— A FEW HOURS AT THE “PELICAN” OPERATION CENTER — They are 700 soldiers. No more and no less, just 700. We mention this fact because there are voices that triple this figure. (It happens that these voices come even from respected places, such as, for example, some diplomatic mission.) In any case, they are only 700 unarmed soldiers. Their weapons are the tools of their work, the kind we happen to see every day. Their destination is a real work site. This impression forms as soon as you enter the camp. The truth is that we, as a people, need to see how a person can really work. And you can see this better than anywhere else in the young men of Operation “Pelican.” At first their presence was unusual and, as commonly happens in such cases, so was the interest in them. Now their work and sacrifice no longer impress us because they have become something ordinary. Nevertheless, they are the same men as on the first day, just as industrious and self-sacrificing. “You fought the first battle, the most important one, and our people appreciate you,” Mr Godo tells the camp commander, General Karlo Çaçi, during their conversation. “Let us hope so…,” the serviceman replies. Everywhere there are people who think in different ways, but that should not worry us. On the contrary… When soldiers are told to come to Albania, they don’t want to, because they know nothing about this country. We do our work here, and I think we do it well. The conversation continues for a long time. The Italian general states simple truths that we know and understand, but which we find difficult to set out toward. “People should attend to their own work, however small it may be,” he continues. “You too must build; you have favorable conditions. Sometimes it happens that we know the situation better than you do here… People must be put to work. A new government will make mistakes too; otherwise, there is no progress, because at the beginning it is like a small, helpless child. Everything you do must arise from your own culture and not be copied. And then dreams, too, are necessary.”

Brigadier General CARLO ÇAÇI Mr General, The Steering Committee of the Albanian Republican Party, through Your person, extends its greetings to all the personnel of Operation “Pelican.” Having observed for almost two years the work of the unit you command, our thoughts turn to the longstanding relations between our two countries, including in the military sphere. In 1455, Alfonso of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily sent artillery and military technicians to Skënderbeu. The wise king, who called the Albanians the bravest men in the Balkans—proud, reserved, yet hospitable and true to their word—wrote affectionately to Skënderbeu, with the prudence and humor typical of Naples. “Most illustrious prince and beloved son! These soldiers are as terrifying to the enemy as they are to the fair sex…” The unit shed its blood generously in the battle of Berat. In 1462 it was Skënderbeu’s turn to help Alfonso’s son, Ferdinand, who was losing his kingdom. Skënderbeu, who was by then called “Alexander the Great” and “Captain of Christendom,” went there himself

The German newspaper “Frankfurter Algemaine Cajtung,” dated 11 November 1992, publishes a report by RON, sourced from Athens, under the headline: “One dead during an attempt to get the Albanians out,” which says: “Serious clashes between Albanians and the police took place in the city of Edessa in northern Greece. One Albanian was killed, and one police officer was wounded. The clashes began when 80 Albanians tried to save 40 of their compatriots from being sent back to Albania; they had come to Greece illegally. The mutilated bodies of three Albanians, who apparently were on their way to their homeland, were found in a ravine near the Greek-Albanian border. There is no trace of those responsible.”

— Can this be a legitimate trade? — A fact that needs little comment. On the national road Elbasan–Korçë, I kept seeing trucks loaded with impure salt. Where were the vehicles with foreign plates going? In July–August I was in Thessaloniki and saw that, after entering through the Kapshticë customs point, the salt passed through Albania—not as edible salt—and our salt paves Europe’s roads. After I returned, I learned that this salt was bought at the Vlorë saltworks by an Albanian trader at an extremely low price (as impure salt) and sold in Greece and Macedonia at extremely high prices. And this has brought the trader millions. It is true that the trader has a trade licence and a bank account number, but can such trade, which undermines ...ment. On the Elbasan–Korçë national road, I constantly saw trucks loaded with unrefined salt. Where were the vehicles with foreign plates headed? entering through the Kapshticë customs point, the salt went on to Greece. Thanks to its highly favorable chemical properties—properties known to Greek urban planners—the salt that «escapes» from Albania was being used to pave the roads of Greece and Macedonia. Truly astonishing.

On 13 November 1992, on the second day of the proceedings of the Congress of the Italian Republican Party, the chairman of the Albanian Republican Party, Mr Sabri Godo, also delivered a speech of greeting. The Albanian Republican Party delegation was the only one invited by the Italian Republican Party to offer greetings, which shows the friendship and special relations between the Italian Republican Party and the Albanian one. “Republika” correspondent

Those 45 years of absurdity are gone, but not without leaving a bitter aftertaste whose bitterness we still feel. A people turned into subjects by the harshest methods; dissidents, if there were any, were as few as those who did not submit to blind power. Remember the persecuted journalists, without homes, some municipal director or some official directed from above. Journalists—with pain one must say it, but it is true—have “suf- — For 45 years, journalists were subjects (almost obedient) of the communist nomenklatura — — The transition. Toward freedom—the use and abuse of it — — “Civil war” between journalists and the anarchy of information. Toward clarity. — — The instrumentalization and use of newspapers. — — Democratic officials disregard the power of the press and journalists. — Does the new state need the press, and what does it need it for? — Ministers do not “prefer” to appear before journalists — — Mao Zedong used to say: “I don’t read newspapers.” One of our officials, even if he may never have heard of the great Mao, says: “Oh, come on, they’re just journalists…?!” — What can journalists do besides write articles? The PPSH promoted them to positions, even as instructors, chairmen and “costumes” (This is the history of the PPSH), — There is another history, and why not an inspiring one: Konica—a distinguished publicist and journalist—managed to be appointed ambassador by his enemy, because he was an extraordinary ambassador of Albanian intellect and patriotism. What can be said about the miracle, the power of influence and the Noli-style word, whose master became head of state? Examples abound among us, and the world offers its own as well. Prime Minister Spadolini, chairman of the Italian Republican Party, and Spadolini, President of the Senate, comes after Spadolini the journalist. — By taking care of a roof over journalists’ heads and their training, the state takes care of itself, and above all itself — …besides. Among this people, journalists are undoubtedly included. Those who filled the pages of hundreds of thousands of newspapers. They, the journalists, were subjects—almost obedient subjects of the communist nomenklatura. They were not seen demonstrating; they did not write much, and what they did write was shaped under the iron grip of the dictatorship, so as to mold people’s consciences. We would not be realistic if we failed to recall a colleague or two from this… KLAUS FERITI (Continued on page 3)

THE AUTHOR SENT THIS ARTICLE ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEWSPAPER «REPUBLIKA» And while the people protest politely for their daily bread, someone, like Maria Antonetta, offers them a brioche—or rather, a cake, perhaps expired. But this pampered Westerner, protesting against the lack of human recognition, has not understood, after all, what the Albanian people want: bread. But with dignity, without groveling to anyone and without accepting to be cheated. media outlets in our countries, thereby emphasizing the myth in the manner of John Kennedy. The American matriarchy has won, someone observes. Some intellectuals are more attentive. There is fear of a strong nationalist push by the new president; the demand for a stronger America, and at the same time a more profligate one, causes confusion within its capitalism. Certainly, the most striking aspect of America in recent years of its history gives one pause: Bush’s retreat. As do the high values embodied in that promise, in the encyclical Centesimus Annus, with the promise that in the third millennium we will find a capitalism harsher than in the second. Perhaps what a dear Albanian writer friend told me is true: the wheels of the cart never catch up with one another, as one senses the ghosts of Stalin’s heirs in the Balkans, amid the weight of poverty and the identity crisis of that people. Certainly, we are not in ’56, when the Hungarians waited in vain for NATO to arrive there and free them from the tanks, and many paid for the illusion with their blood. Only this time, one must wait. (unclear passage) ... How much charity is helping the Albanians, and yet again ... The media must confront the strongest, so as not to be trampled underfoot, that charity which is the reward for the buying and selling of «Dead Souls», which Gogol foreshadowed with sorrow; dead souls, sold and bought, or worse, exchanged for charity. There is something worse, too: one must endure economic poverty, the weight of lies disguised as charity, of false humanitarianism, especially when charity and humanitarianism are entrusted to and directed by organizations that serve as intermediaries between politics and the economy, ready to seize every opportunity unscrupulously, however small, and leave not a crumb behind; ready to do more than necessary, without imposing, with the arrogance of the stronger and the richer, the weight of this people’s poverty. «But Italians are good people,» someone keeps repeating to me from time to time, someone whose time stopped in the early seventies. But nobody has told these good people what has happened here in Italy over the last twenty years, in the country so many of them want to resemble. Nobody has told them about social degradation, the abuse of the political system, corruption, so many occasions of poverty, a judiciary engaged in (Continued on page 3) Maastricht was supposed to represent a step beyond Helsinki in the context of the New World Order, a geographical rethinking of the new Europe, of that freer Europe which, unfortunately, is destined once again to call into question its democracy, historically idealized by Mazzini. The ghosts of Stalinist ideologies drift along the Curzon Line. Europe is silent. America has a new president, a Democratic president who triumphs over the Republicans, say the mass media— ... cake, perhaps expired. But this pampered Westerner, protesting—

Many things are being forgotten. The point here is not to remember what we ate last night; perhaps it is better not to remember that. Things that should not be forgotten are also being forgotten, which points either to a poor memory or to an unforgivable indifference. It is said that only politicians can destroy this country completely. With our column, the editorial staff does not aim to test their memory, but that of the electorate they represent. We would be very pleased if correct answers were sent in response to the question: “Which politicians have publicly declared that they would not engage in politics?” Another test of your memory will be the answer to the question: “Who was the first to say, ‘We will establish order in 24 hours’?” The correct answers will be announced in the next issue. THE EDITORIAL STAFF