Yesterday, in one of the halls of the International Cultural Center in Tirana, the First Congress of the Albanian Republican Youth began its proceedings. The honor of opening the Congress proceedings went to the deputy chairman of the Republican Youth Forum, Mr. Eno Ngjela, who informed the delegates arriving from all branches of FRRSH of the attendance at the Congress proceedings of the chairman of PRSH, Mr. Sabri Godo, deputy chairman Mr. Fatmir Mediu, Secretary-General Mr. Çerçiz Mingomataj, and other members of the PRSH leadership. Among the other distinguished guests was Mr. Mentor Çoku. After the National Anthem was played, on behalf of the FRRSH leadership, its chairman, Mr. Enkel Demi, presented the report to the Congress. “Today we must speak our minds, openly, clearly and forcefully,” Mr. Demi emphasized. He described FRRSH as a political organization already established nationally, and even internationally. He informed the Congress that on December 6 of this year FRRSH had been accepted as a full member of the International of Young European Conservatives. As a supporter of the Republican Party, he stressed that “Albania does not need to tread new paths, but must reopen those that were closed to it” during half a century of communist dictatorship, and “make them as comfortable as possible.” The report emphasized that Republican youth policy rests on the two pillars of Albanian republicanism: the National Question and Property. Young people, said Mr. Demi, are at the mercy of fate. Organized crime, prostitution, drugs and other manifestations of the perverse world are seeking to impose themselves on the lives of Albanian youth. He urged young Republicans to be among the most active in efforts to prevent and curb these phenomena, which threaten the health of Albanian youth. Incompetence, corruption and nepotism in the practice of government were described in his speech as the main reasons for PR’s departure from the governing coalition. “You cannot seek progress,” he added, “where they ask for so little of it.” In the chairman’s candid and realistic report, Mr. Enkel Demi, one thing that draws attention, among others, is the fact that you will commit yourselves to fighting certain evils that threaten the present and, especially, the future of the nation: drugs, prostitution and organized crime. Unfortunately, those in power are doing very little, if anything at all, to stop these phenomena. In his greeting to the Congress, the chairman of PRSH, Mr. Sabri Godo, emphasized: “Without the youth, the future of the party is called into question...” He described the Republican Youth Forum as an aid to the Party, but also as a companion on the journey, operating with full autonomy within Republican philosophy and program, and supported by the Party so that it can grow and become stronger, while the Forum helps the Party in its day-to-day work. I repeat this view because the success or failure of the Youth Forum depends on a clear definition of these relations; without it, the Republican Party’s scope is greatly narrowed and its future called into question. I am convinced that only by standing alongside young people and maintaining a close connection with them can the Republican Party achieve the proper pace of work and life, because young people tend to be youthful and always open to new ideas, and are able to offer the simplest solutions to problems that seem the most difficult. I warmly welcome your Congress and wish it progress along its pure and noble path. I also congratulate you on your acceptance (continued on page 3). possible.” I say it is worth discussing our issues again, but personally I would like to add that FRRSH is a deeply political organization whose ultimate goal is to turn young politicians into party members, not only in practical terms but also intellectually. I think FRRSH aims to bring a new mindset to the Republican Party and, naturally, to build a career within it by giving the utmost of its strength during election campaigns or at major political events of this party. In the chairman’s candid and realistic report, Mr. Enkel Demi, one thing that draws attention, among others, is the fact that you will commit yourselves to fighting certain evils that threaten the present and, especially, the future of the nation: drugs, prostitution and organized crime. Unfortunately, those in power are doing very little, if anything at all, to stop these phenomena.

Report of the FRRSH Congress, p. 3 on your acceptance (continued on page 3).

The hunger strikers in Kukës, on the 12th day of their strike, said they continue to insist that the demands set out in the agreement they signed with the Government six months ago be met. They said their position had not changed even after the meeting held yesterday by President of the Republic Sali Berisha with the three deputies from their area, and despite the orders and actions taken by the Government during the day yesterday. Stating the position of the strike committee, its chairman, Jahir Trota, said, «some time ago on “Zëri i Amerikës” that the strikers are asking for an installment for their families and for measures to be taken to meet their demands. He said all 113 hunger strikers continue to call for a meeting in Kukës with President Berisha, in whom, as they have said before, they have confidence to resolve their problems. Showing his concern about the strikers’ deteriorating condition, President Berisha also met last night with the three deputies from the area, informing them that he had asked the Government to implement the decree he issued five months ago concerning assistance for families whose land was flooded by the construction of hydroelectric plants on the Drin River. Mr. Berisha informed them that the Government is taking measures to fully compensate the flooded areas, while it has decided to provide loans through the National Housing Agency to those covered by the law. Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Dylber Vrioni signed orders relating to the financing of families in the flooded areas. The Government has initially allocated 200 million lekë for the flooded families who are in most urgent need of building new shelter. The order...

In Macedonia: Were the Macedonians or the Albanians disgraced?!

As in many other cases, it is proving true that “rumors don’t arise for nothing” Until just a few days ago, the rumor that the land beside the League of Writers and Artists of Albania had entered the “sphere of influence” of the Tirana Municipality was still classified as “gossip”! In fact, the rumor was accompanied by a strict [?] at this municipality! A few days ago, a long row of bricks, at first like children’s toys and then taking the shape of a wall, rendered the sidewalk leading to the League unusable. It seems the Municipality was sending “its helmeted troops” onto the League’s property! Since writers are known as people who always choose peaceful paths, no physical resistance from them was to be expected. Their spirit is well known: May peace and harmony reign among the people and the characters of this world! Some time ago, when the League’s premises (the building) were given to writers for their use, the Municipality had calculated its “trophy”: Of 100% of their rents, 82% would go to the Municipality and only 18% would belong to the League!! Offended by these terms, the League was forced to block these actions: neither itself nor the Municipality. The League thus agreed to impoverish itself even further, aware that the Municipality has other ways of enriching itself! At last, it was the League’s land’s turn. It seems the Government will leave the writers under the jurisdiction of local government. In this way, the Municipality’s “independence” of the writers is further secured. There are other “rumors” too, but there is also another joke, according to which: ...not all dreams and rumors come true. F. M.

In Macedonia: Were the Macedonians or the Albanians disgraced?! Yesterday morning, the Macedonians bulldozed a building in an Albanian village near Tetovo, where the University of the Albanians was said to be going to operate. This was an anti-civilizational step by the Macedonian authorities, which surprised the local Albanians more than anyone else! Macedonia, a newly formed state that has taken seriously the task of proving to the world that it can sustain a state, faced with the dilemma of whether the appeal to create institutions without government permission damages the image of state-building or human rights more, clearly seems to have valued the former more. The Albanians apparently calculated that now, when Macedonia wishes to join the Council of Europe, it would not allow itself such an “anti-civilizational act” as demolishing a “civilizing creation” such as a university. And, as it turned out (this time too), they calculated incorrectly. It was precisely because Macedonia wishes to join the Council of Europe that it brought down the Albanian University before it could get started. It brought it down because it wanted to earn positive points with those who would decide whether or not Macedonia should be admitted into the European family. Yesterday the Macedonians demolished, arrested, and killed (yet) a young man. The Albanians held a press conference where they declared that “this was a day of destabilization” in Macedonia; in other words, they expressed concern about the miserable state of the fragile Macedonian state. The Macedonian police demolished the University, “hoping” that the Albanians would not fall for the provocation and try to defend it—and they had not hoped in vain. The Albanians established the University, judging (not hoping) that Macedonia could in no way prevail against this action, because it would be exposed as anti-European. At the end of this story, the only unanswered question is: who will pay for the building constructed without a permit? A. P.

Croatia and Albania signed a military-technical cooperation agreement on Tuesday in Zagreb, the official Croatian news agency Hina reported. “This agreement is not directed against any third country; on the contrary, it serves peace and security in all regions,” Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhulali said after signing the document. Croatian Deputy Defense Minister Josip Juras, for his part, expressed his satisfaction with the “full understanding” demonstrated by the Albanian delegation regarding the situation in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. A.F.P.

Or, when will we be freed from applause There are many ways to hold on to power. One of them is to do so by keeping intellectuals in power. Governance here means democratic governance: the democratic governance of Albania after emerging from dictatorship, where one cannot say that it “has been governed.” At the end of communist rule, a member of the Political Bureau went to Gramsh and gave a 45-minute speech about piecework, as if the people of Gramsh had never heard of piecework, as if they had just emerged from primitive society... Nevertheless, no one dared (or could dare) tell the rulers that this was no way to govern. The senior “bosses” neither wanted rulers of a different kind nor asked for opinions on how to respond. Back then (and indeed today), intellectuals were (and are) there. Albania needed (and needs) them, their minds and their contribution—as on how to respond. Albania has always asked: Can I make something of myself or not? Can I make myself or not? The intellectuals...? But who were (and are) the intellectuals? What is their “fault” and “sin,” that they have always remained outside the power game? It does not even occur to me to say that intellectuals are “those who have completed higher education”! Almost as much as we cannot claim that there are no intellectuals without higher education. A society draws its life and identity precisely from its exceptional individuals, who are worthy of being called “intellectuals.” Exceptional individuals can be found and stand out in every field, and it is precisely for these qualities that they should be respected and, most importantly, put to “use” in those fields. Let us not make comparisons with the past. Let us find what is good and useful in the time and place where values and merit, but also illiberalism and incompetence, emerge more clearly in the post-dictatorship period. What is the original sin of intellectuals? And what is the sin of today’s government toward them? What tests must intellectuals pass to merit the attention of the “bosses”? Who are these leaders whom the “bosses” judge and admire, and whom they summon to their side? Perhaps things cannot happen otherwise, but this much should be clear: “Against FAIK MYRTAJ (continued on page 2)

Neither the state’s nor the owners’. But whose? Page 2 Three pillars condemn Albania Page 4 German ground troops in Bosnia?! Page 4 Serbia toward Greater Serbia Page 4

In a crowd of people led by the madwoman N. of the capital, they walked quickly and silently along Durrës Street. When they reached Embassy Street, they wanted to enter it, but the police stopped them. “Let us pass,” the madwoman N. said on behalf of the crowd, who were marching silently. “We have business at the Greek embassy.” “You are not allowed,” the police said. “The Greek embassy is not open. It no longer issues visas.” “Call the ambassador quickly!” the madwoman shouted. “I want to protest. This is against human rights. I want visas. I want to go to Sebastianos’s funeral. This is a violation of human rights. This is a scandal!” At that moment the Greek ambassador appeared. The police had called him to help calm the crowd. “We cannot give you visas,” the ambassador said. “This is my government’s decision. If you want to attend the funeral, go to this side of the border; you will be only 123 cm away from the grave.” At that moment the madwoman N. collapsed lifelessly to the ground. “When I go mad, I want you to take me to the asylum in Janina,” the madwoman N. said on her deathbed, “and on the way stop me at the grave of my adopted son S. bastianos, because I want to lay a flower. He was a good man. He surely died to please the Albanian fundamentalist chauvinists. He was capable of doing that. He had that kind of heart. They say he asked to be buried facing Vorio-Epiri. The local radio station «Βλέπω Τομ»? has reported that [he] has occupied Vorio-Epiri and has been left in an information blackout... The Greek government must take urgent action; otherwise, as a professional, I am obliged to protest to all international organizations. How can you leave Vorio-Epiri in an information blackout? Madmen.”

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