Statement by the Steering Committee of the Republican Party At the special meeting of 6 August 1994, the Steering Committee reviewed the latest developments concerning the demands of the Association of Political Prisoners, unanimously reaching the following conclusions: 1. The Association’s resort to a hunger strike was the result of the Government’s dismissive attitude and incompetence, as it remained silent until the last moments. The Government is politicizing this strike by denigrating the Association, declaring that its demands punish the Albanian people. This disgusting accusation must be withdrawn. The Association is a broad stratum of the people, its most suffering and noblest part. 2. Given that the Association members are not in an employment relationship, decisions by any court, hastily contrived in a state of agitation, cannot have legal force. 3. The Government publicly used violence against the strikers in Durrës, Shijak, Fier and elsewhere. Members of the Republican Party Steering Committee saw with their own eyes in Durrës and Fier strikers forcibly removed from their places of confinement, beaten and bloodied. Some were taken to hospital and others were held for several hours at police stations. The Republican Party expresses its unequivocal protest against such acts and demands that those responsible be held criminally liable. 4. This conflict between the Association of Political Pri—[text appears incomplete]—the full responsibility it has toward the country, and refraining in all circumstances from using force. It is easy to cause unrest and social confrontations, but very difficult to emerge from them. The Republican Party, as it has consistently declared since last 25 July, considered a forcible confrontation with the Association an unacceptable outcome of the strike. The whip cannot now be brought down on the backs of those who have endured it for decades. The Government must be aware that any solution other than mutual understanding would bring about an irreparable rupture in democracy and a severe moral crisis for the entire Nation. 5. Albanian Television, by presenting events concerning the Association in a one-sided manner, bears responsibility for failing to inform the public properly, which negatively affects a fair resolution of the conflict. 6. The Republican Party stands with the Association of Former Political Prisoners, and… and, on the basis of the mandate of the National Council of 25 July, will decide in accordance with further developments, hoping and wishing that everything will be resolved in a fraternal manner. …Albanian. This necessary accusation must be withdrawn. The Association is a broad segment By seeing the use of violence as a solution, the Government is trying, at the last moment, to find legal loopholes. But whatever manipulations may be made, there is no law that can deprive an individual or group of the rights to protest, enshrined in the Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, the Government and… …publicly expresses its unequivocal protest against such acts and calls for those responsible to be held criminally accountable. 4. This conflict between the Association of Former Political Convicts and the Government is in fact an internal conflict within democracy, from which destructive communist forces may benefit. Therefore, we call on the Government to sit down immediately for talks with the Association, not in the confused manner it has adopted so far, but with a sense…

With Kurt Kola, chairman of the Hunger Strike Commission Kurt Kola, chairman of the Association of the Politically Persecuted, which has 120,000 members, is leading the hunger strike from his office, where for the past three days he has always been surrounded by journalists and association members bringing him information. The telephone is ringing— How is the strike going? “There is something interesting: today, the strikers’ morale is higher than on the first day. As for their physical condition, it is good, with the exception of a few elderly people whose blood pressure dropped, but after the doctors intervened they too are in good health.” “We will continue our protests in democratic forms, without stopping, until we achieve the fulfillment of our demands, which are not only lawful but entirely achievable.” Have you had any contacts, whether… rings frequently and Kurt Kola apologizes to the journalists for the interruption. He has taken off his tie and shirt and, wearing only an undershirt, agrees to be photographed and interviewed. The Government sued you for violating the law, and the Tirana Court has ordered the bailiff to enforce the decision suspending the strike. What is your opinion? “As soon as we received this decision of the Tirana Court, we called the Association’s lawyer, Mr. Spartak Ngjela, and, as soon as he became aware of the decision, he said it was a violation of the Constitution and immediately filed a counterclaim with the Constitutional Court. Lawyer Ngjela has also gone to the Tirana Court with a delegation from the hunger strike commission to arrange a hearing between the parties. We still do not know how this hearing will end.” Compared with the first day, has the situation changed? “He has received the latest information from the hunger strikes in the district of… What is the latest information from the hunger strikes in the districts? “According to the reports I receive by telephone, the hunger strike is continuing in all the districts. Only in Kavajë, after three harsh police interventions, today at 2 a.m. (Saturday morning. — my note) the people of Kavajë dispersed and cannot find a place to regroup. The police in Kavajë have occupied all the locations and are no longer allowing them to gather. In other districts, although the police have intervened harshly, the strikes are continuing.” How many hunger strikers are there across the country? “We have just completed compiling the information received from all the districts, and the total is 2,500 people currently on hunger strike, while more than 15,000 are registered, meaning they are ready to join.” If the bailiff enforces the Tirana Court’s decision to remove you by force, how will the Association respond? “We have been told about the measures to be taken by the police forces…” …me.” It has been written that your Association has been instrumentalized by extreme right-wing forces, even fascist ones… “This is familiar propaganda used by government officials, especially when such movements do not serve their interests. In other words, it is manipulation, a deception the Government is perpetrating against Albania’s democratic forces.” GJERGJ PILIKA

To the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi The National Committee of the hunger strike of the National Association of Albania’s Politically Convicted, having been informed of the outcome of the talks between you and the delegation, undertook to make the following known to you: 1. Regarding the first demands in the declaration of the National Council, which includes three demands at once, we agree that compensation be made through the privatization of national property, without excluding other financial sources that the Government may secure. Since the Government is carrying out the privatization of national property, we request that compensation be paid in cash and in privatization money (securities). For those who will receive cash, we request that it be paid in three installments, on the following dates: The first installment in the fourth quarter of 1994, the second installment in the first quarter of 1995, and the third installment in the last quarter of 1995. As for cash, according to the Government’s decision, it should begin immediately, in August of this year. 2. Point four: for those who were executed and those killed in prison, compensation should equal 25 years of imprisonment (according to the Statute), for which 200,000 lek in cash shall be paid, according to the law, and the remainder in securities. 3. Point 4: compensation should be made for our homes burned after 28 November 1944, for families who continued the struggle against the communist regime and proved this in court. 4. Point seven: political internees after 1954 should be given compensation in securities, since they have been treated very differently from the others. 5. Point eight: special taxes and amendments should be adopted and the provisions envisaged in Article 121 of the Statute implemented. 6. Point nine: the assets of the PP, created with the blood of the people, in party headquarters, villas and elsewhere, should be confiscated, and a portion given to the National Association for its use in serving its interests. 7. Point ten: the second payment of pension arrears should begin and… To implement these demands, we request a PRESIDENTIAL DECREE. We await a reply by 4.08.1994, 20:00.

The Steering Committee of the PR branch in Fier met urgently on 5.08.1994 regarding the politically persecuted, who… The Steering Committee of the PR branch in Fier met urgently on 5.08.1994 regarding the politically persecuted, who, following the rules, had asked to begin a hunger strike, but were met with brutal violence by the Security forces. This violence accompanied the open and various threatening actions directed at the Association’s leadership. As a result of the violence, four people in serious health condition were admitted to hospital. Regarding the above, we declare: 1. The violence used is characteristic of an undemocratic state. 2. The people who used the violence, or ordered that it be used, are unfit for the duties they hold and must be held legally accountable. 3. The PR branch supports the politically persecuted, who have shown themselves to be tolerant people and the first pioneers in opposing the communist regime. 4. The local authorities should be held accountable and take concrete measures to prevent an outbreak and to dictate terms to the hunger strikers of Fier.

Lawyer Ngjela: “There is no law that prohibits a hunger strike” “No, the government’s lawsuit has no cause of action; it is therefore unfounded in law.” This is Spartak Ngjela, the well-known lawyer representing the Association’s legal defense. At 13:30 he enters the Association’s headquarters, where he could very well have been a hunger striker himself. His years in prison as a politically persecuted person would have made such a thing possible. Why has the government made a legal mistake? “Already in Article 1 of the decree (he takes a photocopy of the decree from his pocket and shows it to us), including its amendments, it is stated that a strike is to be understood as the interruption of work… …nothing else. In other words, workers have the right to strike” (to temporarily stop work). That is what a strike is. The fact that this is not a work strike has nothing to do with a hunger strike. Here I told the government to withdraw the lawsuit, because a lawsuit without a cause of action could further inflame tensions. I also asked it to continue the dialogue, regardless of the court. Since this falls outside the jurisdiction here, this is a hunger strike, which has not been regulated by law so far. How will events unfold if the bailiff’s office is to enforce a final judgment? “At the enforcement office they told me they would enforce it on Monday the 8th (of August—my note) at 8:00, and it is absurd that there is a court hearing at 12 and it is not known whether that court will accept the lawsuit or not.” In this matter, are you involved as one of the persecuted or as a lawyer? “I am here as a lawyer, since my fellow sufferers are here too. I had no part in making the economic demands. I look at the issues from a legal perspective and perhaps I have gone beyond some of my role, and have done so deliberately in order to defuse the conflict. […] all…

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At its meeting on 6 August, the Steering Committee also addressed the matter of Mr. Eduard Ypi, a member of this Committee. For several months, Mr. Ypi has severed all ties with the Steering Committee and on repeated occasions has maintained an indifferent or even opposing stance toward the Party’s decisions. In accordance with the statute, the Steering Committee decided to dismiss him from his position as a Committee member. Steering Committee of the Republican Party Page 2

The hunger strike of the former political prisoners entered its second day. All the hunger strikers are determined not to leave alive. Everyone insists on continuing the strikes until all 10 points of the DECLARATION have been fulfilled. The strike began in the cities of Albania on 5 August. But in many cities, brutal police violence was used against the strikers. There have been numerous cases of mistreatment of strikers, for example in Durrës, Kavajë, Pogradec, Shijak, Bulqizë, etc. Many were injured, some of whom were taken to hospitals in their respective cities. The most serious case of police mistreatment of strikers was in Pogradec, where, as a result of police barbarity, Hilmi Bracellari of Pogradec was left with a head injury. Police brutality did not spare the woman striker either, as in the case of Bulqizë. Such bestial acts, even the political prisoners… [text incomplete] …the regime of Hoxha, even the executioners of the regime of Hoxha could not have inflicted on them. During the days of the strike, the strike commission received telegrams and messages of support for the strike, expressing solidarity with it. The chairpersons and members of various political parties and associations in Albania have come to visit the headquarters and the hall where the strike is being held. … the press, foreign media, and journalists from Albania and abroad have also been present at the headquarters where the strike is taking place. … The Association of strikers calls on the strikers in all cities to take measures to ensure reliable communications for the hunger strike. Hunger Strike Headquarters