Sabri Godo, Chairman of the PRSH: - First, I would suggest that the aspiration of Albanians for the Union of the Nation through peaceful means be formulated in the constitutional bureau. - The chapter on Freedoms and Human Rights is complete. - As for the other chapters, especially the balance of powers, I consider it important to clarify definitively the form of government. - If the President is to be elected by Parliament with two-thirds of the votes, his office would not pose a real danger, even if he were to assume some additional powers. - Any kind of violation or manipulation in the voting procedure would lead the Republicans to vote against. - It takes only a little composure to see that an article which seems to us a national catastrophe turns out to be normal and without any consequence in another country with a high democratic standard. - One thing is clear: the Socialists always need a reason to set the situation ablaze.

- As regards the President’s powers, substantive powers are more important. Various politicians, when discussing this issue, confuse these powers with formal ones. - Once Parliament has elected the members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, it has no further dealings with them; otherwise, the legislature would take control of the judiciary. - Parliament cannot adopt the constitution—the constitution has its own functions, and Parliament is one thing. So how can a function of the constitution adopt a function of the state? This is impossible. As for the methods of approving a constitution, there are several. Its content is more important. - After Parliament elects the members of the Constitutional Court, - Only those who fear failure can fear a referendum. - The Constitution cannot and must not prevent the people from exercising their power. - This draft is in itself a historic monument to Albanian society, but also a monument to Albanian jurisprudence.

- No one should be afraid of the will of the people or of the means given to them to express that will. - Those who have not respected the will of the people and their rights have not succeeded.

The University of Vlora is inaugurated On October 14, the “Ismail Qemali” University of Vlora was inaugurated. The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, as well as Ministers Teliti, Musaraj, Uka, Aganosti, etc., attended the inauguration ceremony. Also present was the granddaughter of the patriot Ismail Qemali, Nermin Vlora (Falaski). After the opening speech by Minister Teliti, President Berisha also addressed the gathering. Among other things, he emphasized the great importance of universities as centers of Albanian knowledge and culture, the role students have played and continue to play in the country’s democratization process, while also highlighting the great role of our patriots, especially Ismail Qemali, whom he described as Albania’s true statesman. Later, President Berisha made a visit to the region of Mesapluk, stopping first in the village of Gjorm. “I have come here to Gjorm,” said Berisha, “because you defended freedom and the flag, and you will defend the draft constitution.” He then stopped in the village of Lepenicë, visiting the Lepenica family to honor the memory of the nationalist Hysni Lepenica. President Berisha then stopped in the village of Vranisht. “I have come to you to ask for your besa, your word, your opinion on the constitution. Let the people of Labëria make the constitution, vote for the constitution, defend the constitution,” he said, among other things. Correspondent: “Republika” At the meeting that Mr. Janullatos had on 1.07.1993, (continued on page 4) Photo: A. Babani

As a newspaper interested in issues concerning the national sphere, and therefore also in the proper functioning of religious faith in Albania, “Republika” has followed His Beatitude, the episcopal Janullatos, with attention and interest. Because of the inaccuracies evident in the material distributed by His Beatitude Janullatos’s spokesman, we are obliged to clarify matters further. At the meeting Mr. Janullatos had on 1.07.1993 at the Presidency of Albania, according to documents that must surely have been kept, there were not (continued on page 4)

On October 14, the Assembly of representatives of the Republican Party branches convened, consisting of one representative from each branch. At this meeting, the Assembly drew up the list of candidates for the National Council, which will be presented to the Congress. The Assembly also prepared the list of candidates who will compete for the party leadership and be voted on directly by the Congress. The Assembly also elected a 15-member election commission, made up of delegates from the districts. This election procedure will make it possible to implement the party’s full will more directly in electing its governing bodies in the most democratic manner.

The question of the development of the Orthodox Church in Albania is connected more with the religious devotion of the faithful than with its organization; they will not abandon it, whoever their archbishop may be. The forced departure of the archbishop, following the adoption of the Constitution, will relieve the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania of the heavy and unnecessary burden of politics. His Grace, Janullatos, is approaching the end of his era of temporary rule over the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. On 6 November, the Albanian ... (continued on page 4)

Not at any cost... The number of those drowned, missing and rescued at Otranto has still not been established, and yet something must be said. Feelings of guilt and remorse are present in everyone. These are human lives lost in an attempt to change something in their lives. Greater attention from the state, greater responsibility from families, a human responsibility from the individuals—their adventure is something they want to turn into money... Prosperity is sought; poverty is still present, especially when compared with the advertised Western luxury; getting rich quickly is tempting for everyone. But not at any cost! Not at any price! Change one’s life, but not to the point of putting it at risk. There is a state, and there is also a society, a family. Everyone must answer for what happened, for what may happen. Consolation is not enough, nor is sympathy. Let us become more realistic. A.T.

“I went mad in the time of Enver Hoxha,” said the madwoman N., “but I am not politically mad.” “I went mad in the time of Enver Hoxha,” said the madwoman N., “but I am not politically mad. Zabiti, yes, Zabiti of the Brokas is politically mad. I cannot forget Enver; he, R…jerson. Zabiti says he will enter the Socialist International as a lady, although Zabiti, Enver’s double, says he is a man. Why doesn’t he register with some Society of the whole lot? Ardian Reçi is Ramiz Alia’s secretary. Everyone knows this. You can tell from the style. Yes, yes! Week after week, one reads that it is him. Pity the intellectuals when they are usurped by their small personal merits. Not everyone can become a great statesman, just as I cannot become chairwoman of the independent woman. Are there independent women? No, there aren’t—well, there are independent ones! But even from among them... The journalists are not Greek. He is one of the ... of Olympus? Does he have a government in the districts of the country? He has decided that he has spent 30 years thinking and living for Autocephalous Albania. Ever since 1964, when Noli came to America. Why don’t we help Janullatos in the opposition newspapers? “I will not vote in the Referendum either,” said the madwoman N. What is this Referendum? When have we ever held a Referendum, we Albanians? If the Referendum were good, Enver would have had his comrades do it. Enver did this to this people and that one. Let there also be a referendum for those who do not want referendums—why not? Let everyone hold their own referendum. Do we have a multireferendum or not?! “The customs representatives will be replaced,” said the madwoman N. They will be transferred to the municipalities of the big cities. Boli fought against corruption. Who will go to work at customs? Are there volunteers for customs? Is there ...? Volunteer squads will be set up. The parties will hold another meeting and decide. Do we want the people or not? Would it be so bad if the people didn’t love us? The people do not hold meetings. The people do not pay dues to parties that are not THE CHRONICLER

On BBC’s program: Pëllumb Xhufi and Filip Liço (continued from the previous issue) Minorities and ethnic groups in Albania (continued from the previous issue) Minorities and ethnic groups in Albania (continued from the previous issue with Mr. Pëllumb Xhufi’s answer) But wouldn’t these exclude Northern Albania? Oh, no, these are pan-Albanian names, ancient names, dating back to the beginnings of Christianity. The name Gjon is Christian and belongs to the Christian calendar; it is the Johan of the Bible, but it was adopted by Albanians in the same way as the Anglo-Saxons’ John, the French Jean, and the Russians’ Ivan. This is stubborn evidence, and documents from the 11th–12th centuries show that they have been firmly established since time immemorial and do not ... Mr. Liço: We need to examine the issue of names more broadly; the bias and blame are divided between both sides, as if they were accused of ... As I said about ... In northern Epirus and Thessaly, they are called “Avasili,” which means that they did not submit to the Byzantine emperor. —The speech of the Greek minority resembles the dialect of the area around Athens. Mr. Liço, there are two views. So you accept this. Greek linguists accept it too; for example, Stamatiller in the world since ... Mr. Xhufi: Greek linguists accept it too, and there is an Anagostopoulos who says: “The dialect of the minority represents an isolated enclave that spoke a southern dialect.” This confirms the argument that there was a migration from the South toward the North. During the Middle Ages, many different soldiers said that Epirus was inhabited by Albanians. It is true that in the time of Ali Pasha ... Mr. Liço: All the villages of Delvina held an assembly on 1 August 1800; there were Albanians too, who organized ... against Ali Pashë Tepelena, who wanted the villages to return to ... The inhabitants, with their names and ... Mr. Xhufi: I am not against the 1,800 names of these Greek pashas in Dropull, but in 1913 the Border Delimitation Commission made a topographic map of the Vurg area and the villages of Hajdaragaj, Me... Mr. Liço: Omonia’s documents say that the minority has lived on its own lands for thousands of years. Mr. Liço: In Dhrovjan there are documents dating from before the year 1000, such as the church, with Greek inscriptions; so, if there were Albanians, why was it written in Greek? These areas also have a tradition different from the Albanian one. —And you, Mr. Xhufi? Mr. Xhufi: These traditions did not originate there. They came with the population; as for the inscriptions being in Greek, I have seen Latin inscriptions in the middle of Athens, but that does not mean Athens was Latin in the 13th, 14th or 15th centuries. Then there is the Ottoman defter. For other areas such as Delvina and Vurgu, we have a codex of Delvina in which a Greek author, P. Pash, tells us that in 1730 Albanian was spoken in Delvina and the surrounding villages, to such an extent that a Greek could not bear the situation and left. Pukovili confirms this too. ... in the villages of Delvina ... Pandis, they held an assembly ... and ... —Mr. Liço, in this I agree, indeed on 12 October 1993 in Tirana a meeting was held with minority intellectuals and with the chairman and deputy chairman of Omonia on minority issues. LANÇL, etc. The first point was for the organization’s program to speak about the minority and Vorioepir. Recently the newspaper “Omonia” has made this demand as well. We have elements who want to erase their past as security agents and so on, and who have emerged with extremist, chauvinist pamphlets. They have found no support from the leadership or the minority intellectuals; indeed, at a meeting with ... minority members in 1993, they asked for Behzani to be removed from the hall. Mr. Xhufi: I support Mr. Liço in this opinion and, as for the information, when I began to ... (continued on page 4)

October 19–20 Second Congress of the Albanian Republican Party

Another category of the noise heard around the Constitution event is that of MPs without an electorate, or with a repentant electorate. Seen from this angle, their noise is simply a personal outpouring of ambitions directed at their former fellow initiators, from the time when power, too, was just getting started. From a civic point of view, their vehement attack is justified. The personal nature of this noise is confirmed by one of the leaders of this camp when he declares that “we must raise our eyes to the sky and pray for his fate (Berisha’s, my note) or our fate.” The distinction between “his” and “our” very accurately reveals the nature of this “head-to-head” opposition. In such circumstances, it would be a sin for the supporters to be led astray; it would be more or less like spending a night in the miller’s lap out of spite toward the ...