THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, THE ONLY PATH TO EMERGING FROM THE CRISIS AND TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: FULL FREEDOM OF INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE AND PRIVATE PROPERTY AT THE REPUBLICANS’ ASSEMBLY On Monday, 8 June, at 9:00 a.m., the 1st Congress of the ARP convened in the hall of the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, a very important event for this party, both for today and for the future. The Republicans came to this congress to take stock of their work and to best orient the Party’s political line for the future. They came to this congress after 17 months of struggle and efforts to overthrow the dictatorship and establish democracy in Albania. Not a long time for a political party, but enough for it to have consolidated itself with a clear profile. It has demonstrated its prudence and wisdom before the people and the nation as a whole. Mr. Zef Bushati declared the congress open. An 11-member presidium was elected to lead the congress. The first congress of the Republicans was honored by the presence of a delegation from the Italian Republican Party, headed by Mr. Otavio Lavaxhilo; a delegation from the Republican Party of Kosovo, headed by its vice-chairman, Mr. Isuf Kuka; a delegation from the People’s Democratic Party, based in Tetovo, Macedonia, headed by Mr. Iljaz Haklini; a delegation from the Democratic League of Kosovo, headed by its vice-chairman, Mr. Anton Kolaj; and the representative of the Republic of Kosovo accredited in our country, Mr. Ali Aliu. The congress was honored by the participation of representatives of the Democratic Party, the Socialist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, the Popular League Party, etc. Various associations had also been invited, such as those of political prisoners and the politically persecuted, etc. The congress was also honored by the participation of ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in our country, as well as other friends and guests. The report on behalf of the Republican Party’s Steering Committee was delivered by Mr. Sabri Godo. The delegations attending the congress proceedings then gave their greetings. The first to speak was Mr. Anton Kola, Vice-Chairman of the Democratic League of Kosovo, who said: Ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure in greeting this congress of the Albanian Republican Party here today on behalf of the Democratic League of Kosovo and President Rugova. Your invitation to attend this congress has shown us great generosity. I thank the leadership of the RP and its esteemed chairman, Mr. Sabri Godo, for this invitation. Your party is one of the important political forces in Albania. Its significant role and contribution lie in initiating democratic processes together with the DP and in destroying the total communist system in Albania. With the beginning of the destruction of this imposed communist system, a new and very important stage begins for Albanians in general. We are firmly convinced that your party, its members and its supporters will be committed to deepening the democratic processes in Albania. This will also be of great assistance to Kosovo and to all Albanians everywhere. Thank you! Mr. Isuf Kuka, Vice-Chairman of the delegation of the Republican Party of Kosovo: Dear sisters and brothers! Esteemed friends! I come from martyr Kosovo and bring you the warm fraternal greetings of all the members of our Party in Kosovo, headquartered in Pejë, and not only theirs. The Congress of the Republican Party of Albania, which is opening its proceedings in Tirana today, is one of the notable events in the life and work of the nation as a whole, in the new conditions and circumstances of a new Balkan and European order, which we Albanians too represent without hesitation. After a twenty-five-year period of clashes, wanderings and hardships, after the persistent work of an entire army of clear-minded activists, and after 60 years of separation of the duties of the mind... [?] (Continued on page 4)

OF THE FIRST RP CONGRESS, DELIVERED BY ITS CHAIRMAN, MR. SABRI GODO On 22 March, communism was defeated and the democratic order was established in Albania. This victory, which will go down in the country’s history as one of the greatest events, was achieved through the people’s revolution, which took place without an armed uprising, although it was also accompanied by gunfire and bloody wintertime violence. On 22 March, a road was opened for our people to emerge from the Albanian... [?] realities of the time. The historic turning point in Albania was preceded by mass protests in Kuçovë, Kavajë, Shkodër and elsewhere, and by the exodus of July 1990. But the genuine turning point began with the student movement of November. This is also where the idea of creating our party began, because it was the student movement that prompted Ramiz Alia’s communist regime to make way for pluralism and to retreat in the face of the formation of political parties, without which the transition from dictatorship to today’s order would not have been possible. This entire period was charged with unprecedented intensity and tensions in Albanian political life, which swept across the whole country, even its most remote corners. These realities, as well as certain other factors, must be borne in mind in order to make sound political judgments about what we have achieved and what we want to achieve. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY FROM JANUARY 1991 TO MARCH 1992 There is no doubt that the main protagonist, and the one that bore the greatest burden in the struggle to overthrow the dictatorship and Enverism, was the Democratic Party. But immediately after it, the Republican Party appeared on the political scene, making a contribution that can in no way be denied or underestimated. It has its own clear share in the overthrow of a social, political and economic order that will have a place in our recent history. To assess the RP’s role during this period, we should bear at least the following factors in mind: — The RP, like the DP, was created not under conditions of a calm and normal political life. It had to take part in resolving the serious problems of the day, which had reached a breaking point, at a time of... [?] and with its founding initiative and some branches not yet established—that is, before it had even created the structures of a party. In this complicated process of creating the Party, its program, statute, press, documentation, central and local leadership bodies, everything had to be done under conditions of fierce opposition and struggle. Maximum speed was required. Naturally, mistakes would also be made in such an extraordinary period. — Opposing us was the Stalinist-Enverist party and state, which possessed a vast bureaucratic apparatus, with all the necessary resources and long experience. Thus, we were entirely without resources and experience, while the communist regime had... [?] allowed nothing, even the smallest thing, to an organized opposition. — The existence of the DP greatly facilitated the creation of our party, but this fact also presents a paradox. Around the DP, our principal ally, gathered all... [?] (Continued on page 4)

The voice of a mother delegate After the delegates’ discussions, a delegate from Duka-Ri i Ri of Kruja steps onto the Congress podium. A mother of three children, three sons, named PRENDA LARI. It is the first time she has climbed the steps of honor at a Congress. After all those sufferings, burdens, inter... [?] achievements, escapes of loved ones, after all the pain her grandfather NDUE PLEPI endured, if Prenda had not come here with her... [?] beautiful [unclear], she would have been condemned to some Nazi prison of this... [?]. Her voice has a mother’s warmth, her compassion, her anger, but also the strength of the mountains that raised her. Strangely, in her eyes, aged by the years, one can see the movement of... [?]. Even in these people we saw light chestnut eyes, shining with a tear or two. Her voice is bound to the pain evoked by barren lands, the iron telephone wires... [?], the few queues at the shops... [?], the family suffering... [?] in the mountains, people reaching their hands toward the mountains for their poor livelihoods, and the written appeals they send, asking that the government and every republican take the fate of the Fatherland to heart... [?]. Her republican conviction is strikingly honest, like that of most PR members, and it truly makes you blush and hide your face in the face of shortcomings, consequences, leadership and organizational incapacity, those claims and justifications for what was done wrong, for what was promised but not achieved and cast aside—without forgetting that truth and honesty, as principles, must be the strong voice of your republican ideals. Prenda is speaking. Her allotted time is ending. But the hall rises and does not let her silence this sincere voice. An awakening of justice that must be... [?] by that noble mother, so that we do not hide behind party façades in order to rush to positions and careers... [?] ... The speech is over. Prenda steps down, accompanied by a student, to applause from me. And the girl beside me cannot hold back and says loudly: “Well done, sister, speak as a Republican, but also as a mother...” And together with her, we too say: “Well done, Republican Prenda! Let us turn your words into a message, a mirror of courage and wisdom, for we have needed—and will need—even more of them!”

The Republican Party of Greece, «Gëzatos», wishes the Republic and the newspaper «Republika» well on the publication of this newspaper in the Albanian language for Eid al-Adha. The delegation of the Republican Party of Kosovo, on the occasion of the anniversary of Kosovo’s independence, expressed its very best wishes in Tirana to all Albanians in the country, and especially to the mothers and children of Kosovo. Best wishes!

TO MR. SABRI GODO The representatives of the delegation of the RP of Albania in Mitrovicë congratulate you on your election as chairman of the RP, for the good of this party and of the entire Albanian people. With thanks always, the delegation of the RP of Kosovo. The editorial staff of the newspaper «Republika» congratulates Mr. Sabri Godo on his election as chairman of the Republican Party.

The delegates from the Shkodër Highlands are leaving happily from their first Republican congress, after carrying out their work and adopting the important decisions of the congress, which they will put into practice. We thank all the delegates who united in their views and wishes to once again give their vote of confidence to Mr. Sabri Godo to lead the party, as chairman of the Albanian Republican Party. On behalf of the delegates of the Shkodër Highlands NDOC PEPAL