The necessity of creating alliances is the only sure conclusion that can be drawn today by taking a look at developments on the Albanian political scene. But the more the need is felt to build bridges of cooperation between different political forces, the more various difficulties come to light, almost making this impossible. Different factors play a role here, first and foremost the lack of political experience under pluralism, mindsets shaped by the monist past, such as dogmatism and a lack of flexibility in maintaining positions, which are still present in the activities of our politicians to this day. Thus, it is not known what an alliance or a coalition is, and consequently it is not known where one begins and the other ends; as a result, it is considered appropriate to lump them together. The creation of alliances is also made more difficult by the fact that the motives that might lead to a climate of cooperation between parties are relatively weaker than the factors keeping them apart. In this respect, even parties that stand very close to the PS—regardless of what the political forces may have decided—are not only taking common positions with it, but also have more or less the same programs. Something more or less similar is happening with the PD. Political parties close to it, both moderate and on the right, refuse to declare themselves its allies, wary of having to bear some of the “sins” of the party in power. This has also been influenced by the PD’s severing of bridges both with the Left and with the Right, as well as its stance toward various groups within its own ranks. The right-wing forces appear to be in a more favorable position when it comes to alliances, as can be seen from the creation of LDSH. This has been influenced by the existence of several pillars supporting this alliance, such as its position on property, the struggle against the retention of communism—which risks its return, albeit in other forms—intolerance of shortcomings in the governance of the country, etc. Faced with the above-mentioned difficulties concerning the creation of alliances, various forces on the left have begun a campaign of attacks against LDSH and its components, speculating about some of the points in its platform, the presence of monarchists within it, its position toward certain groups, etc. Nevertheless, LDSH does not represent a structure from the past. If it has appeared on the Albanian political scene today, it is because the country is going badly and the party in power abandoned some of the commitments relating to the aspirations of right-wing entities. In this sense, it is a new, original political expression, but one that also has roots in the history of the country and the nation, drawing on their finest values. LDSH was born as an immediate response to the crisis the country is currently experiencing. In this respect, it appears as a reflection of the country’s will to survive, as an instrument that will ensure its reconstruction. It is not a spontaneous protest movement merely seeking to demonstrate its presence on the country’s political scene, nor a revanchist grouping, as some like to call it, that would set Albanians against one another. LDSH, in any case, refuses to integrate with any compromised or discredited political class; its objective is to rally the Albanian people behind it in order to govern, offering its solutions to the grave problems the country is facing. The solutions proposed by LDSH are neither myths nor miracles; on the contrary, they are concrete and feasible. Not being the product of any doctrine or ideology, they represent a political response to the threats weighing on the country’s future. ...organizations... ...in a climate of cooperation between the In this respect, even the parties that are very close to the PS, regardless of what they may have decided in secret, are still afraid to admit openly that they do not rule out the possibility of an alliance or coalition with it. In this case, the PS’s legacy is stronger than the immediate need for cooperation among those...

“I will avoid formulaic approaches,” the foreign minister promised before beginning to present a three-year account of the country’s foreign policy. This was his first contact with representatives of the press after a very long time. During this meeting, which, according to Mr. Serreqi, was being held precisely on the eve of the third anniversary of the victory of democracy, he highlighted the successes achieved by Albanian diplomacy during this period. Emerging from exemplary isolation, the role of diplomacy in successfully overcoming the transition period, and the internationalization of the Kosovo issue and the national question in general were the main pillars underpinning Albanian diplomatic activity and, according to Mr. Serreqi, the areas in which the greatest successes had been achieved. “I will not deal with statistics on the contacts we have had over these three years,” he continued, “but I will talk about what we have done and what can be measured.” Continued on p. 4

While many stolen properties are not returned... Tirana Airport, also known as the “aviation field,” has become a bone of contention between Tirana Municipality and the Tirana Property Restitution Commission. Almost two years ago, the Property Restitution Commission returned a property of 22,395 square meters to one of the 28 former owners who had been expropriated for the construction of the Airport. Tirana Municipality has sought to uphold the law in this matter. What is the situation? The story of the Airport’s construction begins in the 1930s, when, under a decree that was also made into law, expropriation was to be carried out in three phases according to all the rules then in force. The Municipality’s enormous file, prepared for court, also contains the compensation figure for all the former owners. On the basis of the documents it had, Tirana Municipality sued the Property Restitution Commission, and in the first two levels of court, as might be expected, the courts ruled in the Municipality’s favor. But apparently the Property Restitution Commission, naturally encouraged by the party interested in the return of the property (the doctor Iljor Besnik Juca), does not give up easily and takes the case to the Court of Cassation, which issues a strange ruling: the property is to be returned to the heir of Adem Xhepa, who, according to the Municipality’s file, is alleged to be a criminal lute. The strangeness continues with the refusal of the president of the Court of Cassation to reconsider the request for KML. “We do not understand his position,” says the Tirana Municipality lawyer, astonished by Mr. Brozi’s refusal, adding: “We made it entirely clear in our report that the Court of Cassation’s decision is not based on the law, because it intruded into the findings of the other two courts and, not only that, it also assessed the evidence, which is not within its competence. It seems that this area...”

Parents of 60 children sacrifice a ram A huge rock broke away from the mountainside and (just six days after it had been built) completely destroyed the village of Herraj’s primary school in Tirana. Fortunately, the rock fell at 12 at night. The school had been under construction for six months and had been in operation for only six days for the 60 young children of Herraj. The enormous rock destroyed everything in a few seconds, and its “caprice” did not end there. It stopped inside the school premises, making its construction impossible as well. The worst thing is that it cannot be removed in any way other than with explosives, which would also put the other construction workers at risk. Two alternatives remain: either the school is built somewhere else and the rock stays where it is as an eternal witness, or, in cooperation with engineering specialists and the Ministry of Defense, a way is found to move it without an explosion. The parents of the 60 children have also sacrificed a ram for the good fortune of their children. Tirana Municipality, astonished by his refusal. Brozi adds: “We have is not within its competence. In any case, this large tract of land, undoubtedly very valuable, although it was bought by the Albanian government before the war, has caught someone’s eye and they want to take it. They would surely succeed if the other 27 former owners were not also alarmed, since they knew that under the law they were not entitled to its return, having been witnesses for a long time. The Municipality too, seeing this attempt to seize property that had once been legally purchased by the state, took the matter to court.”

At the initiative of the leadership of the Association of Former Political Persecutees, at the premises of this association, representatives of the political entities affiliated with LDSH gathered, namely: Besim Selmani, chairman of the branch of the National Front Party; Lavdërim Spahiu, chairman of the branch of the Democratic Union Party; Alush Luma, chairman of the branch of the Legality Movement Party; Hamit Noka, chairman of the branch of the Republican Party; Ismail Dida, chairman of the branch of the Association of Political Persecutees; and Hajredin Elezi, chairman of the branch of the Association of Political and Economic Persecutees. The meeting unanimously approved the creation of LDSH and its program, published on 7 February 1995, and at the same time these entities established the sole alliance [sic]. This political force is capable of restoring the economy in open, democratic and free, independent forms. On this day, the meeting approved the establishment of the LDSH branch in the district of Kukës. They undertake to fight together for the unification of the nation within its ethnic borders, for the full development of democracy and the protection of the rights and freedoms of the individual, and for choosing the institutional form of the state through a popular referendum, not recognizing the decisions of the Congress of Përmet. LDSH supports national reconciliation and the ending of hostilities that arose during the World War. It will fight for the establishment of the monarchy, which will ensure a strong public order that guarantees the life, movement and property of citizens through the strict application of the law. The position on lawful and inherited property is the dividing line between the right and the left. LDSH considers private property sacred and will annul all confiscations carried out without due process. Confiscations carried out without due process and particular objects. LDSH is for [unclear] the free market and individual initiative, as well as for the fastest possible withdrawal of the state from economic activities. LDSH considers the Association of Political Persecutees a primary formation in the country’s political life, and there can be no genuine democracy without its participation. It also supports the protection of pensioners, homeless children and other social groups in need of economic support, and will show special care for teachers who work with dedication to prepare the nation’s future. As a clearly anti-communist force for democratic progress, LDSH seeks the support of the electorate in order to carry out its historic mission and openly declares that it is ready to shoulder its share of the burden, to open realistic paths toward progress, peace and security in the district of Kukës as well. Branch of the National Front Party Branch of the Democratic Union Party Branch of the Legality Movement Party Branch of the Republican Party Branch of the Association of Political and Economic Persecutees, Kukës

In its reaction piece, “Serbian Theses in the Pages of the Albanian Press,” our newspaper’s editorial board had no intention of declaring Albanian newspapers that publish articles and use terms promoted by Serbian propaganda to be anti-Albanian; rather, it wanted to remind colleagues—perhaps indifferent to this propaganda and its flag-waving propagandists—that these are Serbian terms. In what follows, these are Serbian terms. We are sorry that in its response, “Aleanca Nacional” took no position on the Serbian theses it served up to Albanian readers two days earlier, with which it was trying [?] to convince Albanians that in Kosovo only 85% of the population are Albanian; that Kosovars deal in drugs to buy weapons with which they want to achieve the unification of Albania with Kosovo and Macedonia; that Sali Berisha should not speak about Kosovo in Copenhagen because he got his votes from poor Albanians inside Albania, which has been legitimized [?]; that Albania is buying weapons from the US and this will destroy the Albanian people, etc. We are sorry that the editorial board does not apologize for what it wrote, but instead tries to convince us that the newspaper’s name alone, the names and surnames of its staff (and some of their professions), and the language in which it is published are enough for it and its staff to be Albanian—a view that seems to us more naïve than an excessive courage to look evil in the eye. “It is true that the newspaper ‘Rilindja’ is a prestigious daily newspaper with a history spanning seventy years, and that it was declared undesirable by the Serbs in 1990, but this newspaper did not feel it was on unfamiliar ground when it came to Albania. It is true that this newspaper sometimes feels uncomfortable when, at Albanian press kiosks, newspapers written in Albanian and containing articles translated from the Slavic Cyrillic alphabet are displayed beside it, but this is a rare phenomenon that cannot make us foreigners in Albania. Rilindja has faced difficult trials from the press and Serbian theses for half a century, so their little stabs in Tirana do not impress it much. As for the fact that your editorial office, which currently sells newspapers in Tirana, did not brief Rilindja’s central editorial board, we want to clarify that we are the ones who hire people according to our professional criteria; [the text then repeats the claim] the eye. Written in the Slavic Cyrillic alphabet, repeats the claim] its staff, for them to be Albanian. ... ensuring its age-old survival. The editorial board is not guided in its publishing policy by its employees; but if someone still resents the fact that Rilindja in Albania did not become a mouthpiece for Ramiz Alia, the dictatorship, and anti-Albanian forces, that is another matter, and any reservations about this should be expressed openly, not indirectly. Since we were speaking of the newspaper “Aleanca Nacional,” whose renewed staff we have helped from time to time with technical matters, we must remind you that it is not “Rilindja” that needs help, because it ensures its own survival with a circulation of around 40,000 copies distributed in Tirana during the day. Those newspapers need a great deal of help so that they can at least change their print run from around 5,000 copies to 1,000 copies at a reasonable price, with celebratory articles about the most anti-Albanian figures among our southern neighbors, but with the professional honesty and conscience that we cannot dictate to them [?], but want to remind everyone of. RILINDJA

“I think that starting tomorrow ministers should go to their offices at five in the morning and return home at eight in the evening.” “I think that starting tomorrow ministers should go to their offices at five in the morning and return home at eight at night. They should be paid once a year. They should have three cars and 12 secretaries. After the new elections are held, the ministers currently in office will register to receive social assistance. There are few parties, which is why democracy in Albania remains fragile. We need another fifty parties so that these people can tell the parties apart as they please. It’s different with friendship associations. Soon the Tirana–Durrës Friendship Association will be established, and vice versa. Namık Dokle has taken his rifle and gone up into the mountains to hunt. Namiku says he went hunting. The Socialists have international contacts and should form a band of committees, ready for any eventuality. Don’t worry about the government, eat [?]. The shadow government should announce its minimum and maximum programs. Why doesn’t the shadow government go to the beach? The people don’t need foxes sitting in the shade. And the people also don’t need lazybones who don’t get [?] out in the sun. Long live Albanian democracy! Democratic democracy is true democracy. Every morning Tirana gains a new resident. The new resident’s name is KLOSKE. $2,000 for the construction of the [unclear]. The new law on sponsorships must be approved. I am open to sponsorships. In fact, on this point I impose no restrictions. Let sponsorship come from the north or the south. From above or below. From the sky or underground—as long as it is sponsorship. I’m glad that there are people who disagree with what I say. This shows that we have a developed pluralist democracy. Forward to new victories in the field of paving canals.” Written in the Slavic Cyrillic alphabet, foreigners in Albania. They should be paid [?] secretaries. KLOSKE. $2,000 for changing the [unclear]. Naimiku says he went hunting. Namik Dokle. **THE CHRONICLER**

Open Letter to Mr. Aleksandër MEKSI, Prime Minister of Albania p. 3 Gandhism and KOSOVA p. 3 The Right, the future of Albanian politics p. 2 Crossword, curiosities, sports, notices, advertisements... p. 4

Through the direct involvement of Delvina Municipality, work has begun on erecting a monument in the center of the city to the distinguished patriot Sulejman Delvina. The work’s creator is the sculptor Habib Hoxha, from this city, who will make it from a durable material (white cement). The private construction company “Iliria” will also help with its realization. Sulejman Delvina was born in 1884 in Delvinë. A statesman and diplomat, he was elected head of the Albanian government at the Congress of Lushnjë. He took part in the June Revolution of 1924 and was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government headed by Fan S. Noli. He died in Vlorë in 1932. ATSH