From Mr. GODO’s meeting with the PR branch’s membership in FIER I want to say a few words about some phenomena of the times we live in. With the fall of communist rule, the country emerged from the harsh totalitarian regime and gained freedom of speech, which is the most precious thing for a person. It is also true that we have a market where you can find everything. But these changes have also brought a series of problems that cannot be passed over in silence. Severe unemployment and meagre assistance have made life difficult for a large part of the population. We have a local administration that does not function, even in the smallest matters. Pensioners get up at two in the morning to collect the pension that is barely enough to keep them going. Long queues to pay the electricity bill, etc. I mentioned these only as examples showing the administration’s inability to solve even the simplest problems. Today everyone is talking about corruption. It manifests itself on many fronts. Some state employees have got used to bribes... Citizens now have it fixed in their minds that without paying under the table, they cannot get anything done. There is corruption in customs, with the many smuggled goods that evade taxes. Corruption takes place on privatization boards, where state employees often buy properties with loans from the state, only to sell them on to others. The closure of light industry, so that everything can be imported from abroad, even soft drinks, is also linked to corruption. The appointment of incompetent people, within families and circles of friends, is linked to this too, creating a protective circle around corruption; this is the future mafia, which will be very difficult to uproot tomorrow. The corrupt are people who want to get rich by any means and as quickly as possible, by robbing the state or the citizen—which amounts to the same thing. These people are a serious disease for the country. Apart from the fact that they plunder the little we have, they seriously hinder economic development as a whole. They convince themselves that the struggle for profit by any means is part of the transition. They even think of it as a fight against communism. In this way, they create a moral justification for themselves and, while getting rich through theft, pass themselves off as modern and honest, becoming in reality not only hateful and vile, but also extremely dangerous. In practice, today we have become a nation of traders, where half sell and half buy, with funds coming from emigration and foreign aid. No country can be sustained by such an economy, so every initiative aimed at reviving national production should be welcomed and supported. We have political quarrels conducted in language that descends into insults and slander, leading to many court cases and even tragic murders. Crime is on the rise because those who kill and assault you are not very afraid of punishment, even though they know they can escape across the border. It must be acknowledged that some of the things I mentioned were bound to take hold and would have been unavoidable under any government. In a way, you can compare yourselves to a crowd imprisoned for a long time, suddenly released into the street, where it freely indulges in some of the vices and habits it acquired during imprisonment. We must reflect on this situation and do two things: act energetically to put right what is wrong—that is what it means to be European—or stand aside and let things run their course, which reflects the old Asian mentality. As a country, we have everything we need to move rapidly towards what is good. As a party, we are committed to changing the course of events with a strong constructive will. That is why we also hold these meetings with citizens, so that we can compare views. We listen to this (continued on page 2)

Guess who owns this kiosk at the entrance to the National Historical Museum: Gjergj Kastrioti or the mayor of Tirana?!! In his speech, Chairman Miltiadhis Evert resorted to unusual language The leader of the main opposition, Miltiadhis Evert, said that his party considers the issue of the Greek minority in Albania more important than that of Macedonia. This was, moreover, a correction of a slip of the tongue that the high-ranking Greek politician had not made for years. Instead of saying Northern Epirus, Mr. Evert said Northern Greece; correcting himself immediately, he added: After all, Northern Epirus is Northern Greece. Presenting Turkey as Greece’s main threat, the conservative leader drew attention to what he called an Albanian megalomania which, although still in its infancy today, could take on dangerous proportions for Greece tomorrow. The leader of Socialist Spring, former Foreign Minister A.Samaras, also referred to relations with Albania and said that the security risk in the region is a combination of factors in which, according to him, several states play a part. He also spoke about the danger to Greece posed by the creation of a Greater Albania, a Greater Bulgaria and a Greater Serbia.

The leader of the main opposition, Miltiadhis Evert, said that his party considers the issue of the Greek minority in Albania more important than that of Macedonia.

It must be acknowledged that the trial held over the defamation in “Zëri i Popullit” by the author of several articles, Fatmir Zanaj, carried a much broader message. It was not only the author in question who was being judged, but all his counterparts, not only at “ZP”, but also at “Koha Jonë” and in some other newspapers—publications that for some time had appeared to be attacking the Albanian army and the reform being carried out, and still under way, in that army. Fatmir Zanaj’s name could be replaced by several others, even people more responsible than he himself. While Fatmir Zanaj objectively apologized for what he had written, and while Fatmir Zanaj apologized to Albania’s Minister of Defence, Safet Zhulali, others have still not spoken out about this great truth. It would be to the credit of a genuine newspaper, starting with “ZP” itself (where the aforementioned author’s articles were published) and then “Koha...”, to publicly apologize for the slanders and accusations directed against the reform process in our army. “Today the situation in the army has changed,” Mr. Zanaj is finally compelled to admit. “All the military say so,” he continues. “I consider the calls for revenge that I addressed to the officers to have been a mistake. I apologize for the insult to the minister (continued on page 4)

The Journalists’ Association of Albania, which includes within its ranks the vast majority of the country’s journalists, considers it its responsibility to address all journalists. The Journalists’ Association of Albania, which includes within its ranks the vast majority of the country’s journalists, considers it its responsibility to address all journalists, urging realism, objectivity and calm, and contributions from journalists across the country’s entire political spectrum; this does not prevent the Association from functioning or becoming more responsible in carrying out its mission. Since pluralism by its nature entails respect for plurality, it makes us responsible for what we put into the daily marketplace of words and information. We must not forget that the reader is not only a reader of the respective parties; nor can we disregard the fact that democracy also brings responsibility, which is consolidated only when the newspaper’s national identity is established! It is not uncommon for a journalist to become implicated among those accused of corruption, casting a shadow of suspicion over the very dignity of journalists. It is forgotten that the mission of journalists is also to remain as ...

On January 24, PRSH chairman Sabri Godo, deputy chairman Fatmir Mediu, and secretary-general Çerçiz Mingomata received at PR headquarters the program assistants of the International Republican Institute, namely Ms. Kristen A. Byrne and Mr. Peter Dickenson. First, Mr. Dickenson emphasized that their arrival concerned organizing a series of seminars in Albania on the progress of, and political stance taken by, the Albanian Republican Party. Mr. Godo told those present that PRSH now represents a party with a complex organization, spread throughout the country and continually becoming more consolidated, with a qualified press at its center and in several branches. With the theoretical alternatives it has put forward as solutions, and its practical progress toward a market economy, where property and ownership are the basis of free enterprise, PRSH has established itself as an Albanian right-wing party. As a member of the coalition, it has made—and continues to make—every possible effort to strengthen the democratic right wing against the social-communist threat. But, in confronting the concrete reality in Albania, PRSH disagrees on many points concerning economic development and the way economic reform is being implemented. The law on distributing land per capita impedes the development of agriculture, the establishment of order, and the arrival of foreign investors. In addition, PRSH has reservations about the way privatization is being carried out in Albania. The necessary legal framework is lacking, centralized economic bureaucracy prevails, and these circumstances have led to corruption connected with it. Mr. Godo then raised several issues concerning the strengthening of constitutional order and the organs of justice, as necessities on the path we are following. The discussions took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The Union of Albanian Journalists, which includes the overwhelming majority of journalists throughout the country, feels it is its responsibility to address all journalists, calling on them to contribute to today’s information and journalism with greater realism, objectivity, and calm. Believing that Albania entered the path of pluralism after a dictatorship without parallel in its oppression of the individual and freedom of speech, we regard an outpouring—indeed, an excessive one—of freedom of speech as natural and inevitable. The Union of Albanian Journalists, as a professional body, has always had, and continues to have, the aim of contributing as honestly as possible, through its entire membership, to the progress Albania has only just embarked upon. While seeking to remain politically independent, it does not claim to stand outside the politics of the day or the country’s democratic and national moment. The opposite would be absurd. It brings together journalists from the entire political spectrum of the country, and this does not prevent the Union mission. Since pluralism by its nature entails respect for diversity, it makes possible the coexistence of government and opposition, as expressed through newspapers, governing boards, and political parties where journalists and their associates—the contributors to the pluralist press—are employed. But democratic pluralism, cultivated and expressed through the various press and mass-media outlets, would wear itself out and lose credibility with its readers and buyers if it did not respect, as much as possible, the complete truth, the inherited reality, and the aspirations this people has declared for an increasingly democratic society. Even when a journalist works for the political newspaper of a party, journalists must make clear their identification with a group or the leadership of a particular group of people, sunk to the point of blindness in the struggle for power and illicit gains; this should not, willingly or unwillingly, be passed on to the reader as the journalists’ own position. It is not uncommon for individual journalists to become political puppets in the hands of politicians whose interests seem not to be the same as the concerns and fate of this people. This is all the more serious when, in some cases, a journalist’s national identity is difficult to establish! Journalists often become shields for people accused of corruption, and this casts a shadow of suspicion over the journalists’ own dignity. It is forgotten that journalists’ mission is also to remain social and moral figures—why not, even purer than the politicians of the day. Longer-lasting, more trustworthy, more humane in the eyes of the broad reading public, as citizens of the country. Does a journalist make mistakes? Does he have time to verify every piece of information? Should he be held responsible for what he writes and puts into the public domain? That is precisely the price one must pay to remain a genuine, honest, and respected journalist. Let us all try to set out on this path. On 24 January, the chairman of the PRSH, Sabri Godo, the deputy chairman, Fatmir Mediu, and the Secretary-General, Çerçiz Mingomataj, received at the PR headquarters the assistants of the Institute’s program near the lower edge of the image

An Onufri painting exhibited in Tirana, Paris, Rome, and Munich would have no corner in the city of Berat where it could be kept. There is no need to go on at length to give Berat’s cultural, architectural, ethnographic, historical, and literary biography. The city’s 2,400-year history has itself created that biography, recognized and presented at national and international symposiums, and referred to in the 11 museums that were open until 1991–1992. Still, without further preamble, we would simply cry: “ALARM for the protection of Berat’s cultural treasures! ALARM! ALARM!” What facts lead to this warning? The 11 museums Berat had before the democratic processes are now all, without exception, non-operational. Indeed, no one even talks any longer about promoting their treasures; instead, people are wondering where to put the dozens of exhibits, so numerous that they have been left to the mercy of fate. These treasures—from the museums of architecture, ethnography, folk culture, history, the National Liberation War, and the rooms of the “Onufri” Museum—are in an uncertain condition of national significance, including works of the kind represented by Onufri. Let us remember that an Onufri painting exhibited in Tirana, Paris, Rome, Munich, and elsewhere in Europe, but with no further corner in Berat where it can be displayed, is worth no less than 11.5 million dollars. With loud, hollow propaganda, the communist dictatorship greatly extolled the value of museums, even as millions of lek were spent on the red party officials and luxurious buildings were constructed, such as the multi-storey PPSH committee building and the unfinished building of the executive committee, while nothing at all was invested in museums. All Berat’s museum treasures had been placed in buildings belonging to former owners, seized by force and confiscated in an absurd manner, or in five places of worship (one church, three mosques, one teqe). Not a single new building! But now, in the years of the democratic state, and especially in 1993, under the Law on the Return of Property to Former Owners—people persecuted by the dictatorship—what was expected happened. On the one hand, the former properties of owners and religious communities were emptied, and the museum treasures they housed have recently been crammed into the only building that still bears the name “Historical Museum.” Just think for a moment! It now houses the collection of 1,000 icons, the archaeology collection (the second most valuable in Albania), the ethnographic museum collection (one of the best in Albania), not to mention the five historical pavilions, renovated to contemporary standards. Nevertheless, work is being done here. At the ethnographic museum, which has been very well renovated, those museum treasures and scholarly works are at risk of damage. The owner has even emerged for the central building: a member of the patriotic Vrionas family, persecuted by the communist dictatorship. Thanks to his exceptionally generous goodwill toward Berat’s culture, this owner has allowed the building to continue to be used for rent for another three years—a period that may be sufficient to find another venue. The same can be said of the Onufri Museum, and so on. But what happens after that? This is where the real alarm begins. At a time when Berat and its treasures have been proposed and strongly advocated for protection by UNESCO as international cultural heritage, here in Berat there is nowhere to exhibit them; or, just when history is beginning to breathe freely again after the chains of monist politics, instead of establishing new museums and making the best possible use of them, they have disappeared one by one, so that one scarcely dares ask the devastating and ominous question: “Will Berat have even one museum?” Faced with this situation, museum employees have written to the President, the chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Culture to express their concern about the future. They propose one solution: the best state-owned building available, such as the Hotel-Turizmi “Tomorri” for the time being, or another building, should not be privatized but temporarily placed at the service of the cultural treasures that have now become stockpiled, if we do not want tomorrow for rain and sun to “caress” them and for them to be seized by oblivion. At the same time, construction of a new museum in Berat’s characteristic architectural style should begin with state funding. Whatever the choice, a solution must be found, with the future in mind as well. Today, this warning of concern in Berat should be voiced not only by museum employees, but also by officials, party members, intellectuals, and even the simplest anonymous citizen. This is not only about the fate of a city’s culture, but of the entire nation. For Berat, this is certainly not a privilege but a right, because it has given so much to the nation’s culture. Quoting part of the letter signed by Sami Starova, director of the district museums, and addressed to the Prime Minister, we too say that “the spirits of those who created these treasures and the generations who will come after us will not forgive us for this negligence!” ALARM! Berat, with its culture as part of the nation’s culture, has a new message for survival! NAMIK SELMANI

How to become a millionaire very quickly Artur PILIKA p. 2 What is troubling the press today? Lutfi DERVISHI p. 2 Through the pages of the Greek newspapers p. 3 Appeal by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation p. 4

On Monday and Tuesday, numerous rumors spread about a very important visit that the madwoman N would make to Geneva to discuss the Fatos Nano issue. However, all these rumors vanished in the blink of an eye when, at 8:00 on Wednesday morning, the bent, exhausted madwoman N., looking a hundred years old, announced that she was returning from a difficult trip through the districts of Shkodër and Lezhë. “I went to carry out a political assassination, but I couldn’t do it,” she began her speech in Skënderbej Square. “And do you know why I couldn’t? Because I didn’t have Arben Imami with me. You can’t carry out a political assassination without Imami. Have you noticed that he has never been killed in any films? And do you know why? So he can succeed in political assassinations. In Shkodër I searched for the lists of AD Party members. The victim was nowhere to be found. They say he was accepted as a member after his death. There are people this party needs more dead than alive. That’s how modern parties are. They can’t work with the living of this world. “In Lezhë, a big film about the era of Enver Hoxha is going to be made. The directors will be very well known. The first sponsor will be the newspaper ‘Koha Jonë’. Five candidates auditioned for the role of Enver Hoxha. The winner is Sabi(t) Brokaj. When he sits in the car to win Comrade Enver’s award, he will put the money earned from selling aid supplies (mainly medicines), back when he was Minister of Health, under his seat. A beautiful lady who has her share of the money from the medicines sold will play EDIT. A sort of secretary. When filming is over, they will go straight to the defendants’ bench. Ledi will also at that point atone for the sin of acting as a matchmaker for illegal adoptions. “A brief note about the museum: ‘The 4th Plenum of the PS Central Committee will elect (the nine party vice-chairmen; the Chairman, dzhur, will continue to be Bashkim Zeneli.’ KRONIKANI