the population, which had been undecided, chose the force of hope and change. This is a historic and well-deserved victory. A. I think these were the results the Albanian people deserved. They deserved even better, but this is a weakness of the opposition, including the PD, which failed to fully free our citizens from communist ideology. I mean that there was still a part of the population that had not yet broken away from the past. For the opposition, there is no possibility of preventing a return to the past. They are its victims. It is our shared task to enlighten the people who deserve to enjoy freedom. B. I think the PR should have been represented in parliament, chiefly because it has fought a very great battle, has been one of the main opposition forces, and has helped in this democratic process. In a pluralist parliament, as many contributing forces as possible should be represented. C. Parliament should convene, organize the government, stabilize the country and restore calm. We must move quickly with reforms and help the Albanian peasants so they can sow this spring. We must find raw materials so work can begin in the enterprises. SABRI GODO (Chairman of the PRSH) "... a free life is beginning..." A. The victory of democracy in Albania can be called complete. Communist power has been definitively overthrown. For the first time in history, our people are beginning a free life. This is a victory for the entire people, for the opposition, and especially for the PD, which carried the main burden. B. The PR has great merit in the struggle to overthrow communism. We should have entered parliament, and that would have constituted a pluralist parliament. C. I think our program contains very good ideas and thoughts that open clear paths out of the current situation. SKËNDER GJINUSHI (Chairman of the PSD) "... It would be better not to a[...]" A. It should be emphasized that the result has been among the most sensational and most positive throughout the East. When I was previously asked for predictions, I said 7 to 3 (70 percent to 30 percent in favor of the opposition). I said precisely 6 to 4, but here it is 2.5. If we look at the approximate percentages here as well, this is confirmed. It seems to me that the Albanian people made a clear choice. They cast a powerful vote for change. B. Undoubtedly. That is what I meant when I spoke of the relations. We did very well to cooperate with one another, in the sense that when we said no state, the PS would exploit discord and differences in the program to score points in its favor. As soon as the coalition was announced in September, the allergy to the socialist split appeared, but that coalition was supported by the people and the strata. I highly value it and free expansion. We have worked for an agreement with the other opposition forces. C. First, an appeal must be made for public calm and trust in the new power, in this vote given by the people. Second, the authorities will build all of their levers, such as the constitution and the organization of local elections and a thousand other structures, no less important, such as order and information, which have been traumatized by the events that occurred. AZEM HAJDARI (PD Deputy Chairman) "The electorate in Albania has become pluralized..." A. I was convinced that the PD would win, because it did qualified work on its part, especially since the PD is a party built on the basis of diversity of thought. It became a nationwide party. It was the first opposition party. I also want to point out something else: the organization across the districts clearly influenced the PD’s victory, and this is reflected in the final result. I would have liked the PD to win only two-thirds of the parliamentary seats, but even if it won[?]. B. I am sympathetic to the PR and its program, but this time it could not be represented in parliament. The electorate in Albania is polarized and would vote for the socialists and the democrats. Perhaps the PR could be a good alternative for elections, because I think the PSD will disintegrate. It will no longer be in opposition. Removing Ramiz Alia from the political scene will be a victory for the opposition. C. The number one is the hardest to find. If it is chosen, the others after it are easy. The first is the government. ZEF BUSHATI (PR Vice Chairman) "... decided on the change of system:[?]" A. The day of 22 March was a nationwide referendum to decide which system would lead the future development of this country, economically and morally devastated: the socialist communist system or the democratic capitalist one. This popular referendum decided precisely the change from the communist system to the democratic one. The socialist communist system lost and the PD won. As republicans, we are proud to have made our contribution and we are convinced that our members and supporters also took part in this referendum to seal the PD’s victory. B. I believe that is what will happen, and that we republicans will also have our parliamentary group this time in the democratic pluralist parliament. I believe that was also the wish of many others, who have followed the republican opposition stance throughout the more than one-year period since the PR was founded. We should have had more representation in parliament. We have only one deputy. It is said that he is a doctor of science, an intellectual who will forcefully convey the republican voice even though he is alone among democrats, socialists, and social democrats. C. The government, the constitution, the rule of law, the economic order[?] SALI BERISHA (Chairman of the PD) "... They are like us and we are like them..."

A Brilliant Victory for the PD and for Democracy For a long time, the Albanian people had been eagerly awaiting the elections of 22 March for two fundamental reasons. First, because for the first time in their lives they would vote freely to extinguish the reds; and second, because the hard life of slavery for more than half a century had to be changed once and for all. But this would be done not with bullets, but through arduous struggle for democracy, with their free vote. The elections of 22 March, with the overwhelming victory of the PD and the Albanian opposition in general over the PS, showed how strong this desire of our people was. In any case, the road the country and democracy had travelled up to 22 March had not been easy; on the contrary, it was a difficult and painful road. For half a century, the brutal communist regime had instilled in every Albanian a psychosis of fear and terror. And of course, it is clear that this psychosis could not be broken in a single day. This was shown by the elections of Saturday, 31 March. Another year of persistent struggle from March to March was needed for the Albanian people to cast off the enslaving dogma of communism, for the Albanian voter to finally rid themselves of the fear of the bread boogeyman imposed by the PS. It took a year for the people at last to understand the truth, to understand what the PS’s false propaganda was, which even in this electoral campaign did not refrain from slandering the PD, the PR and the other opposition parties. The opposition parties became the rallying point and the leaders of the people in this struggle to establish real democracy. With admirable persistence, in a relatively short time, they spread throughout the country, although they could not be compared with the PS in terms of working conditions and means for intensive political activity. In these elections the people gave their confidence to the PD, the strongest opposition party, unlike what the socialists claimed. The PD, as the main and first opposition force, was at the forefront of the struggle for democracy. With massive and energetic organization, it went from village to village and city to city, awakening and raising the awareness of thousands of people about the present and the future, about a future that would fundamentally change the homeland. And this change would be made only by us Albanians, with the support and swift help of the Western countries and the USA. In this long and powerful effort and struggle, the voice of the PR was heard. Today, on this day, it greets the magnificent victory of democracy and wishes the Albanian people to preserve forever this victory, this victory for democracy, for peace and order, the rule of law, and progress. In the results of 22 March, the alliance of the opposition parties also played a major role, with the PR too, as a determined opposition force, firmly supporting the democratic movement. The overwhelming victory of the Albanian opposition in these elections is a victory for the entire people and for democracy itself. It is a victory against the communist dictatorship, against the misery and poverty it brought, against violence and lies. The victory of 22 March is a historic victory. For the Albanian people, a new era now begins, the era of democracy. No one can now trample on our rights. Every Albanian now freely enjoys their own voice. Everyone will now freely express their energies for the benefit of the country and the future. The rule of law will be the heart of a new society. The PR will continue, as it has done until now, to maintain a constructive stance in the country’s political and economic life. Fighting for the implementation of its program, it will stand side by side with its allies for reform and stability. The victory of 22 March guarantees this calm and gives work, as two factors for the country’s progress. Regardless of the result the PR managed to secure in this election, it will undoubtedly be a party with an important role for the great interests of the Albanian nation.