Arben POPOCI Which means: Kosovo is to remain an open issue, while Kosovo can be treated as a problem in these ways: it can be freed from Serbian rule, cleansed of Albanians; and it can take part in Serbian elections. The idea of taking part in Serbian elections has only one merit. It shows whether Albanians remain passive, without taking any political action. Such ideas about starting to flirt with Serbia all over again will be presented both in Kosovo and in the Republic of Albania. And in the absence of ideas that deserve attention, in the meantime we are dealing with these as well. What can be gained from this political “cunning”? Nothing can be gained in the Serbian Parliament. We have the Muslims of Sandžak and the Hungarians of Vojvodina as examples. And it should not be forgotten that Albanians did not abandon Serbian institutions on a whim, but precisely when they saw that it was impossible to achieve or preserve anything through these institutions. Moreover, the late Rrahman Morina did nothing other than put forward the same idea, and much earlier at that; the fact that today’s proponents do not take this idea any further shows that... [text at the edge of the photograph is cut off] If someone in Kosovo puts forward the idea of taking part in Serbian elections, it may be somewhat digestible, but for “analysts” to elaborate on this idea from the “comfort” of Tirana goes beyond all bounds. Kosovars spent 50 years in “marriage” with Serbia, and this marriage was not out of love; that was how mother (the Party) decided. Therefore, its dissolution cannot be achieved by agreement, and, even worse, there is no way it could be done that way. Advice from Tirana about the advantages of being present in the Serbian parliament is unnecessary. No one knows better than Kosovars themselves what can be gained from Serbia by flirting. For 50 years Kosovars have used every opportunity offered by this strategy and survived precisely by playing their part well. By “flirting,” they also created a kind of intelligentsia and built a material base almost from nothing. Everything coming from Tirana is unnecessary for another reason, too. No one needs to teach Kosovars how to wish for things. That is very easy. Kosovo needs support (at least moral support), with ideas about how to endure or win. It takes no philosophy or political theory to measure it out. The hell every Kosovar is going through today surely... [text continues beyond the photographed section] ... when they remember what this means, what it means to start from the beginning again—from what has been done since ’45. For Kosovars, planting the thought in foreigners’ minds that perhaps they are not serious about what they have begun, that perhaps they have never followed through, cannot be expected to happen before a year has passed. The international community has needed... [text cut off at the bottom of the image] [Text cut off at the upper and left edges] ... it is the late Rrahman Morinai did nothing but put forward the same idea, and that was a long time ago; the fact that today’s proposers do not come from Serbia or do not have Serbian wives does not give them any more credibility than he had at the time. Such statements from Tirana are excessive, and for one reason. However they may wish to, Kosovars do not need anyone to teach them. It is quite simple. how to stand firm or win. Surrender requires neither philosophy nor political wisdom. The hell every Kosovar is going through today surely makes each of them think of this idea every day, but when they remember what it means, what it means to start all over again—from the beginning, from what has been done since ’45—they find the strength to stand firm. The airing of such ideas does a very particular ‘service’ to Kosovars. It plants in foreigners’ minds the thought embarked on, perhaps they only started out to try their luck. A global conference on the Balkans, even if one is ever held, cannot be expected earlier than a year from now. The international community needed a year from the idea of peacekeeping forces in the former Yugoslavia to the moment the first blue helmet arrived there. Besides, the first thing these conferences take into account is the situation on the ground. Justice comes last, because judging according to justice is difficult even ... (continued on page 6) Prishtinë Photo: Muharrem Mjeku

National holiday date changed On Tuesday, Albania changed the date of its national holiday, which will now be celebrated on 28 November and not 29 November, as it was under the communist regime. This was decided by Parliament. 28 November is both the date of the proclamation of Albania’s Independence in 1912 and the date of the country’s liberation from the German and Italian occupiers in 1944, Parliament noted. Population census to be held in April Macedonia will conduct a census of its population under international supervision from 1 to 15 April next year, the Macedonian government announced on Tuesday in a statement published in the press. The census, whose costs ($1.5 million) will be covered by international organizations, will make it possible to establish the number of indigenous Albanians, estimated at around 50% by the leaders of Macedonia’s Albanians. Italian prosecutor Dr. E. Canale arrives in our country On 22 November, prosecutor Dr. Evelina Canale arrived in our country to shed light on the corruption case involving former senior Italian officials implicated in the disbursement of aid that the Italian government had allocated to Albania. Upon arriving at Rinas Airport, Ms. Canale declined to answer journalists’ questions. Return of information institutions to Kosovo demanded Organized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and ... [text continues beyond the photographed section]

Given the uproar caused by the arrival of the Press Law in Albania, the Union of Journalists of Albania became interested in learning the path this law took before reaching us. As part of the work to build constitutional, legal and social structures, the president of Albania’s Constitutional Court, Mr. Huatem Gjata, asked the president of the German Constitutional Court, Mr. Herock, to help him draft a press law for Albania. In response to this request, the German side provided all 16 laws of Germany’s Länder. All 16 were provided because they are very similar to one another, with only some negligible differences. In a more specific consultation with a member of the German Constitutional Court who deals exclusively with press matters, it was concluded that the press law of the Land of Nordrheim - Westfalen should be adopted. Thus, this law was requested and obtained in Germany, just as it could have been obtained in France, Italy or England. I have made this preliminary point in order to turn to an important issue. The first voices heard when this law was published were: “Why was this law taken from Germany, and why specifically from the Land of Westfalen?” The truth is that if this law had been taken from Italy or France, the same questions would have been asked. “Why Italy? Why France?” and so on. After the initial uproar, numerous reactions began appearing in the press. Naturally, these reactions were more numerous in the left-wing press and the opposition press in general. It should be emphasized that the press law, in comparison with other laws in Albania as well, provoked many reactions. This too was natural, because the law dealt precisely with those who create this press. But what was unnatural in these reactions was that few newspapers and journalists dealt directly with the law and the articles it contained. The attack took place on another, more general level. In general, there was a struggle over the idea that there should be no press law; even in comparison with other laws in Albania, it other laws in Albania, it provoked many reactions. America was held up as an example. Other voices defended, in various and crude ways, the idea that there should be no law. Forms ranging from the most...

Organized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEJ), the second round table on independent media in the Balkans, entitled “Independent media, a key to peace,” was held in Ljubljana on 18–19 November, with representatives from 22 countries participating. Organized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEJ), the second round table on independent media in the Balkans, entitled “Independent media, a key to peace,” was held in Ljubljana on 18–19 November, with representatives from 22 countries participating, including Kosovo. On the first day of the meeting in Ljubljana, the situation of the media in Albania was also discussed. Participants from the “Profesionisti” Journalists’ Association accused Albanian Radio and Television of being “an institution with a monopoly in Albania,” claiming that it was under the exclusive control of one party, the ruling Democratic Party of Albania. It should be noted that the participants from Albania said not a word about the dramatic situation of Albanian-language media in Kosovo. At the end of the Ljubljana meeting, a separate resolution on Kosovo was adopted, calling for the return of RTVSH to Prishtinë and of the newspaper “Rilindja.” The meeting also adopted a general resolution, one of whose points states that the gathering of independent media journalists “AGREES that IFJ / FIEJ missions be sent to Kosovo, Montenegro, Vojvodina, Belgrade and Macedonia. The Editor

Through documents The proclamation of Independence and the creation of the Albanian state marked a historic turning point with consequences of extraordinary significance, one of the rarest in national history. Everything good that Albanian history produced in the political sphere after 1912 is directly connected with this event. Its emergence as a historical fact, its consolidation and subsequent modernization, all the more so given the connection between 1912 and the great turning point of December 1990, have an inherent link. Under the circumstances of the 16 submissions, some [unclear text] ... Strategic and technical; a good number of elite activists who knew how to organize the masses and keep the movement’s demands alive in their consciousness; and, often, some favorable international circumstances are also needed. All these conditions were met in November 1912. The Albanian uprising of 1912 (preceded by those of 1910–1911) was general and practically encompassed all of Albania, with its main center in Kosovo and Northern K. It ended in August 1912 with certain guarantees from the Ottoman government to the participants. The uprising clearly demonstrated the great military weakness of the Ottoman Empire, which left the army [?] of the political [?] in this crisis, on the one hand, in such a state. Montenegro and Bulgaria, which sought an anti-Ottoman alliance with alliances, also had another reason, despite the many locals who, throughout 1910–1912, sought to find a way ... [unclear passage] But the alliance also had another position: an attempt by these countries to ... 16 uprisings? and ... [unclear text]. That attempt was very ... ... that in these cases it was not the primary consideration. The alliance of the Albanian uprising had one consequence: the uprising weakened the power of [unclear] and destroyed a ... “... Our national existence will remain eternal as long as the world continues to turn.” Ismail Qemali But the alliance had a task, ... Energetic actions were undertaken in Albania, but perhaps they were not yet sufficiently coordinated; and abroad! Qemali and his friend Luigj Gurakuqi took on the task of organizing the nation as a whole, including the diaspora. They understood that the support of European chancellors also had to be secured, through diplomacy and coordination, so that the Albanian and Italian ... who were in [unclear text]. ... journalists, this committee was to consist of several Albanians to defend their rights. With this well-known fact, ... A preparatory commission was organized in Albania to convene a National Assembly that would have the necessary authority to ratify the proclamation of Independence. Another commission, which included Qemali and L. Gurakuqi, who enjoyed the necessary consulates ... [unclear text]. (continued on page 6)

On Monday morning, the madwoman N of the capital climbed the steps of the Palace of Congresses and, in a solemn tone, delivered this speech. — At last, the glorious time of women is approaching too. The wise wives of political men are writing grand letters, moving feminine letters that are touching even God’s own heart. I too will write a grand letter, not for a political husband, but about the fate of not having a husband. Why shouldn’t I have a political husband too? What do the other women, the wives of politicians who write beautiful letters in language that is round, resembling the mewling of cats, have that I don’t? O God, I don’t have a political husband. If only I had married a political husband, a scoundrel of a husband, so long as he were a politician. The whole wide world would read my letters. Dear people passing by on the road! Do you know where Albania has gone? Nobody knows except me and Mëkov Molotov Zeqo. Tirana was liberated at 23:30 on November 28. By Serbian time, that makes it 24:30 on November 29. That night Molotov Zequa was the commissar of the First Division, and was also the division’s poet. Dritëro Agolli was in the mountains that day too. It is not true that Dritëro Agolli has gone mad. He is like that only when he’s drunk. What is this business about history having to be rewritten? The victors have already written it once and for all. Dritëro Agolli is writing a new poem entitled “Summer, Mother Albania.” This time he has placed three pools of blood at every kilometer; after this, Albania will have 84,000 martyrs, while 210,000 Germans will have been killed. Molkom Zeqo has established that Cervantes’s Diliqinja is from Ulcinj in Shkodra. Long live November 29! Long live the Party! Glory to Marxism-Leninism! THE CHRONICLER

Opinions on the draft law on the return of ownership of agricultural land submitted by PR. P. 2 In the next issue: land deserves support in principle by Prof. Ismet ELEZI