The idea of creating a grouping of right-wing forces is an idea we all desire. Essentially, this was the idea with which the parties of the democratic camp formed the anti-communist coalition to overthrow the dictatorship. However, with the fall of communism and the Democratic Party taking power as the largest party in the anti-communist bloc at the time, things did not go as the people had demanded when they rose up to overthrow the communist dictatorship. The worsening political and economic situation, as a consequence of the DP’s misguided government and its failure to implement the reform to the extent promised to the people before taking power, created the need for the Right to unite once again so that, united, it could halt this backsliding. The comments with which the idea of creating a right-wing bloc was received, and especially the realization of this idea through the formation of the Albanian Right-Wing League, with all the political entities, show that this coalition was formed at the right moment, if not at the very last moment. The predictions and statements by some political forces and “unseen” newspapers about the rapid failure of this League show better than anything else the effect the formation of this coalition had on the left and far-left forces. Such predictions about the failure of the Right bring to mind the old communist predictions about the failure of capitalism. It is well known where they are now and where it is on these points; on the contrary, their position concerning it remains communist, while ours remains anti-communist. Recently, the Democratic Party has tried to show openness on the question of property, but has not gone so far that this can be called a significant change. All the more so because the DP is in government, and its work is judged by deeds more than by positions. The position on property is not merely the cardinal dividing line between the Left and the Right. It is the cardinal line that separates democracy from communism. The position of the European Left on property would be called “right-wing extremism” by our leftists. The current position of the Left, and unfortunately also of the Centre, on property has still not managed to free itself from the communist framework. The reasons that, according to these “analysts,” will bring about the failure and destruction of the Right are not mentioned at all, unless they count as a reason their own unhealthy desire for such a thing to happen. The Republican Party and the Legality Movement Party are in the Right-Wing League. The differing positions of these two parties on the institutional form of the state are no reason for them not to be on the same side. Moreover, their position on this issue is identical: a referendum should be held on the institutional form of the state. And just as the Legality Movement is a legal party today, when Albania is a republic, even if the option of a constitutional monarchy were to win in a popular referendum, the Republican Party would be very interested in having this option implemented, because the national interest comes first. Another attempt to attack the Right is the card of local chieftainism, which left-wing political forces are trying in vain to play through their newspapers. “... waiting for Godo,” and similar headlines and comments, in which they try to pin on some leader the notion that all the member entities of the Right-Wing League are trying to seize the reins of the Right, are nothing but delusions that the Right can be split by stirring up the other entities’ chieftain-like sentiments. The Republican Party is neither the founder nor the originator of the Right’s coalition. It is one of six equal entities in a coalition that is open to all other forces that agree with its stated platform. The concept of a “mother party” has never existed for right-wing parties, and even less so for the Republican Party. It is well known that the Republican Party has always put the national interest first in its activities, consciously giving up selfish interests. And time has shown that it was not wrong. A journalist who dares to say, “Kurt Kola speaks with someone else’s mind,” cannot insult a man like Kurt, who knew how to speak for himself better than many others, politicians of today and yesterday, 45 years ago, and proved this through his deeds and his life. In an effort to minimize the weight of the parties in the Right-Wing Coalition in Albanian political life, some fashionable politician has called them “archaic.” The conservative orientation of this movement is a new orientation in Europe. The success this orientation has achieved in advancing Western societies has meant that conservatives continue to dominate European politics. Fashionable politicians who prefer new ideas, who prefer anything else the effect this coalition’s formation had on the left-wing and ultra-left where capitalism is. The national question and the legitimacy of property are mentioned neither as causes that will bring about the failure of the Right nor as elements of its success. The Left deliberately avoids attacking these two pillars of the Right. The Left has never agreed to discuss openly these two points, which are of cardinal importance in paving the way for the nation’s progress. They do not attack the Right on this issue, not because they agree with it. The government that emerged from Parliament, with a majority of DP deputies, built around a communist administration and left-wing laws, has created a situation of dangerous social conflicts and plunged the country into destructive corruption. To put a stop to this harmful activity, which is creating the conditions for the return of communism to Albania by dividing Albanians, there is an urgent need to unite the anti-

Statement by LDSH, delivered at Friday’s press conference by Mr. Kurt Kola Gentlemen, as you know from the press, on 7.02.1995 the Albanian Right-Wing League was established. History called upon the right-wing forces to take on the responsibility of leading the country out of its economic difficulties, anullia and corruption, and its complicated political situations. The Democratic Party, whose composition was overwhelmingly of half-baked communist origin, created a neo-communist government with cadres who inherited the mentality and experience of the totalitarian state regime. It could not bring about a free-market economy and a genuine Western democracy in Albania. The DP could never become a right-wing party, neither overnight nor during its electoral mandate, with people of Marxist formation in its leadership. Thus, it could not be reformed even by those democrats who were powerless in the face of their leadership. It could not carry out the reforms or keep its promises, because they were conditioned by the program of the anti- communist. A little history about this founding: On 8 January 1994, the Shkodër branch of the Property with Justice Association, at one of its rallies, took the initiative to create the Albanian Right. This idea was followed by rallies in all the cities of the country. After the rally phase, the political forces sat down at a round table to decide on the official confirmation of the Right-Wing grouping. In July, three consecutive meetings were held and, as agreement could not be reached on the name, two right-wing groups were formed: the Albanian Anti-Communist League and the Anti-Communist Right Front. Within the framework of the decision taken to admit new political entities, the Albanian Anti-Communist League received a request to participate from the Republican Party and the Democratic Union. On 14 January, the first meeting was held between the six right-wing political entities. They were invited to this meeting (continued on page 3)

On Friday, at the Palace of Congresses, the leaders of the political entities making up the Albanian Right-Wing League held a press conference. After Mr. Kurt Kola read a statement to the journalists, he and the other leaders—Mr. Hysen Selfo of Balli Kombëtar, Mr. Guri Durrollari of the Legality Movement Party, Mr. Sabri Godo of the Republican Party, Mr. Haki Hajdari of the Association of Former Political and Economic Persecutees, and Mr. Remzi Ndreu of the Democratic Union Party—answered questions. The journalists’ interest was generally focused on how the LDSH functions and its relationship with other right-wing forces, with the DP, and its position toward the Left. It was reported that in the upcoming elections the LDSH would run joint candidates, with the candidate of the entity that has the strongest presence in each area receiving support. Regarding the expansion of this coalition, the leaders declared that the LDSH is open to all right-wing forces whose programs do not conflict with its platform. It was affirmed, both in the statement and in the individual answers, that the National Question and property would be the main pillars of this front. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Legality Movement dismissed as fabrications a journalist’s insinuations that the Legality Movement had denied participating in the LDSH, confirming his party’s participation in the coalition. “Republika” correspondent Photo: A. Dhimitri

p. 4

The recent changes in the government, the divisions within the DP relating to these and other issues being discussed in our political circles, the discussions about the immunity of former DP ministers, the offensive against the Ministry of Defense and its official over involvement in arms and cigarette smuggling, the “Brozi affair” and the government’s failure in these duels, the demands for Prime Minister Meksi to be held accountable, the Ilirimi of five Albanians of Greek origin, the way their issue was handled, and, most recently, the no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the People’s Assembly, all point to an intensification of the opposition’s efforts, first and foremost against the Left, to widen further the breach created by the referendum result in the ship of power, in order to save it from sinking. Because of the DP’s support during the campaign to overthrow the communist government and its victory on 22 March, they found themselves on the same front (despite their differences on other issues), as a consequence of the thinking on sinking. (Continued on page 3)

A surprising statement by Selami at the DP gathering in Shkodër drew the attention of the press and the public. At the DP gathering in Shkodër, Selami said that the Constitution should be adopted through Parliament. What draws attention is the television report broadcast last night. In the television news bulletins, not only was the DP chairman’s statement on the Constitution ignored, but in the evening bulletin, unlike the one at 16:00, the criticism directed at the DP by the chairman of the Shkodër DP branch was “cleaned up.” Censorship, which extends even to coverage of the DP chairman’s reports, makes public television—which is being talked about more and more—somewhat less credible. Fortunately, people no longer have television as their only means of finding out what is happening in the country. By not broadcasting such statements, television does nothing but play the ostrich. “Republika” correspondent

The Norwegian committee for awarding the “Nobel” Prize announced today that it has so far received 102 names for the 1995 prize, including 25 organizations and 77 individuals. As usual, the institute will not disclose any of the names. Under the committee’s procedure, established by its founder Alfred Nobel, the selection process is secret. But some names have already been made public, the DPA agency reports. They are the Kurdish politician Lejla Zana, who was imprisoned for defending Kurdish rights in the Turkish parliament; former US President Xhimi Karter; Russian human rights defender Sergej Kovalov, who has criticized the war in Chechnya; Chinese dissident Wei Jingshen; former Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds; and Czech President Vaclav Havel.

According to a study conducted in January 1995, the monthly wallet of Albanians has been measured. Employees’ salaries are divided into 22 classes, starting with the lowest class of 3,000 lekë and ending with the highest class—9,000 lekë. The average salary of employees is 4,090 lekë, that of the 13th class. All foreign companies in Albania pay from class 19, that is, 5,340 lekë, up to 9,000 lekë per month. Our state is the poorest. It pays less than 3,000 lekë, and the monthly average is 3,890 lekë. But the wallets of the state hierarchy look different. For example: President of the Republic, 41,000. Chairman of the Council of Ministers, 35,000. Chairman of the People’s Assembly, 30,000. Prefect and Mayor of Tirana, 26,000. Chairmen of the Court of Cassation, the Constitutional Court, and the National Intelligence Service, 30,000. Members of the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation, 25,000. Mu. Malli Caricature: the airplane “41000lek”, the car “9000lek”, the cart “3000lek”.

“RILINDJA,” an example of work under occupation page 3 All of Tirana—a huge market full of mud page 2 Another view of Islam page 4 Lessons from history for the future of the Prince

“The people have not felt the lack of sugar in Tirana’s market, since only honey flows from the mouths of our government officials. The lack of electric lights shows that we are, and for some time will remain, a people with a high level of civilization, culture, and development. As you know, peoples with a high level of development and consolidated democracy use only candles for lighting. In fact, we are the only European country where candle consumption has increased as a result of the hard work of government officials and, in general, the state administration, who are melting away like candles over the people’s troubles. Now that the four Greek culprits are free to roam all over Europe, the 70,000 expelled Albanians will return to Greece. From now on, visas will also have the will and [?] of the Court of Cassation. This measure is being taken after several accusations in the independent press of visa trading and forgery. Apart from our courts, this is the best guarantee of that. Albanian MPs in Macedonia spoke Albanian in parliament, while the speaker shouted in Macedonian; when he saw that no one understood him in that language, he began speaking Albanian. We are on the brink of the Fourth World War! I have tried to tell you roundabout, but you have not understood. Now I’ll say it plainly: gather your crowd! Greece will start the war and Albania will finish it. Official Tirana will hear the news of the war at the end of it. THE CHRONICLER