Arben POPOCI When the Macedonians began their movement to secede from Yugoslavia, the newly formed nationalist parties displayed their “militancy” with anti-Albanian slogans. The most popular slogan was “Hrani kuqe da te jede” (Feed the dog so it will eat you). This slogan best reflects what is happening to the Albanians in Macedonia. The dog we officially accepted is now going to eat us. Nothing new in the Balkans. Man is a wolf to man, while a Balkan man to another Balkan man is... a dog. Recent events show that Macedonia intends to be a Serbian offspring in its treatment of the Albanians. Is a Balkan war, or perhaps an even wider one, threatening us from Macedonia? However, Macedonia is not Serbia, and it would be unbelievable for it to think it has the power to do what Serbia is doing. It is not believable that the Macedonians, after settling accounts with the Albanians, will create a “Greater Macedonia within its ethnic and historical borders.” Then why, one wonders, is Macedonia acting this way? Does it count on our Europeanism and our deep concern for the region and all of Europe? Has it perhaps heard us warning Europe that “a war in Kosovo means a Balkan War and beyond”? Or does it count on the fact that we support Europe’s position (only declaratively) against changing borders? Perhaps it thinks that the Albanians’ great eagerness to accept Macedonia is a kind of weakness they have toward this state, and that whatever is done to them, they will not react, because that would put Macedonia’s existence at risk. Albania will not help them either, since Europe is against changing borders and the Albanians will not allow such a thing, even if they are exterminated to the last one. The Macedonians are wasting their time trying to destroy Macedonia by provoking the Albanians. Macedonia is a member of the United Nations, recognized by the USA, the EC, and by us Albanians. And as long as even the last Albanian remains, there will be a Macedonia. When not one is left, then let Serbia and Greece take it. We will not allow European and US policy to be violated by the Balkan peoples. We would have preserved Yugoslavia too, if everyone had not turned against it: Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Muslims…

Welcoming address by Mr. GODO at the First Congress of FGRSH “The times themselves, with their problems, made it necessary to hold this congress,” said Nevina Hoxha, a member of the Durrës Republican Women’s Forum, in her opening remarks at the Congress of the Albanian Republican Women’s Forum, held on November 12–13 in the welcoming facilities of the Durrës Holiday House. There were 240 delegates from all the districts of Albania and 100 women invited from other women’s forums in Albania. Also in attendance were the Chairman of the Republican Party, Sabri Godo, the Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party, Fatmir Mediu, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Fatos Bitincka, as well as many chairmen of Republican Party branches, the Republican Youth Forum, and journalists. Tamara Luarasi, a member of the Republican Party Steering Committee, spoke first: “In the circumstances of the overthrow of this dictatorship, and of all the old morality that accompanied it, what should we do for our society, to rebuild it, to raise people’s awareness of their own personality? This would require everyone’s participation in social life. People cannot live in isolation, but they have different ideas, views and interests. This situation entails the identification of serious shortcomings, arising primarily from the tendency of the party in power to govern the country through its members, with harmful consequences for today and for the future. The Republican Party will be constructive in fighting such phenomena. Today we feel stronger, because our program will also have your support. You will be a free forum that will not be politicized. We will take care to give you all the assistance we can. On this basis, we can move forward together to develop the new society we want to create. We are convinced that this society will progress to the same extent as Albanian women progress, who, as Mrs. Tamara Luarasi wrote in the newspaper, know how to discern even the finest distinctions in political activities. Today it seems as though women are shut away in a cold silence. The hardships of life make them appear that way. In reality, she This congress is a special event for the entire Republican Party. I greet you and wish you success in your work. Great things lie ahead of you. Your forum gives us the opportunity to keep pace with discussions with half of our population, and therefore we regard the Forum as a very important undertaking. I do not want to speak today with that inner joy, because I do not know what to say, even if I wanted to. It would be an unforgivable conceit to believe that I know women’s problems, much less to presume to give you guidance. After all, you do not need political advisers. And if we were to take on that role, you would look upon us with disapproval. We, however, want to cooperate and have your support. As a political party, we are very concerned about the state of the country. In Albania, democracy won with your determined participation. But establishing democracy and emerging from the crisis still require a great deal of work. We are ready and we are … a measure that would also be advanced by an Albanian woman who, as an opponent, wrote in the newspaper that Mrs. Tamara Luarasi knows how to discern even the finer are shut away in a cold silence. The circumstances is ready to demonstrate her Albanian identity and free spirit, to express her will and her own decisions about what the family and society should be like, and to do so within democracy, with women’s character emerging clearly and fully. Nothing can stop this process. The better a political party understands this, the more secure its future will be. We hope that women will join the Republican Party in greater numbers, which will do the party a great deal of good. The development of your Forum is just as important. I believe that soon you will establish a Forum in every district of Albania. We will support you wholeheartedly in your activities in the districts and nationwide, as well as in your connections with the various women’s movements in… (continued on page 4)

The Parliament did not consider at all the new draft law on the exchange of properties submitted by the Association of the Expropriated “Property with Justice,” although it formally placed it on the agenda. In other words, from now on let those who sign a petition or a draft law tire themselves out, even if it has 1 million signatures. Once again, the land law remained as it was—a law that divides land not according to legal ownership, but by lot, as they used to do under socialism. “We are implementing the Democratic Party’s program,” commented Al Spahia, Chairman of the PD Parliamentary Commission. And in fact, he is right. But we must remind Mr. Spahia of two things. First, the current land law is a law approved by the monist communist parliament of the Party of Labour and signed by the “socialist” President Ramiz Alia. Strange? It sounds strange that the PD found the courage to cooperate with the former communists then, on the issue of land ownership. Second, it is not to the PD’s credit to be so unwilling to reconsider what it decided almost two and a half years ago. Things change, life moves forward, so a law too can be changed. What matters is that we move forward. Ah, if the issue is votes, then that is another matter. Perhaps four years is not a short time in life. Meanwhile, Namik Dokle, Chairman of the PS Parliamentary Commission, says that “we cannot give the land to a handful of people who represent only 3.5 percent of the population.” This time too, Dokle is not telling the truth. Let us remind him… Dokle, according to the documents preserved by the very government and party he defended for many years, in 1945 only medium and small landowners made up 83.1% of the population, owning 237,666 hectares, or 60.4% of all arable land and pastures. If we are talking about one or three percent, Parliament has the right to exclude them from the land law. And that is only natural. A just and pro-national law is one that serves the majority, even if such a thing is now disliked, or a minority pretends to dislike it. GJERGJ PILIKA

More details on page 2 The plenary session of the People’s Assembly, on 11.11.1993, recorded an unusual event in legislative procedure: for the first time, under Article 23 of the Main Constitutional Provisions, two draft laws Justice,” and signed by 22,000 Albanian citizens with the right to vote, were brought forward for approval. The outcome of this effort by expropriated and persecuted owners to obtain their rights had been predictable. The very fact that the petition was “sen[t]” to the Secretariat of the Assembly Presidium on September 7, and was presented only after the Constitutional Court’s interruption, shows that the parliamentary majority was determined and guided to reject the draft. Nevertheless, the “monolithic unity” of the neo-communists was broken. Along with the Republican Party deputy, Mr. Çeliku, and the well-known Baleta, Kakalula and Heba, five other deputies also voted in favor. The outcome of this effort by dispossessed owners to have their rights recognized was predetermined. The very fact that the petition was “hea[rd]” in the offices of the Assembly Presidium for more than seven months voted in favor. RIDVAN SHEHI

There is no doubt that, particularly in our development, the influence of parties on the development of every country is important. A brief historical overview of them shows that different parties can be both driving and accelerating forces, as well as restraining and slowing forces, in raising the people’s standard of living and developing the country. Consequently, people’s interest—and our interest—in getting to know the parties and reflecting on them from time to time is justified and reasonable: what their contributions are and, above all, what the diverse spectrum of political parties in our country is. In the developments that give rise to people’s various reflections on the activities of parties and the constitutional spectrum, a moment may even arrive when it seems that a party acts or appears contrary to the will. Apparently, overcoming logical contradictions requires people to present the concepts and parties to the fullest, or, in other words, to prepare a party in advance. (illegible passages) Speaking for the time being, we do not understand at all a … … to do for our society, to restore it, to raise people’s awareness, and for their personality. This would require the participation of all people in social life. People cannot live independently, but they have different ideas, views, and interests. This determines their affiliation with one political party or another, an association, or a social organization. It is precisely these ideas and views that have brought us together in this assembly of this state. These are the ideas of the Republican Party, as a vision for the development of our society along the lines of the individual, people’s free initiative, and the protection of human rights and private property. The democratic state was established only two years ago, and many comrades point to the results of stimulating people’s free initiative. Changes have taken place that we could not even have imagined before. But, on the other hand, major problems remain for our society, making the PR’s efforts for the good of this country urgently necessary. An important problem in the struggle for… … political-economic. This is the Republican Party’s first political problem. We have serious reservations about economic development and reform. We oppose the communist law on the division of land according to its spirit. In the coming days, we will submit our bill to Parliament, which offers a fair solution. We see serious bureaucracy and corruption in the return of urban plots. Bureaucracy and corruption have grown to such proportions that they are hindering the country’s development. In the actions of the central and local authorities there is… state of the country. In Albania, with the exception of local government, democracy won. a great deal of work. We have supported, and continue to support, united action by the forces of democracy in Albania, so as to resist communist reaction and defend the nation. We cannot say that this unity has been achieved. We are in the governing coalition, but we cannot say that the coalition is functioning. and local authorities there is…

Party—one might say, with some hesitation and imperfect understanding, that no individual, however strong, however wise and endowed with every human quality, constitutes a party in themselves. Thus, to conceive of a party, the presence of a community of people is absolutely necessary. But it is known that the concept of a political party involves a group of people, such as brigades, squads, associations, trade unions, organizations, communities, etc. Among them there may be groups with different and diverse objectives, including political ones, but the question that arises is this: is there a legal definition that defines the term “party,” and have criteria been established on a logical and scientific basis that distinguish other human communities—even political associations—from political organizations and political parties? Thus, once again we return to the fundamental question: a definition of a party’s identity. From observing newspaper articles and polemics, from the statements of members of various parties and even of important party leaders, we receive, in a way, the answer that a party’s announced and published program also defines its identity. The conception of party identity described above, that is, on the basis of their programs, does not seem to us to reach the level of a characterization based on logical, scientific and legal criteria and, consequently, is not comprehensive enough to prevent abusive judgments and interpretations; rather, it politicizes matters and makes transparency toward the people more difficult. The first argument against this lack of a clear definition of party identity is that a party—one might say, with some hesitation and imperfect understanding—is not constituted by any individual, however strong, wise, or endowed with every human quality. community of people is absolutely necessary. (continued) The second argument is the failure to define the timeframe for the existence of a party through its program. In fact, most of our country’s party programs have been published and linked to election campaigns. Did those parties perhaps find their identity on the eve of elections? The term “program” normally means a set of tasks, measures and activities, as well as the sequence and deadlines for their expected implementation. Every program, of course, has a beginning and an end. The longest-term programs we have seen do not extend beyond ten years. If we accepted as a rule that a party is identified by its program, then it would naturally be necessary to ask: what happens to the party after it has implemented its announced program? According to the general principles of logic, anything that completes its mission dissolves, disappears, or is transformed partly or wholly into another identity. Therefore, if we accept that a party’s identity is its program, we must also accept that the party disappears after the term set for implementing its program. The third argument is the contradiction arising from the national scope of the nature of certain parties and the incomprehensible restriction of each party program’s operative power to within a single state. Considering the above arguments to be measurable, we conclude that a party’s identity should not be defined solely on the basis of its programs. It should be sought in the party’s more fundamental, more primary features, which are more enduring. In light of these considerations, it seems logical to us that the identity of parties should be defined by the system of ideas and fundamental principles on which they intend and propose to organize the political, economic, cultural and social life of the entire country. Fundamental principles may include: the form of government (monarchy, republic, dictatorship or other combinations and variants); principles concerning the treatment of national issues (where such issues exist); the position on ownership issues in all their aspects, such as historical, social, dimensional, hereditary, etc.; the regulatory relations between different social strata and between those strata and the state; relations between individual and state, party and state, party and individual, social parties, etc. that the identity of parties should be (continued on page 3)

All well and with her eyes half-closed and smiling, she wandered yesterday morning in front of the Parliament building. Although Parliament was in recess and there was no guard, and there was the package and the shortage. She tried in vain to open it. She retreated several meters and began the appeal in a hoarse voice. Honorable deputies, I told you, but you did not listen to me. I told you to vote without fear for the return of properties, because Parliament cannot repay its debt, neither to the government nor to your seats. Who will take responsibility for being the post negotiator of the foreign debt? Macedonia does not exist as a state. The Macedonians are raising it up, shattered. The Greek government spokesperson said it too: “The Albanian factor is very strong. Yes, I think it is stronger in the south.” When will the day come when we not only listen, but also take notes… Those who own no property understand the issue of ownership better. Namik Dokle is afraid of the bey on horseback. Before voting, Dokle watched the film “Our Land.” think it is stronger in the south.” The chronicler

DRAFT LAW ON THE RESTITUTION OF OWNERSHIP OF AGRICULTURAL LAND, submitted to the People’s Assembly by the Albanian Republican Party