The criminal violation of lawful property began with the Communists, as early as Law No. 25, under which many honest and patriotic people who had not supported the Communists or were anti-Communist, but had not committed war crimes (in the sense recognized by international law), were placed on blacklists of war criminals and, as a consequence, their movable and immovable property was confiscated by commission decisions and without legal judicial proceedings. This law was followed by Law No. 37 on extraordinary taxes on war profits, which provided for the confiscation of property in cases of failure to pay the tax or of carrying out other actions to evade it. We mention this law not because of its content, since, after all, speculation—and all the more so speculation during wartime—is subject to specific fiscal conditions in every democratic state. The issue is how it was applied, both in terms of the people subjected to it and the unprecedented procedures (often accompanied by physical violence). And this was done for one sole purpose: to dispossess lawful owners and create the foundations for collective property, the source of all the misfortunes this people endured for more than forty-five years. From 1945 to 1950, the Communist state carried out the mass nationalization of a number of oil, soap, leather, knitwear, and cigarette factories, tanneries, cement factories and various workshops, facilities, hotels, cinemas, grain mills, plots of land and other buildings. The “program” against lawful property and its owners continued on an unprecedented scale with the implementation of the infamous Decree-Law No. 801, dated 22.3.1950. Homes, shops, warehouses and storage facilities, etc., were nationalized without compensation. (Continued on page 2)

Sources who do not wish to be identified report that the Greek Embassy will host a series of lunches for Albanian MPs in the coming days. The reason for this fraternal atmosphere has nothing to do with strengthening relations between the Albanian and Greek states, but with something more important. Following the undiplomatic statement by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy here is not sitting idle either. It is inviting Albanian parliamentarians in a thoroughly undemocratic manner so that they will be prepared to discuss the law “On Religions in the Republic of Albania.” The lunches with Albanian MPs may influence this important law so that the head of the Autocephalous Church of Albania will be of Greek origin—in the end, so that his name will be Janullatos Anastas. It is said that invitations to lunches and cocktail receptions have been sent to the parliamentary groups of the DP, SP and PSD, not forgetting the pure-blooded minorities Miç and Makariadhi. So far, it is not known which MPs will go and which will dodge the invitation. (We will inform you in one of our forthcoming issues.) It is also not known who will vote in favor of Janullatos remaining in Albania, while some Greek diplomats are meanwhile left begging, with no innkeeper to turn to. To enthrone Janullatos, plans have been made to hold protests at the Council of Europe, and to continue the drafting of petitions by Orthodox believers, etc. The Greek newspaper “Mezimvrini,” dated January 27, 1993, which had the honor of reporting on activities during the visit of the Albanian parliamentary delegation to Greece, also published an article stating, among other things: “Mr. Arbnori gave assurances that an Albanian archbishop cannot be appointed to the Orthodox Church of Albania.” Mr. Arbnori does not hold such an opinion and did not express it at any meeting held in Greece. We consider this fabrication, which seriously violates journalistic ethics, a provocation intended to spoil the friendly atmosphere and good-neighborly relations between Albania and Greece. Press and Information Office of the People’s Assembly Tirana, 28.1.1993

The “BLOW” of economic reform Following persistent demands, repeated several times, the government has finally prepared and will submit to the People’s Assembly several changes or amendments to the existing tax laws. The changes were justified as “important measures that the government plans to take in 1993 to ensure the continuation of economic reform and consolidate the positive results achieved.” It is not difficult to understand that, among other things, this new government fiscal policy aims to make a “leap” in the fight against inflation and thereby further reduce the budget deficit, while ensuring that a significant increase in public investment is planned for 1993, around twice as much as in 1992. Among other things, this means increased domestic production, which is finally being encouraged by exempting domestic businesses from profit tax for three years; they now also have the option of importing materials used in productive investment without being taxed by customs. The creation of a class or stratum of new capitalists is now evident in our country as well, but productive capital is still lacking. It is not known whether the new Albanian capitalists will feel secure enough to invest their capital in production following these recently proposed fiscal changes, but it is a fact that the fear of a boomerang effect from leaving invested capital idle—along with the constant fear of losing profits—remains strong. In any case, small businesses and trade, although recently freed from the fiscal burden (exemption from tax at every stage), will not remain for long the means by which our traders become wealthy. The turnover tax, with the new changes proposed by the government, has now been extended not only to production and trade, but also to the category of services, in

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs—the spokesperson for Sebastianos The scant information reaching us through the press shows that the Omonia–Janullatus boil is ripening and the infection is coming to the surface. The matter concerns a note from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding that services and rites of the Orthodox Church in Albania be conducted in Greek. This official pressure is accompanied by other, unofficial pressure in the press, in conversations, and so on. Only two days ago, an intellectual from Elbasan, committed to the Orthodox cause, told me that Christ must have been Greek and spoken the Greek language. Such views are widespread and are either the product of ignorance about religious matters or of the great deal of work the Greek Embassy has done with visas. This is not the first time that dark minds in Greece have sought to call Albanian Orthodox people Greek, just as they once did with Orthodox Romanians. But this is the first time that Albania—or, rather, the Albanian intelligentsia, which some call “the brain of the nation”—finds itself “taken by surprise,” or insufficiently prepared to respond… (Continued on page 2)

the claim of censorship The press, journalists and, in general, all media workers are undoubtedly the most sensitive barometer of the times we live in. As such, they will be the first to feel on their own skin what is called censorship. If you claim to tell people the truth, you must be free to say it (the absence of censorship presupposes the telling of the truth); you must know how to tell that truth, and when to tell it (these two things can also be achieved under conditions of censorship). It is an indisputable fact that in countries where communism ruled, immediately after the first elements of democracy were established, the first thing to emerge was freedom of speech and, consequently, freedom of the press. The same happened in Albania. The first person to shout “Down with the dictatorship!” must, no doubt, have had an empty stomach, but the real reason for his cry was something else—the return of speech, following the inevitable swelling of the tongue over half a century. So the context is clear: freedom of speech is the essence of human freedom. Thus, the person who first shouted “Down with the dictatorship!” was freed in this way from the capitalization of communist censorship, In Albania, during the fall of communism, when many people were living in hardship as a result of oppression, a remarkable flowering of the press took place. Something happened that had not happened in any of the former communist countries of the East: Albanians, as a people politicized to the core (and of course this was bound to happen), became avid newspaper readers. Everywhere, in our large and small towns, at street corners and along boulevards, rows of newspaper stands wait to sell their papers. You would think Albania ranks first in the world for the number of newspaper titles published in relation to its area and population. Among other things, this speaks to the release of potential at every level, from the most banal to the most accomplished—which, unfortunately, is rare. Before they even sound like newspapers, all the papers call themselves newspapers. All the people at all the papers published, which consider themselves newspapers, call their editorial offices newsrooms and themselves journalists. It has happened that the untalented newspaper people, the newspaper sellers, have introduced themselves, as they have…

At dawn, the capital’s madwoman N. appeared between the Palace of Culture and the «Tirana» hotel, holding a bundle of books and shouting: «Albania has been saved!... Long live the critics and writers!... Long live independent writing!... They saved Albania with their books! They write books! Clinton plays the saxophone. George Bush is insignificant! Boris... illiterate! Gather round, people!... Listen to the UN decision! Albania is declared the world’s chief of staff! It has insignificant intellectuals!» As she climbed the palace steps in a stately manner, she addressed the crowd of onlookers, journalists, and passers-by who happened to be there: «Listen!... There is no country with more critics, writers, and books than Albania. Enver and I... I and Enver... we have written more. He left... I’m the one left. I’ll distribute posts... Exodus. Export. Import. Cadres!... America is in crisis... Clinton hasn’t written a single book. Neither has Ghali. Who mentions Zego’s mother up on the ash tree?! I have nothing to do with Molotov Zego... He speaks from the top of parliament. Hang in there, comrade Moikom!... Don’t lose heart! Yeltsin hasn’t written a book. You have. You will be First Secretary of the Russian Communist Party... Don’t make noise! There’s enough for everyone. The CIA has asked me for Neshat! I wanted to give them Ruçi, but he hasn’t written any books. America always takes the lion’s share, then Russia, but we can’t leave China with nothing either... Kuphtet... the little gold of the Socialist Party, that’s what we’ll send. Dokle... Milo... Milo... Any proposals? None. Approved: Prime Minister of the TPE! The rest of you, publish articles. Gather... Make brochures. There’ll be work until next autumn. America will hold new elections... Serbia, ravaged by war, will need cadres... Greece also values the tour... there’ll be seminars again... Makariadhi, have you published the book? The Greek Embassy and the Albanian parliament. Long live books!... Hooray, hooray...» THE CHRONICLER

(Continued on page 2) - MR. GODO’S MEETING AT THE LUSHNJE BRANCH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY - On January 28, the council of the Lushnje branch of the Republican Party met. The date also coincided with the second anniversary of the branch’s founding. Mr. Dalip Greca, branch chairman and member of the Party’s Steering Committee, delivered a report on the branch’s reach and activities. Most of the council members discussed the report, emphasizing the need for more intensive work and better organization. The Party Chairman, Mr. Sabri Godo, was also present. In his remarks, Mr. Godo said: “You are the first branch of the Republican Party. Your responsibilities have always been commendable. You have also managed to maintain your newspaper, ‘Ora e fjalës,’ successfully, as a publication that has strongly supported democracy and contributed to resolving the district’s problems properly. The branch’s membership of 1,300 is good, but you have still not managed to organize adequately in this municipality. The branch’s reach need not be uniform throughout the district, but neither can we accept the idea of leaving a municipality aside because another party has greater influence there. Today, there are many difficulties in getting around and carrying out the party’s work normally. We must make up for this through the highest level of organization possible. You expect to collect ten thousand signatures for the petition to return property. In some places you encounter obstacles, because some people call the petition destabilization, while others call it a demand for the return of the ifgarëve. The petition is a concrete expression of our program of January 10, 1991, and our branch was established with the announcement of that program. Since then, we have explicitly said that the Republican Party is based on the free initiative of the individual and on private property. So today, with the petition and with all our economic policy, we are doing nothing other than upholding this basic principle. I do not believe that serious people can call the petition ‘destabilization.’ Everyone knows that democracy is realized through citizens’ fundamental right to hold assemblies, to express…”

- To all lawful Albanian property owners expropriated by the communist dictatorship, members and sympathizers of the «Property with Justice» Association. - To all honest Albanians, regardless of their political beliefs, who aspire to a state governed by the rule of law and lasting social peace. - To all political forces whose programmes include resolving the property issue in accordance with the democratic laws of Western civilization, and not according to the neocommunist demagoguery of «the whole people as owners»(?). The National Association of the Expropriated, «Property with Justice», considers the Petition for the Right to Property, launched by the Albanian Republican Party, a valuable contribution to achieving the Association’s objectives, and supports this Petition without reservation. The results of this Petition will once again make clear (Continued on page 3)