The chairman of the Italian PR, La Malfa, will visit Albania before the end of this year A few days ago you took part in the congress of the Italian Republican Party. Among the broad circle of republican parties of other countries, you had invited the delegation from Italy: what were your impressions and experiences on this occasion? — It was the first time I had taken part in the congress of a foreign party. I can say it was a good experience. The perfect organization of the services, information, paperwork, everything one needed—these were things I had seen and heard about at other international conferences. What was new to me was what took place in the main hall. There was order, but no solemnity at all; the spirit of democracy could be felt. You could say you were part of a free assembly in which a fierce struggle would unfold, leaving even “victims” in its wake. And all of this was part of the general game of what was called “Congress 38,” where everyone had to address the other as “Mr. Republican.” Our position was special, since we were the only foreign delegation. That is why we were looked upon with curiosity, but in every case with goodwill. Everyone we met wondered why we had been invited, but no one asked the question openly. We had been invited because of the old ties between the Italian Republicans and the Albanians, and the close friendship that binds our two parties today. — In broad terms, what was the objective of this congress, and how was it achieved? The congress was held to move toward something new, which presupposes the grouping of political parties into two camps, or, rather, the creation of two parties, something resembling political life in England and the USA. La Malfa sought the congress’s approval for such a line. Another important topic was the electoral law. The results showed that over 90 percent of the delegates supported La Malfa’s line, and he was re-elected by acclamation, while the “old guard” group, which opposed the new opening, was excluded from the Party leadership, just as it had opposed the whole [Continued on page 2]

The Shkodra trial will resume one of these days. After the investigation was completed, the criminal case file was submitted to the court for examination and trial. Will the truth about the mechanism used in this event come out? The materials have been sent back by the court three times, and only now has the charge of murder been added. There has been talk of delays in the trial, while over the course of 18 months three heads of the investigative [?] department, three chief prosecutors, and the entire investigative team have been replaced. There have been forces and individuals interested in bringing this trial to an end as quickly as possible. On 4 December ’91, at the general meeting, it was said that “there are cowardly judges who will not try the case,” even though the investigation had not been thorough. The charge was abuse of office, and since the first trial there had been unresolved questions. They insisted that the trial be confined to the circle of people who had been arrested and go no further, which brings to mind looking for keys somewhere else rather than where they fell, solely so that they can turn the window back again. The Shkodra trial is first and foremost political. Political motives preceded the crime. As early as April 1991, at 9:15, the Public Order directorates throughout the district received a telegram announcing: “Ramiz Alia’s Party won two-thirds of the seats in the People’s Assembly. This is of great importance for the future. Everything else—the constitution and the president—is appointed by the Party of Labour... What is required of us is repression of the ranks—to show the enemies and [?] their place.” The telegram was signed by the engineer, Mr. Minister of Public Works... [Continued on page 2]

The day before yesterday, the delegation of the Albanian Republican Party, headed by Mr. Sabri Godo, returned to the homeland after taking part in the 38th Congress of the Italian Republican Party. At this Congress, held at a time when Italy is caught up in a fierce political debate, Mr. La Malfa put forward ideas for establishing a new political party and fundamentally changing the electoral law. The Albanian Republican Party was the only foreign party invited to the Congress, and Mr. Godo was also the only guest to address the Congress with a greeting speech. [Continued on page 2]

The severe natural disaster that affected many districts of the country yesterday had major consequences. Lezha, Kruja, Tropoja and Shkodra have been hit hardest by the rain, storm and floods. Social and economic facilities, as well as many homes, have been damaged. In Laç alone, 1,500 people were evacuated, and in Lezhë 1,500. As a result of this disaster, electricians Kristo Martinoviç and Lufi Shtalbi lost their lives while on duty. The President of the Republic, Mr. Berisha, visited the affected areas with a government group. Describing the situation as extremely serious, work teams were set up in the districts and areas; working with the civil defence forces and the army, they have shown readiness and are providing emergency assistance very effectively. According to specialists, water levels have now fallen below the danger level, but work is continuing to stabilize the situation for those left homeless and to carry out the necessary urgent repairs. Measures have been taken to provide bread, water and electricity to the 1,800 families affected by flooding in Lezhë. “Republika” correspondent

On 21 November 1992, President Berisha spent nearly two consecutive hours before journalists. Asked about the situation in the areas affected by the floods, Mr. Berisha said that the situation was catastrophic. Hundreds of hectares of land have been flooded and thousands of people evacuated, but thanks to the people’s determination and courage, and to the generous [?] assistance being provided by the government, the military and the public order authorities, the situation will be overcome. Everyone must feel this situation and help ease it. [Continued on page 2]

“ZP” seeks to stir up Serbian chauvinists Our people’s saying, “If you want to see something hanging, go and have a look at the mill,” is taking an all-too-comfortable place in the practice that certain political figures, blinded by childish and petty party chauvinism, have been following lately. With sheer banality, merely to look better in the ranks of those rightly addressing our international problems, a dangerous anti-Albanian opinion has been created. We do not want to believe that the “ZP,” in its evening edition of 20 November, in order to revive its creed of our condemnations (there is no room for differences of opinion; the national interest is shared), is interested in distorting even President Berisha’s official statements in Germany. While reviewing Mr. Luigi Lippolito’s interview, it goes so far as to use a sensational headline to provoke our national sentiment, which is not merely a product of today’s democratic state, but an experience, conviction and practice rooted in the Albanian spirit and mind since our National Renaissance and beyond. Dear colleagues, sophistic commentators, do not imagine that with such spectacular articles you will earn the credibility you have demanded as your due, a demand that is now entirely unfounded. Please be reasonable: think clearly, and challenge the bloodthirsty Serbia with arguments and the resolutions of the UN or the CSCE. If your very “abstract” option absorbs the revival of thousands of Albanians, victims of Serbo-Slav terror; if your strength can contain the tears of Kosovar mothers; if your ingenious definitions can soothe the agony of death in Croatia and Bosnia, then what are you waiting for? Present your vision, opposed to that of the democratic world. Western Europe and beyond cannot call Berisha an advocate of Serbia simply because of what the “ZP” serves up and says in this fashion; it is not right to generalize so banally. Luigi Lipolito is Luigi XIV, and even if he were, it would be legitimate to serve up such characterizations, which no statement by our democratic authorities has warranted. GUXIM ALIMANI

We are all witnesses to the dire economic situation the country is going through at this time. It is present at every moment, in the long bread queues and in every home. We must all be conscious of this, since during the transitional phase of moving from a centralized and rigid economy to a Western European-style free-market economy, the number will change. I do not want to forget the “complaint” of a citizen who, after visiting Albania, said: “During the period of repression, we ate nothing but bread and tea for two months.” The economic wound is, ultimately, present and felt in everyone’s life. And, as an inevitable consequence, comes what is not seen: the social wound. This is precisely the sphere in which the economy reflects its positive or negative effects. Can the most extreme phenomena now being observed in our country be justified by economic poverty? Prostitution—or rather, the sex trade—has become a lucrative means of profit for traffickers and those who exploit women. Illegal migration across the Albanian-Greek border is increasingly involving, among the thousands of refugees, many women as well. And let nobody think these women are going there to find work. A good number of them end up victims of a filthy agreement between the Albanian “side” and the Greek “side.” And such “merchandise” costs no more than two or three hundred thousand drachmas. In this way, the “imported goods” end up in Greece’s public brothels, bringing greater profit to the Greek “side.” According to a survey carried out in Athens brothels, the woman with the highest level of activity is a 15-year-old girl from Albania. Albanian women are found in Greece’s public brothels, the result of this filthy trade. The same category includes the trade being carried on with girls in Albania as well. And to think that all this is carried out in the most legal manner. Another fact: the sale of women, a phenomenon that is increasingly becoming a means of survival. For financial reasons, a mother is sometimes forced to marry off a daughter and sell her child. Such a phenomenon has spread throughout Eastern Europe, at least since the communist regime. It is deeply shocking that, compared with the countries of the former USSR, the number of children sold in Albania is ten times higher, even without taking into account the ratio and the difference in population size. What will happen in the future, when economic indicators are predicting further declines and the transition is taking on the character of stagnation? MENTOR KIKIA

The airplane is a cruel means of travel, with no intermediaries. There is barely time to eat lunch before one passes immediately from the rush of the bustling streets of Via Condotti to a shop where even the spirit moves faster, swept along in the succession of events, and yet without the concerts and the world you believed did not exist, where the simple becomes complicated and every word takes on an unusual meaning. Albania is passing through one of the most momentous and dramatic phases of its history. It is a difficult undertaking, full of enthusiasm, yet hard; a struggle against time and against an old way of dealing with difficult issues. Albania, made difficult and changeable, is awakening, giving birth to something new. What makes you think [?] of one of the seven new things and extinguishes the hope of separating reality from what is good. This is not the last, it is the most overwhelming tragedy that can happen. The rebirth of another, and an interruption, while it is offended by its own experience of the right to property. But life would be terribly boring without these little mishaps and obstacles to get past. Post-communism is complicated, composite, still without a shape, but it will never be boring. Sad and full of prospects. In the end, democracy in Albania does not turn into… Democracy and freedom, once won, do not turn into work, bread and well-being for everyone, becoming empty boxes, beautiful and gleaming on the outside, so illusory within. But they are the fundamental conditions that make it possible to take further steps. And I personally cannot doubt the outcome of this process for a single moment. I have come to know Albanians in Italy: they work by day and study by night, while also earning some money for their parents left on this side of the Adriatic. Poverty has made them mature quickly, ready to take advantage of the new opportunities presented to them. It has made them more determined to seize them. What a contrast with so many young Italians, wealthy and obsessed with cars, restless and in search of the latest amusements.

[The article continues from the preceding article:] It can intertwine every day. Today it can be tried on the other side of the Adriatic. Poverty has made young people mature quickly; the poor, who find themselves [unclear], also have to pray, so to speak, in order to live. It is complicated and involved, but precisely authentic in its simplicity. The strength of this reality is the support and encouragement of the new beginning, not one confined by the past. I am only a foreign observer. I have neither the authority nor the credentials to give advice, whatever the subject. But I can wholeheartedly hope that Albania will build, as quickly as possible, an adequate, clear and solid legal framework, so as to attract productive investment, infrastructure development and full modernization. Without conditions of great legal clarity, attracting capital is extremely difficult. Clarity does not mean the state giving up or withdrawing from its functions of control and direction; on the contrary, it means defining these functions precisely. A good law is worth more than a layer of gold-bearing ore. Famous Switzerland has no layers of gold-bearing ore, nor millions of miners, but it values the exclusivity of its laws, as well as their stability and security. Switzerland manages to combine a large influx of foreign investment with great national indifference. That is no small thing. And today there is the “market,” that extraordinary Western destiny. The state, for example, even with just an important infrastructure offer, would turn the green light on for so many [unclear] in this area; indeed, one might say that private initiatives would appear in a cascade. The engines will start of their own accord, and Albania can set off. Again! GIANСARLO DELLA GIOVANNA journalist at “AVVENIRE”