Whenever we ask this question—and we ask it very often—we show just how little we have broken away from Stalinism and, correspondingly, how little we have drawn closer to Europe. While Europe must be brought in by the group, because it has had enough of us; we want to become European, yet we refuse to give up the distinctly anti-European phenomenon of Stalinist thinking! Mental and logical structures based on the concepts of communist-Stalinist political ideology are widespread among the people, while the strongest realistic factor is the PP(S). The class character of a political party is only one of the concepts that people seek to preserve. In contemporary (and not only contemporary) European thinking, parties are not defined as class parties, vanguards, leaders, or expressions of the interests of a particular class, etc.; rather, they are defined as alternative parties. The difference between the two is great, just as great as the difference between the political philosophies from which each derives. The concept of a class party stems from, and is the logical consequence of, the (Marxist-Stalinist) philosophy that places at the foundation of society its division into classes with opposing interests, in absolute conflict and in mutual and perpetual struggle, aimed at defeating their interests through this process of clashes. The concept of non-class parties stems from bourgeois philosophy (that of the revisionists), which denies the existence of classes and of irreconcilable struggle between them; it stems from European philosophy, which places at its centre not classes, but the human being as an active, creative being, forever seeking (alternatives) for social advancement and self-improvement, seeking freedom. Without making this logical and philosophical leap—from the philosophy of classes (Stalinism) to the philosophy of the human being—it will be difficult for us to be accepted by Europe; or, rather, it will be difficult to say that we have become Europeanized enough to call ourselves European at all. The preservation of the traditional Marxist-Leninist understanding of political parties and their relations with the strata and classes of a society is deliberate, and often occurs only in certain aspects of the SP’s activity, in order to preserve its schemes (to which it is attached) of viewing society as divided into antagonistic classes, dependent and subordinate, oppressor and oppressed, exploiter and exploited, and of struggle between them; and then to present itself as the representative of the oppressed and exploited, the weak, moral goodness, etc., etc. The most knowledgeable (and at the same time most conservative) among them, Dr. S. Pellumbi, immediately after the 10th Congress of the PP, speaking as a scholar, tried to bring the contemporary concept closer when, in a theoretical article, he wrote: «We are accustomed to speaking of parties, understanding them as parties of particular classes... but the time has come for us to change this conception and to view parties first and foremost in relation to the interests of the country». (ZP, 14.7.1991). Yet what was most scholarly, and the sparks of European political philosophy, were not accepted even within the depths of the SP’s socio-political program. Therefore, the SP’s concept, «Summarizes ...»

TWO YEARS AGO: 2 JULY 1990 What the Albanian nobles in the 15th century did under pressure from the Ottoman occupiers, on 2 July 1990 and in the days that followed was done by the descendants of their ancient race. They crossed the Adriatic. This time they were driven not by a foreign occupier, but by an occupier who, unfortunately, was biologically of the same blood: the Albanian communist dictators. For the first time in Albania’s modern history, the gates of the Western embassies accredited in Tirana saw their primary function fade away. In the eyes of Albanians, they ceased to be iron railings enclosing circles and became a dividing boundary between two diametrically opposed and irreconcilable worlds: dictatorship and freedom, the Anti-Human and the Human. In those days, Albanian youth declared its reversal: Democracy is not coming to us; we are going to democracy... In doing so, they defied not only the harsh and long-lasting totalitarian power, but also tore off its mask and exposed it in the «stains» of outdated history: the political alchemy concocted in the laboratories of the plenums of the Central Committee of the PPSH, with its «theory of ambiguity», of dispensing democracy drop by drop, just enough to deceive the world. Now that a full two years have passed since July ’90, time has finally sketched the images of the figures who played their parts on the stage of that historic moment. On one side, those who crossed the embassy railings resemble the heroes of legends, dignified and self-sacrificing, Prometheuses of the end of the 20th century; at the opposite extreme are the speakers at compulsory, staged rallies, representatives of a caste whose actions and practices make them appear megalomaniacal, with Macbethian knives behind their backs. In the end, their political oratory proved utterly powerless to influence the passage of time. A mass exodus had begun. Time was preparing to sign the obituary of the communist dictatorship, which, as an artist rightly put it, «made us red like grapes, yellow like the Chinese, black like Albanians...» Although 2 years now belong to the past, many things from that day remain sealed behind layers of mystery. Who opened and who closed the embassy doors? How can we explain it, and whose voice gave the contradictory orders that put the police guarding the embassies in a ridiculous position? How many people disappeared in those days? Why did it happen on the day the Assembly of Kosovo was proclaimed? Was it a coincidence or a coordinated act? Surely the moment will come when the files on this event will be opened. Thinking of the families and relatives left behind, of that girl whose belly the police pierced on the sharp tips of the railings to stop her entering the embassy, and of those who left under the threat of the dictatorship’s iron teeth, today’s «rail-crossers», despite all the terror and heightened emotions, did not forget a touching act: amid tears and sobs, they kissed the soil of their beloved homeland. They snatched from the «antichrist gods» the fire hidden in the deepest and most hellish recesses of the dictatorship and, with their torches lit, illuminated the outlines of democracy. They, Prometheuses of the end of the 20th century...

At the expanded meeting held in recent days, the PR National Council focused on three issues: the election of the chair and secretary of the National Council, the election of the commission on the statute, and the importance of the local elections on 26 July. The speech by Mr Sabri Godo was of considerable interest. He stressed that this is a short campaign requiring intensive work and great attention. The PR must have its own people in power, but, as soon as the electoral law was announced, the election date was announced too. This is hasty, and this acceleration has another kind of political explanation. The PR will take a stand on anything that is not clean and democratic; it will cooperate with various associations and political parties to express democratic concerns. There were then many discussions that aroused interest, including those on property, land, assistance, housing, prices, etc. At the end, the platform of candidates was read, and the chair of the PR election commission, Mr Aleksandër Çina, clarified many issues concerning the successful conduct of the campaign. «Republika» correspondent

CORRUPTION SPECULATION CORRUPTION ENGLISH AID TRUCKS AND FINANCIAL POLICE FINES - After a long bureaucratic odyssey, the «Feeding Children» charity cancels the aid. Our people have a philosophy recorded in their memory, including in the form of a saying offered as advice: «Even if it is mangy, at least [keep it] for the rest». That is to say, truly, you get tired of the same thing, and ... The guarantor of this was our Ministry of Agriculture, which, through the Directorate for the Management of Foreign Aid and Mr Sali Çela, decided to direct it to the village of Lumalas in Korçë, to an area that in the western part in question thus fulfils the agricultural direction with planting ... And so, one fine day, apples, two trucks sent from England, loaded with more than 30 ... NARDHI SEDAJÇARI (continued on page 2)

WHO WILL WE GIVE OUR VOTE TO? - A rationalization - WHO WILL WE GIVE OUR VOTE TO? - A rationalization - Within a short span of time, no more than 5 months after the great popular plebiscite of 22 March this year, Albanians will once again head to the ballot boxes. By now, a democratic government has come to the fore, with its merits and shortcomings, a parliamentary party and a (transmission) of their movements. In parliament, its day holds (as far as) a sense of tradition, which has stirred some into optimism and others into pessimism, according to their particular attitude toward the political parties. Whoever understood correctly from the outset the formulation that was to bring us into a European democratic order now has room to «govern» ... Congratulations again! Now the other half of the whole remains, to complete the formation that will «play out» democracy in its entirety. In any case, the concert will end on 26 July. And Albanians, it is clearly apparent, are learning the game of democracy and its rules. Some are satisfied with what they have achieved; some are at the opposite extreme, just as there are many who still hold on to the people’s hope: «Make us ...» And 26 July will not be voted for... It was not 31 March, nor is it 22 March! It is something else! In any case, it cannot be ... The past March elections exhausted and dealt a «blow» to the old communist-Stalinist illness; July XXI? ... In another system it has a different mission. It is not exactly a fight against communism. Democrats have no reason to fight ghosts any longer. It is a step toward ... Surely, on 26 July, people worn out and exhausted by countless hardships will dot the «i». They don’t say for nothing: «The third time is the charm». B.S

It seems independence is not easy to maintain! «The last remnant of independent journalism, Remzi Lani, the master of the political circus, who had everyone as a friend and everyone as an enemy» (that is, he was independent in hell). Ziu, curiously a political layman, a man with a republican hat, constantly carrying a dossier, constantly underestimated, but never without reason: Viron Koka! Viron, that stern man who roars at meetings. The reason for the «surrender» of the editor-in-chief of «Zëri i rinisë» in the face of a ridiculous meeting table is unknown, when he had confronted and defied the dictators of communism, remaining editor-in-chief in their time for almost 10 years! Perhaps Viron Koka found his weak spot, which the boss of «Z.R.» himself knows well, perhaps; but why did he use it precisely against the PR? We would like to know! Why was Remzi Lani against republicanism? Only God knows. They say Dr. Koka complimented the editor-in-chief of «Rinia», telling him he was very charming, almost suited to be Kadare’s chauffeur or personal guard. The beginning of TV at Rinas will remain indelible in your biography, among your merits for balance, Dr. Koka is said to have told him, and apparently this brought about his agreement to publish an article against a party which, until that moment, had not known that it had even the youth against it! Immediately after «ZR», Viron Koka was reprinted by «ZP»! Thus Mr. Lani scores points with both the left and the right, as always, as always, balancing on the beam of political equilibrium! «Republika»

- Are there former Sigurimi informers in parliament?

- Proter, of the Këllez-i family - page 2 - Why don’t the members of parliament come to parliament? - page 3