From the speech by Mr. SABRI GODO at the meeting with the citizens of Gramsh on August 26 Gramsh has always been seen as a special district. It has also been said that Gramsh is communist. I do not believe that. There can hardly be a region in Albania that would seek a return to the past. If you live for 50 years in a dark, cave-like life, you cannot help wanting freedom. Communism can be accused of at least two things: it took away every private possession from people, turning them into hired hands in cooperatives and factories, and it put denunciation—even of a brother by his brother—at the forefront. Over a people subjected to this regime of depersonalization and terror, the caste of bureaucrats, the Party and the State Security Service kept watch. It is impossible for a person, or an entire region, to seek a return to such a regime. Nevertheless, the socialists who carry the legacy of the PPSH have power in Gramsh, at the head of local government, in the villages, communes and district. Why? The point is that democracy has not been allowed to show itself here; that will be better achieved from now on, and the misunderstanding will finally be dispelled. The Republican Party headquarters has also regarded it as an entirely special and difficult district. But there is good ground here for republicanism. Even without our having worked in some villages, in the last elections up to 20% voted spontaneously for our candidates. I say with conviction that we will strengthen our ties with Gramsh. Today I want to present our assessments of some current issues we are living through, amid a heated political situation, a difficult economic condition and the national threat surrounding us. The political situation began to deteriorate because of the socialists and their allies, who engaged in destructive opposition in Parliament and outside it. Saying “no” whenever the Government says “yes,” in every case and at every step, can no longer be called democratic opposition. The socialists abandoned Parliament and then came out in defense of Nano, like a copy following a ram. Here, too, a petition is being signed for Nano’s release. But which of you signing this petition is convinced in your conscience that Nano is innocent? The matter must be investigated by the court, the only institution in a democratic state that can find a citizen guilty and sentence him, whoever he may be. If a fair trial is not held, then you have the moral right to protest. The social-communists go further, with fierce calls and a program of destruction that would lead to complete administrative anarchy, thinking that the time has come to settle accounts. Yesterday, too, a Greek MP publicly defended Nano. Why do they care so much about Nano? The statement concerning PASOK and other facts, taken together, lead to the conclusion that something improper has been going on between our socialists and certain circles hostile to the nation. Naturally, the DP will respond forcefully to the social-communists’ overt destabilizing activity. I believe they now see that they went too far. In any case, tensions remain high. Parliament, the political parties and our press are not helping to solve domestic problems or to increase Albania’s credibility in the eyes of the world. (Continued on page 2)

The PS’s ridiculous mannequins receive orders from prison: “Return to Parliament!” Just like in a mannequin show, the burrr...ly leaders of the Socialist Party are to return to the stage of Parliament, which they abandoned for a time a month ago. It is a new act in their grotesque performance. The burrr...ly mannequins, the leaders of the “Party,” “reasoned” that “they must return to Parliament.” At least they have made this “reasoning.” The burrr...ly leaders discussed it. The director (the first one, says the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit”) stood up and said: “Let’s return!” “So that’s what we’ve done, you fellows—we should return!” said Dokle. “We’re late,” said another man, Ndre Legisi. “How can we stay away from Parliament?” said Molotov Zëqja. That would mean leaving Parliament to the fascists and ballists. “It’s not that we made a mistake,” said Gramoz Ruçi. “Now we also have the petition. Let’s show the petition to Parliament.” “Now the whole world has found out that we left Parliament,” said Bashkim Zeneli. “That’s enough. Let’s return!” “The world has appreciated that we left,” said Bashkim, the man with connections to the big wide world. “I judged,” said the man of the courts, Fenmi, “that we had achieved what we wanted.” After that declaration by the man of trials, Fenmi, Dokle came back to life. Other burrr...ly Party leaders discussed it, too. All the burrr...ly Party leaders were of one mind. They would return to Parliament! Just as they had been of one mind before, they were all returning now. “We have,” said the man of Parliament, “decided: let’s leave Parliament.” All of them in agreement. Not one of them, not even earlier, said: “No, we must not leave.” They were just as manly in a grotesque performance. Not one man stood up to tell Dokle and Kastriot Ismaili: “We are wrong. We are not leaving Parliament. The Democratic Party did not bring us to Parliament; the people’s vote did.” Nor did the wise man Servet Pëllumbi stand up a month ago to reason that they should not leave Parliament. And the other man, Ruçi, certainly did not. All together, as if ordered, like mannequins. And so, even after a month, all the burrr...ly Party leaders are saying, “we must return.” Not one had the courage to say, “No, we will not return.” Because the burrr...ly Party leaders cannot all think alike, or even have anything in their heads. Even the man of science, who delights us with his opening of skulls, is a leader and surely must have a mind in his skull. And that mind, too, said, “Let’s return.” The newspaper “Zëri i Popullit,” reporting on the meeting of the burrr...ly leaders, tells us that there was also one of them who objected. “ZP” plays a little trick, because at the meeting of the burrr...ly leaders one man stood up and said: “We will not return! I will not return until Comrade Fatos says so. Go and ask Comrade Fatos. After he speaks, we will not return.” “Fool,” Dokle shouted. “Don’t you understand that Comrade Fatos’s order has been given? Here, I even have it in writing.” The man who had endured it from the back of the hall said: “Well done, well done, we make mistakes too.” And why shouldn’t it be funny? It really is funny. But it should also make us stop and think. The honest people in the Socialist Party—and there certainly are many—should stop and think about the burrr...ly leaders of their Party, who govern like mannequins, speak, laugh, ... laugh. It really is funny. But it should also make them put a finger to their heads. many—should think a little about the burrr...ly leaders of their Party, who astonish everyone by acting like mannequins, speaking, laughing, and threatening like mannequins.

For some time now, the left-wing press in Albania has been raising themes and slogans such as “fascism,” “neo-fascism,” and so on. This propaganda, crafted in the headquarters of the communist services, is carefully designed to stir communist nostalgia and bring back the Enverist dictatorship. Some time ago, even a distinguished figure in Albanian culture, unaware of what is happening in Albania and influenced by this propaganda, said that the Albanian people would be wise enough not to replace one dictatorship with another. This is not a question of the “wisdom of the people,” but of the situation and the political circumstances. The French cannot be called fools because, in 18[?], in Paris, they installed the first Commune members and were subjected to their tribunals. Today, when the restoration of communism is a real danger, many national intellectuals are sounding the alarm about the appearance of a nonexistent specter—the specter of fascism—while the red specter that has wreaked havoc in Albania is plainly visible. But does the fascist danger really exist in Albania? This danger exists, but under Albania’s particular conditions, a communist dictatorship is not a real, concrete danger, but a possible one; the danger exists as a possibility and it is communism itself that is trying to make it real. There is nothing absurd about this. Fascism has always justified its existence by invoking the threat of communism. In Italy, during the years of communism, they called a general strike through which tenex? Muksuni asked King Viktor that if elections were held he should not seek this danger, but would merely give birth to it; the things that would be denied, this would be done for the fascists, who were a group called “Fasci di combattimento” (kuna...unitz). Muçolini called on the fascists to march on Rome; King Viktor Emanuell became frightened and appointed him prime minister. When the fascists marched on Rome, their revolution had already won before it had even begun. King Viktor was short in stature, so short that his weight and height would not have been enough to take on the leaders, let alone to make him a king. But he was impressed by the monarch’s long-mindedness despite his short stature, grew frightened, and thought he could escape communist unrest by unleashing the fascists. In Germany, too, Hitler did not seize power by force, and even less did he do so by election, as left-wing propaganda claims. In the last elections of 1932—early elections provoked by Hitler himself—the National Socialist Party lost around two million votes, while Ernst Telman’s Communist Party saw a significant increase in its electorate. The whole of Germany, seeing that German democracy was too fragile to withstand unemployment, poverty and the communist threat, made him chancellor through intrigue and backroom dealings, thinking it could keep the danger under control. Historical experience shows that fascism exists and seeks to justify itself not only by exploiting nationalism and the demand for living space, but also by promising the world salvation from communism. The paradox is that the communists did the same thing. Like the fascists, by exploiting the crises of European democracy, they promise the peoples an end to the exploitation of man by man and salvation from the dictatorship of capital and the oligarchy, claiming that they are saving them from fascism. The paradox is that the communists do the same thing. Like the fascists, by taking advantage of from the extreme dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, as they call fascism. Both groups have brought the world nothing but misfortune and violence. Claiming to establish a new order, they brought about totalitarian regimes. A totalitarian state is one that claims to solve everything and, within its own borders, establishes total power. The state is everything, the individual and their rights are nothing: this is the essence of communist and fascist regimes. These states created an unprecedented system of persecution, in which terror was total. Unlike earlier dictatorships and tyrannies, in which only opponents of the regime were persecuted, in totalitarian states terror is no longer intended to overcome opponents, (Continued on page 4)

The IMF’s dirty game in Albania Why has the Financial Police not announced the conclusion of its inspection at the “Demokracia” printing house? “If we remove Petro, we have to put his brother-in-law in his place,” declares the IMF representative Albanians are poor, but they are not Somalis, gentlemen of the IMF The curtain is slowly rising on a badly constructed comedy staged by the American Foundation IMF. At the beginning of this comedy, there was a great fuss about donating a printing press to the seven Albanian newspapers that contributed to the overthrow of communism. Then came the festive ceremony. Just like at Hajdin Sejdiu’s parties. Alongside this event, “American” Petro Dhimitri appears on stage. A man who had spent his whole life holding the jackets of communist bosses in the Albanian press, people he would cry over if they did not let him write compositions for the May 1 parade; a man about whom countless Albanian jokes are told, serving as the legal cover for a foundation doing illegal business in Albania. No documents for bringing the printing press into Albania, no contract, nothing serious, and Petro, a fugitive on the run: he registers the printing press in his own name, with the court and the municipality, drafts bylaws to suit the tastes of his bosses and the center, and finally forges Bashkim Trenova’s signature. Then he appears as an even bigger shot in the black-market dollar trade, invites IMF mediators to lunches and dinners, and constantly repeats “OK.” Throughout all this activity, he keeps his brother-in-law, Maksim Lika, as the accountant for the embezzlement. Nevertheless, Mr. Petro is innocent, because in cases like this the servant fools are always found. Behind the fool Petro, behind the curtain, stand the real actors in this comedy. They are some specimens from the American Foundation IMF. But let us be specific. At every meeting with representatives of the seven newspapers, different faces from this Foundation appeared. The American side never responded to a serious request for a proper, fair contract for both parties. Their great concern was only to have Mister Petro as their man. Faced with irrefutable evidence of forgery and corruption, the gentlemen

Judges are being prepared who will summon war criminals to the dock. Judges will also be prepared by the powerful countries of modern Europe. Through this act, Europe—and not Europe alone—will wash away its shame. It is precisely the farce of justice and the hypocrisy of Europe’s humanitarianism, and of Europe itself, that it agrees to put ordinary murderers and criminals on trial while leaving—and, what is more, honoring—the patrons of the real criminals. The war, all the crimes in the region, have their own criminals. Instead of bringing these very people to justice, they are crowned with laurels and honored for peace. A delegation of Serbian intellectuals met some time ago with the Minister of Education and later with the French Foreign Minister to complain about the genocide being inflicted on the Serbian people. They were undoubtedly the lawyers of the criminal Milosheviç who went to France. Athina pest as in warriors of peace Karaxhiçin. It is not official Athens. Believe it if you can! Milotaqis sits at the table with Karaxhiç and Milosheviç in the role of the patron of the Balkans. Others lay laurel wreaths for Karaxhiç, while the Greek prime minister knows nothing. One prize for Karaxhiç’s letters and another prize for Karaxhiç’s peace letters. The festive streets of Athens welcome a criminal like Karaxhiç and honor him with the status of a country of the modern European Community. It would be no surprise if tomorrow Karaxhiç were found to be a Nobel Peace laureate!

Exclusive for “Republika” TERRY J. COOPER A photograph was placed on my desk showing a scream: “Albania.” It is a painting of a snout stretching out to grab an enormous pearl from a giant mussel. Two thoughts, each following the other, came to mind. What does this have to do with old Albania? The whole world reminded me that Albania was an isolated piece, damaged by dictatorship, caught begging for work; those reaching out to take the pearl of Albania into their hands are at the greatest risk. Albania belongs to the Albanians and is extremely sensitive. Many of those who see it as attractive to foreign investors cite the tax benefits, an intelligent workforce, reasonable prices, suitable locations and a place within the country. They have been promised… The state’s outstretched hand thinks otherwise. Foreigners who write… are asked to come in, may… … in Albania are certainly unsettled. They, it is understood, have considered quite a risk, but put a mountain of cargo at stake each time. Whenever they want, they can gather their things and leave. These are the foreigners who wish to revive their freedom and help Albania grow, export, become civilized and industrialized, and open up jobs; they are the ones hands, and they are at the greatest risk. The customs officials let this equipment in, then suddenly and inexplicably send us a tax bill of around 30 percent, for equipment that had previously been approved for entry duty-free. If a company invests one million dollars, the tax will be 300,000 dollars before the investor has made any money for themselves. If the idea is to make a foreigner pay to do business in Albania, this should be made clear right from the start. Albania will have very few foreign investors, but those who do come will be clearly informed about the risk they are taking. Foreign investors may have been reassured and come to Albania with confidence based on the past, and with complete faith in the Albanian word, “besa,” which was an honor to them. It is said that in mountainous areas or small villages, giving one’s besa is a declaration attesting to the honor or innocence of the person giving it. In cities, for many offices that give their word, the besa that comes out of their mouths has acquired great value; honor is neither possible nor a person’s virtue. The truth they have in mind is how to make a profit. Yet, after letting this equipment in, they suddenly and inexplicably send us a bill for customs duties that have been paid to a business institution all along to receive payments for a… Should I let this go? I will never pay. If this is how business problems are handled, I should know… Returning to the question of what attracts foreign investment: tax benefits, an intelligent workforce, reasonable prices, suitable locations within the country. So: where is the obstacle? The country must get rid of ministers and bureaucrats who, besides developing things foolishly, are reluctant to receive assistance from abroad and even less willing to make decisions about investment. It is very attractive for a company to be able to bring into Albania the equipment necessary for business without these customs duties, but as long as this equipment has not been… Whenever this fine equipment has no… The state’s corrupt officials are making Albania’s pearl lose its luster in the eyes of foreigners. The message being sent to the international business community—that Albanian ministers and bureaucrats cannot keep their word—is driving foreign investors away, even though there are in fact many highly profitable business opportunities in Albania compared with the Balkan community or the newly established democracies in the former Soviet Union. Albania’s pearl, just like Zog’s or Hoxha’s treasure of gold, is in great danger of being squandered by its greedy tax collectors and the parasites in its offices. The basic principle of business is to sell when everyone is ready and wants to buy. But are Albanian ministers and bureaucrats selling effectively? When foreign aid stops coming, they will certainly stop one day too, and when 70 or 80 percent of the markets can no longer be made available to Albania’s workers, Albania will return to the sea of the world’s third millennium. Another mission of poverty, with only 3 million consumers, betrayed by their own officials.

President Berisha faces journalists Foreign investments have been and remain at the center of the government’s attention, said President of the Republic Sali Berisha at the press conference held on Friday at the Press Center of the Palace of Congresses. But, he said, three major factors have slowed the arrival of these investments. First is the conflict in the region, which cannot in any way be ignored; serious investors, the major firms, do not find investing in the region particularly suitable, where the shadow of war poses a serious threat to foreign investments. Second, he continued, the legacy of centralized governance has also had an impact. In this regard, the President said, we are trying to decentralize as much as possible and increase the powers of the districts and institutions. Third, he declared, Albania has lacked, and still has room to complete, appropriate legislation on foreign investment. (Continued on page 4)

The madwoman N of the capital was seen Friday morning in front of Tirana prison, shouting: “There will be changes in the national team. They have removed me from the team. I am a prisoner of conscience. The only [p?]risoner of conscience in the whole world. The court refuses to grant me political-prisoner status. I will go and lock myself up in Spaç prison. Down with the government that has turned the prisons into museums! I have a secret message for comrade Namik Dokle.” Ramiz Alia is connected with Levante e Co. because his son knew Italian. If Ramiz’s son had known Serbian, Ramiz Alia himself would not have been connected with Levante e Co. Osman Murati will deliver a message on Sunday. All former prisoners of conscience are invited. Not them. The most sensational news is that Ylli Bufi has set up a Government in exile and has stockpiled bread for the people for only six days. Which minister gets up when cabinets fall? There will be a new rule in Parliament. Madmen and puppets will no longer be admitted. Fatos Nano’s defense lawyer will be Greek MEP Alvanos. The Bulgarian Socialist Party will finance the Democratic Alliance Party, while the English Communist Party will finance the Socialist Party of Albania. A band of Ballists was seen in front of the Socialist Party courtyard, putting on an artistic program. The newspaper “Koha Jonë” pays for “Cooper’s” advertisements to the Greek Cooper company, which is going bankrupt. Buy “Cooper” cigarettes; Gramoz Ruçi will receive the “Stalin” prize. A contingent of the SP will be sent to Bosnia-Herzegovina to smash the Jews’ katkats. The politically persecuted are collecting signatures on a petition to apologize to the judges and prosecutors. Aranit Çela will be decorated with the Order of Peace and proclaimed a Knight of Peace. On Monday, deputies of the Socialist Party and others will appear before Parliament to account for themselves. The deputies’ evidence has increased by 50 percent. THE CHRONICLER

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READ ON PAGE 2 Open letter To Mrs. Katherine Lalumiere Secretary General of the Council of Europe Strasbourg FRANCE