“Before long, you will be convinced that our action was right,” declared one of the PAD leaders at a press conference, immediately after returning from Belgrade. And the day of conviction was not long in coming. In recent days, Belgrade was also visited by the most grotesque figure in Albanian political life, the man children laugh at in the street, the clown, Namik Hoti. It is important to emphasize that Mr. Namik Hoti was received by Belgrade’s highest authorities with the same honor and respect as the Democratic Alliance Party was. So the Serbs made no distinction between the “moderate” party and the clown Namik Hoti. Years will pass and many things will be forgotten, but the ridiculous spectacle of the AD-Hoti duo in Belgrade will remain in Albanians’ memory for a long time. There is nothing at all surprising about the fact that the “moderate” AD found itself on the same side as Namik Hoti. It often happens that theatrics, bluster and megalomania melt together and become one with the ridiculous, to the point that sometimes you cannot tell them apart. This is exactly what happened in this case. Once, AD president Çeka laughed at the grotesque Namik Hoti. And now, quite naturally, he finds himself in the same trench as him. There you have it: politics can be merciless. Sometimes you make a mistake once and have to leave it. You really do leave, but then a day comes when you become consumed by the passion to return to the political whirlpool. From that moment on, you start becoming ridiculous. So ridiculous that you become one with Namik Hoti. For Albanians, this union is no surprise at all. It is just a little comedy that makes us laugh. And not only laugh. Because this comic spectacle served the Serbs another purpose. They told world opinion that they had sat down at negotiating tables with Albanians. It was of no importance to them which Albanians these were. That was all the Serbs needed. There can be no greater service. The Albanian political spectrum is saturated with spectacles. This means that this spectrum also needs a shaking-up. And first of all it must be shaken free of the careerists and charlatans it has brought onto the national stage.

[Caricature: a figure wearing a hat in front of a globe; letters on the globe.]

In its issue of December 16, 1993, ZP publishes, in place of its leading article, the sensational piece “The Republican Party in the Vortex of a Scandal.” We could have chosen not to respond to this newspaper at all, because it is not in our nature to be drawn into polemics with professional slanderers. ZP has two aims: to smear the Republican Party, the first party to adopt the call “Let us uproot communism,” and, at the same time, if possible, to spread scandals among the other parties as well. Their paranoia is plain to see; the issue of the theft of 8 million dollars from aid from Italy is out in the open; and no explanation has yet been given regarding Ramiz Alia’s gift (400 thousand dollars for ZP [?]). These and other everyday matters make ZP’s party the center of scandals in Albania. So it is only right to say something about the others too. A promiscuous woman is pleased if all the women in the village are rumored to be the same. These things are well known. But the article also refers to “the most extreme excesses” and “an increase in the thickness of the ice in Albanian-Italian relations.” This is the last straw. ZP’s party would be delighted if these relations were ruined; otherwise there is no way to explain why an incident involving an ordinary Italian citizen is being elevated to such a level. It can often happen that law-enforcement forces in Italy take measures against an Albanian who breaks that country’s rules, and this has absolutely nothing to do with Albanian-Italian relations. ZP knows this, but still shouts about the incident it has been given, because it wants to use every opportunity, however absurd, to worsen relations, thereby casting the Albanian Government in a bad light and pleasing some foreign ally as well. “The case of the ‘Shpresa’ company,” which suddenly filled ZP with hope, would not have been news or attracted anyone’s attention had those circling around the Republican Party not stood ready to set an entire machine in motion. The “Shpresa” company was established a year ago. It may be an economic activity of the Republican Party under the Law on the Financing of Political Parties. This company, consisting of three people, has conducted no import-export activity or any other kind of activity. Its entire activity under its name consists of opening the Agency in Durrës. The licenses were obtained in the name of Shpresa, “Shpresa,” whose administration Messrs. Luarasi and Cini had been authorized by the Republican Party to manage. To formalize this relationship, an agreement was signed between Messrs. Luarasi, Cini and Nikoli, on the one hand, and the Republican Party, on the other, which explicitly states that “the ‘Shpresa’ company is an economic unit of the Republican Party.” The agreement specifies the monthly salaries of the gentlemen in question and the percentage of remuneration they would receive on profits in excess of the target. From January to October, this agreement was properly implemented. In October, the economic department of the Republican Party requested that the percentage paid to the three administrators of the “Shpresa” company on excess profits be reduced in favor of the Agency in Durrës, without affecting their monthly salaries, because these gentlemen were receiving salaries and percentages without practically doing any work. The owner has the right to set compensation according to the work done. At this point, the gentlemen got the idea of declaring themselves the owners, taking advantage of the fact that the licenses were in their names and forgetting everything else. They also began making some rather improper moves: first they left the headquarters office where they worked, and on the very first day they declared themselves: President—Mr. Nikoli, coordinator—Mr. Luarasi, vice-president—Mr. Cini, and began obstructive actions against (continued on page 3)

elections. “Those who make warmongering statements must understand that they are completely isolated, including internationally,” he emphasized.

At the cultural center in Gjirokastër, three thefts have been committed in the space of a month and a half. In addition to furniture, stove pipes and sound equipment, 500 musical instruments and hundreds of original national costumes have also been stolen. At the Weapons Museum in Gjirokastër Castle, a site guarded by security staff, 100 weapons have been stolen, 49 of them antique, most of them pistols with silver handles. It is reported that these objects were stolen to be sold abroad.

No one has been able to say exactly who gave that order: Prime Minister Fan Noli, or the writer Fan Noli? No one can definitively testify as to who was the principal driving force behind that initiative: the man in power, Fan Noli, or the power of the man, Fan Noli? The wording of the order was clear: All the old employees of the departments now under the new authorities, after the 1924 revolution, could continue in the kingdom and in these departments, provided each drank at least one glass of castor oil; otherwise, everyone was to vacate their jobs at once. Living witnesses to these events are the writer Fan Noli’s earliest years and ... [partly illegible] ... delicate condition of some officials; it is even added that there were a small number of deaths at the time. Perhaps fate happened to coincide with Monsignor Noli’s order, but let us leave the credit, even if unjustly, to the castor oil! If it is true, history has informed us that six months later Prime Minister Fan Noli was overthrown. On the other hand, we are certain that history has left nothing in writing to say that among those who removed Fan Noli from the power of the premiership was the writer Fan Noli himself...! Later, much later, Fan Noli wrote “Christ with a Whip.” This poem was known to have entered the canon of Albanian literature, and it is quite likely that it has entered Albanian history.

Washington — Geography is history, especially for the continent of Central Europe. That is why its countries are turning beyond their dangerous region to seek help across the Atlantic. The help the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians are seeking is NATO membership. They continue to press for membership even though they know the Clinton administration will defer their requests during the NATO summit in Brussels, to be held in January. Their request is sincere, their concern understandable. Life between the Germans and the Russians has taught the Europeans of Central Europe not to be overly optimistic about human nature. They hope that the American nuclear umbrella, which may come with NATO membership, can free them from the threat hanging over their tragic history. For Warsaw, Prague and Budapest, NATO membership is a metaphor, the only valid and attainable declaration of independence from Moscow. NATO is a possible way of achieving independence from Moscow. NATO is a possible way of existing, and of expressing their determination to survive. The alliance has great obligations toward people who want to bear the burden of the Soviet occupation ... [the text continues in the article’s columns] ... obligation does not mean basing long-term security policy on a metaphor. In Western capitals, NATO membership for the Soviet peasantry has also become a useful symbol, one that is in fact connected to Russia’s future. If they think reform in Russia will fail and the great white bear will seek to dominate Central Europe, they express their concern by calling for the immediate admission of Central Europe to NATO. Henry Kissinger, at the pessimistic end of the spectrum, argues that waiting to bring Central Europe into NATO will make it harder to confront the Russians when they revive their imperialist imperatives. Moscow must not be allowed to continue keeping its lifies [?] within its sphere of interest by vetoing their admission to the Western alliance. In the middle are Senators Lugar (Republican) and NATO Secretary General Manfred Werner. Both call for a new mission and an identity that will prevent the Cold War alliance from becoming obsolete. Public opinion will support NATO only if it takes on the new task they are calling for. At the other end of the spectrum is Kissinger’s most astute successor, James Baker, who favors gradual membership for Central Europe, Ukraine and Russia. This step, as he wrote in an article, would guarantee the success of reform in Russia rather than endanger it. Clinton’s proposal for the NATO summit suggests military cooperation between NATO members and Central Europe. But it is a plan without guarantees about the timing and nature of membership for the states that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Bloc. They must implement economic reform; specific criteria for eventual membership have not been established. There are two points that need to be clarified in the debate before the summit. These points explain why NATO should move slowly now. Moreover, they have nothing to do with Russian sensitivities or demands for influence in Central Europe. These demands, as Mr. Kissinger rightly observes, must not be allowed to predetermine U.S. policy. First: What does “membership” in NATO mean? Here, much of the debate is nevertheless shaped by the metaphorical element. The essential definition of membership, contained in Article 5 of NATO, obliges all members to fight side by side if any one of them is attacked. Is American public opinion ready to take on such serious obligations to protect the territorial integrity of the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians? The Clinton administration does not think so. Expanding NATO membership eastward without building more [final part cut off] (continued on page 4)

[The upper part of the article is outside the frame.] ... with the achievers [?] ... with the state... ... In this way... ... we request... ...

“EUROBAROMETER - 4” completed in Albania From highly reliable sources, we learned that “EUROBAROMETER - 4” for Central and Eastern Europe was completed in Albania in recent days. “EUROBAROMETER - 4” is conducted by the British institute “Gallup” and is sponsored mainly by the BBC. We are informed that in Albania “EUROBAROMETER - 4” was directed by Mr. Spiro Dede together with a group of coordinators. In our next issue we will interview Mr. Dede, from whom we hope to obtain further details about this activity. Arbnori: The possibility of Albania’s involvement in the war cannot be ruled out “We would be forced to enter this war, so it is everyone’s duty to put obstacles in the path of aggression,” declared the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament, Pjetër Arbnori, during a meeting in Vienna with local parliamentarians. Not ruling out the possibility of Albania becoming involved in the war because of the Albanians of Kosovo, Arbnori once again emphasized the Albanian Government’s principle of a peaceful solution in Kosovo, and said that the best solution is always a worse solution. USA and Albania in closer military cooperation The Albanian Parliament ratified a memorandum between Albania and the USA on closer bilateral military cooperation. The ratification took place during a visit to Albania by a US military delegation. Recently, the Albanian Minister of Defense, Safet Zhulali, held talks with Pentagon officials in Washington. Ruhe: Russian nationalists must be isolated. German Defense Minister Volker Ruhe called on the international community to isolate Russia’s ultranationalists, following their success in the parliamentary elections.

On Thursday, December 16, in the hall of the National Historical Museum, the Tirana branch of PRSH, in cooperation with the PR leadership, held an expanded meeting to present the Draft Law on the return of land concerning agricultural property. It was attended by its members, the national association “Property with Justice,” as well as many intellectuals and citizens of Tirana interested in this national issue. In his opening remarks, M. Havari, chairman of the PR’s Tirana branch, stressed that the PR, with its alternative for returning property to its legitimate owners, as well as the possibilities now offered by the Draft Law presented by PRSH, which will soon be considered by Parliament, constitutes a clear opposition to the forces in power, which continue absurdly to insist on implementing the communist law on the allocation of land per capita, a further alteration and blatant injustice against the property of its legitimate owners. “By defending and promoting our program,” he said, “we defend the interests of hundreds of thousands of Albanian property owners. Governments change often, but property cannot have its ownership changed by government laws and decrees.” The Draft Law presented by the PR has not yet been PR has not yet gained the necessary broad support, but surveys conducted in the districts, as well as studies carried out, show that it is supported by a large number of people. It benefits the majority, permanently wipes out communist injustice, and constitutes the first step toward a lawful transition to a market economy. It will provide a basis for attracting foreign investors to agriculture and will also safeguard national interests. Next, A. Karamuça, a member of the PR Steering Committee and a specialist in legal matters, after a detailed analysis of the Draft Law, emphasized that all the real legal conditions for implementing the drafted bill exist in Albania (continued on page 2).

The madwoman N., swept up in a wave of undiagnosable fury, decided that instead of sycophantic flatteries, instructions and strategic guidance, she would submit to the editorial office an article, still in her own style, which comes very close to Dostoyevsky’s. The article was also submitted to other editorial offices, but they wanted to censor the frightening parts. We are publishing this short article without changing a comma. “True intellectuals, after so many trials, since they cannot publish a single book, should sell bananas. Meanwhile, the ‘distinguished intellectuals’ can distinguish themselves in the field of collaboration with the State Security service, which goes along with the coffin. In Mushqetajen alone, 1,500 Germans were killed. Find out how many were killed in the whole country? We must go mad from historical suicides. Has this Byron put one over on us? Strange. The northern part of Greece, although so dear to them, is completely indecent. We must take measures. Two more parties are expected to be born. Ibrahim Mihal Basha should present the framework and not drag things out on us because... Lenka is busy with the trial over the excessive haxhime. Shefqet Musaraj has 100 francs to return somewhere. AD, a political party of the modern spectrum, is content with a bedsitter for a member and a shared meal. The Ecological party demands awakening because its guests are also wounded, as they come from the front against Bosnia. These ecologists want a room with a bed, too. The road to Belgrade is not unknown. Belgradists are not as rare as legal literature would have you think. What’s one who comes out and gets two sets of allowances washed for him? Double-dealing brings in good money, but in the end there is a kind of shame that sticks in your throat. Some MPs go to the cinema when they have time off, because there are films worth seeing; mainly, they deal with subjects outside the parliamentary agenda. I want to catch some newspapers and journalists off guard, the ones who don’t say where they get paid, who chooses their pseudonyms, and where they deposit them. Those transferred from Tirana prison are asking for allowances. But those will be given only to Nevmbkët Horës. The article will continue whenever I want.”