On Wednesday evening, in one of the halls of the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, the Republican Party organized a cocktail reception on the occasion of the third anniversary of its founding. Alongside the chairman of the PR, Sabri Godo, the deputy chairman, Fatmir Mediu, and the secretary-general, Çerçiz Mingotaj, members of the PR steering committee, chairmen of PR branches, and employees from various departments of the party were also present. Also present were the deputy chairman of the People’s Assembly, Tommor Malasi, the chairman of the PD, Eduard Selami, the chairman of the PSD, Skënder Gjinushi, ministers of the Meksi Government, the mayor of Tirana, Sali Këlmendi, as well as members of the Diplomatic Corps in Tirana. A good number of journalists were also invited. The chairman of the PR, Sabri Godo, delivered the welcoming remarks and said: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for honoring us by coming to this simple reception. On 10 January, the Republican Party turned three, a short time in the life of a party, but one filled with events that changed Albania. Time has its secrets. Looking today at the years that have passed, you might say they went by in the blink of an eye, but (continued on page 4) Photo: Muharrem Meka

The day before yesterday, at the PR headquarters, its chairman, Mr. Sabri Godo, received representatives of the association “For Free Elections and Democratic Culture.” Mr. Sabri Godo expressed to the association’s representatives his appreciation for their valuable work in creating and consolidating democratic culture in Albania, something we still have not managed to do ourselves. “Your contribution is admirable,” the chairman of the PR told the “and we are ready and very interested in broadening and deepening it.” The association’s representative, after thanking them for the spirit of understanding and cooperation shown by governmental, political, and non-governmental bodies in Albania, outlined a series of activities planned for the near future. Thus, during February, a seminar will be held with the participation of several members of European parliaments (American, Irish, Hungarian, and Dutch), Albanian MPs, and activists of the Association “For Democratic Culture and Free Elections in Albania.” According to [the source text is unclear], its objective will be to deepen and broaden relations and contacts between elected representatives and their voters, in order to increase the effectiveness and genuine representation of their views and interests in their pluralist political life. For his part, the chairman of the PR suggested that a seminar on the issues of property, privatization, and citizens’ free initiative would also be valuable, in the context of the transition from a highly centralized society to a market economy. Both sides expressed their willingness and desire for broader contacts between the Association and the PR.

At the largest international cartoon contest, the “Yomiuri Cartoon Contest,” organized in Tokyo, Japan, by the largest newspaper, “The Yomiuri Shimbun,” our cartoonist Medi Belortaja won the GOLD PRIZE (Free Event - Section). , the “Yomiuri Cartoon Contest,” organized in Tokyo, Japan, by the largest newspaper, “The Yomiuri Shimbun,” our cartoonist Medi Belortaja won the GOLD PRIZE (Free Event - Section). Cartoonists from 68 countries around the world (including Japan) competed for this award with 10,430 works created using various techniques. In the next issue, we will publish an interview with M. Belortanë and some of his most outstanding works. “Republika” correspondent Winning work

In a tense Europe, as the new year had barely begun, two major events took place: first, the Brussels Summit and then the one in Moscow. Europe thus revealed its internal imbalance, once again confirming America’s primary role. The resonant agreement that preceded Bill Clinton’s visit to Europe was the signing of the trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine agreement to destroy the latter’s nuclear arsenal. Thus, America and Europe now had to pursue a policy that followed a general SOS issued by Europe, and likewise by Russia. Russian ultranationalism perhaps this time awakened Europe, which had been left behind and which, judging by the actions it has taken so far, resembles a retirement home. The Moscow Summit was entirely different from the one in Vancouver. US President Clinton’s statement that “Russia and the United States must work together to build the future of Europe” already demonstrates an intolerable seriousness on the part of the US, as the only real possibility for balance. And the first positive reaction to this… As soon as this year began, there were two major events: first the Brussels Summit, and then the Moscow one. Europe thus revealed an internal imbalance, once again confirming America’s primary role. During this visit to Europe, Bill Clinton conveyed a policy that came in response to Russian ultranationalism may this time have awakened a Europe that has fallen behind, resembles a nursing home. The Moscow Summit was entirely different, and quite unlike future of Europe” now demonstrates an intolerable degree of this… …trilateral agreement between the US, Russia and Ukraine must now keep Russia and Ukraine firmly under their wings, so as to save them from the economic collapse they are facing, which has direct consequences in the political sphere. Nevertheless, Clinton’s presence in Europe created new hopes, which aspire to save Europe from the sclerosis that has taken hold of it, with suicidal consequences. Naturally, when discussing Bill Clinton’s trip, it is impossible not to mention Medlen Ollbrajt, the US ambassador to the UN and also the American President’s special envoy to the countries of Eastern Europe, who conveyed his message throughout these countries that “partnership for peace remains the most optimal path to entering NATO.” The purpose of Ollbrajt’s visit to Albania, as the “spokesperson” for the American President, was to meet with President Berisha. The reason for this meeting was a bilateral commitment: security and support on the part of the US, while President Berisha undertook the inclusion of Albania in “partnership for peace” and its designation as an active integration phase for Albania on its way into the North Atlantic Pact. And indeed, amid this almost Biblical jumble of chaos, all of this seems like an encouraging and hopeful beginning. ELIDA BUÇPAPA

The new system: safety and order for passengers and drivers Albania’s history of public road passenger transport based on private ownership has no long-standing tradition, while the fragmentary legislation inherited from the regime Albania’s history of public road passenger transport based on private ownership has no long-standing tradition, while the fragmentary legislation inherited from communist rule had based everything on state ownership. Even over the last two or three years, although this transport expanded rapidly in numerical terms on intercity routes, it did not build up experience or a sound foundation to serve as a starting point for modern transport, precisely because of the lack of legislation. In other words, the large number of buses, where each operator follows only individual rules and seeks only the routes he prefers, and where the law of the strongest or some unwritten rule prevails, provides passengers with no security for their journey or even the minimal comfort required of any public service. There is therefore an ever-growing need for a legal framework, which is the basis for an organized system and written rules bringing together all the elements of public road passenger transport, from the state and the owner to the passenger and the inspector. Since Albanian legislation, both old and new, provided no guidance for drafting it, the Council of Ministers’ Order No. 7, dated 17.08.1993, “On public road transport of passengers and baggage,” was based on German transport law, the Italian legislative system, and Greek, Turkish, and other countries’ experience, while seeking to preserve the possibilities and characteristics of our small enterprises, which have limited economic means. This regulation covers all kinds of road transport considered public transport—that is, transport in which the customer pays to use the vehicle: urban, intercity, international, tourist, and taxi transport. Thus, these are necessary rules for fully harmonizing the interests of passengers and carriers, which this regulation addresses. All the rules governing the organization of public transport arise precisely from the mutual rights and obligations of the aforementioned pair. And if this regulation sets out rules for how urban transport is organized, how an intercity transport route is established, that this transport requires agencies, that travel takes place according to a timetable, that the passenger must be issued a ticket, that this ticket is a contract, that the passenger must be guaranteed the journey to its end, that (continued on page 4)

“Do unto others what you would not like them to do unto you” Capitalism and democracy within it are the best of the evils that today’s developed world has experienced at its current level of awareness and integration. It is worth emphasizing that they are not fixed ideas and practices, established once and for all, but give every individual the opportunity to use their intelligence to act justly in the interests of private individuals or social groups, within certain norms and laws, the basis of which is the Biblical saying: “Do not do to another what you would not like them to do to you.” The illusion created of a truly democratic society also forms the real basis that obliges every ordinary person, and all the more so the intellectual, to contribute with hope for the future, working and reflecting properly in their actual work, both in their particular sphere and in the universal one. When you hear Mr. Arbnori speak about what Parliament has accomplished, you freeze and fall silent, objectively acknowledging how much has been achieved, while always hoping that what is called the “highest representative body,” elected by the people, will prove worthy of its value through its concrete work until its term ends. We must return once again to the issue of property ownership and its resolution in the city, but, as [unclear], at “Gëzoshesh” [unclear] when you hear his concern about discussing every kind of purchase based on social problems and outcomes, which I think even he himself cannot consciously conceive otherwise ... [unclear passage] Politically, his great concern for social problems allows the PD to take away from it what the PS is most keen to proclaim loudly: the defense of the social interests of underprivileged groups. The common language of these two parliamentary groups on the issue of property ownership reveals an agreement of opinion about the form and role of a state’s superstructure in building a capitalist society, cultivating in people a permanent dependence of their economic activity on the state. This becomes worrying when, at the socialists’ latest press conference, they claim that the PD and PS, as the large parties, have found common ground, but the small parties want to ruin it. In today’s confusion and lack of political professionalism and sound knowledge of relations within this society, this is understandable, but only up to the point where it does not turn into worthless and harmful stubbornness. If the issue of property ownership in the city is presented in advance as a settled matter, one cannot claim that it is on the path to practical resolution. Bureaucratic hurdles are tearing apart the district property restitution commissions and increasingly obstructing the return of properties at the stage when they do return of properties at the stage when they do not turn into worthless and harmful stubbornness. … of the return of properties, while also leaving in place the contemporary phenomenon of “T’ysfshitit të ligjshëm” [unclear]. We must remember, of course, that the commission of legal and economic experts has not yet been established; it would merely duplicate work that can be carried out by the court, which is the only competent body for establishing the fact of ownership. What deserves praise is Mr. Arbnori’s honesty in retracting what he said a year and a half ago—that Albania belonged to Topi—when he says that there was land. Apparently, if one wants to excel in the same truth, one reaches the conclusion he did in his latest interview: that before ’44 Albania had a few feudal families owning 14,000 hectares of land, that after that there were fewer, and that 87% of the population owned property. Starting from the end of his speech, in search of a social consensus, it is worth noting that, with 87% of the population formerly owning property, he has this conflict resolved and, with the generosity of the chairman of the Albanian Parliament, can propose that the 13% of the landless population receive land from the state. Sometimes a person is inadvertently drawn into it, or by some fixed idea, and says that restoring property will drive people out of their homes. I know of no such law, whether that of the “Property with Justice” Association, which Mr. Arbnori should know better than I do, or the bill submitted by the Republican Party, which we are waiting to discuss with the deputy’s free will, without everyone repeating what the Party tells them and, if possible, with full participation and a minimal vote. Those who draft laws must … [continued on page 4]

On Thursday and Friday, the marked N of the capital was nowhere to be found on any of her usual streets or meeting spots. Only on Saturday, at 10:00, did she appear by the artificial lake, dragging along a strange human body. “I want to build a Ballist,” she said, “but I can’t manage it. The raw material is this one I have with me. He used to be an important person, a leftist. Lately, an extreme right-winger, more right-wing than the Legalists. As you can see, he has a fine Ballist body, except that he lacks the clothes and the biography. Help me find at least the clothes. He has supplied the words. He is a master orator. Even the Ballists who support America used to tremble before him. I’ll write his biography, while he’ll prepare the 20-point declaration. When he completes it, he could even become a communist. Dear readers! The newspaper “KOHA JONE” has had oral (non-sexual) relations with Namik Hoti. It is said that during these relations Namiku did not take off his collar, a fact that proves the encounter was not forced. Comrade Fatos Nano had also missed this kind of relationship, since his last encounter with “Koha Jonë” had been in September. Next week, zp will be admitted to NAVO, with equal rights. Greece made the proposal. After joining, zp will be tasked with controlling the anarchy with a Serbia and the… testing with Clinton and Zhirinovski. [Source text unclear] In the first days of February, Zhirinovski will ask the “Dumas” to release Fatos Nano. THE CHRONICLER