One of the best-known rules of the political game is to present specific alternatives to the problems raised, based, of course, on arguments presented in the original profile of the nature of the problem, but also of the political force putting it forward. In this context, the position on the most heavily accused issue of the moment in Albania's transitional course—property and its rightful owner—although, to the credit of all political forces claiming to aspire to a democratic outlook, it ought to be uniform, is naturally shaped by the communist legacy in the ideas and personnel of the country's major parties. Although it is absurd to think that every political solution is presented to the public with the prospect of universal agreement among the parties, ultimately, the confrontation of arguments must necessarily accompany the confrontation of solutions. This is not only, nor even primarily, to elicit applause from party-name fanatics, but above all to present oneself as a serious political force which, beyond the ordinary logic of adventurism, operates according to the acceptable practice of argument. In an article published earlier, the unfortunate poverty caused by the current holders of power's lack of argument has already been addressed. It is worth emphasizing that, in their political destitution, they push the shameful excesses of dogma to the point of literally imitating the Leninist practices and forms of Albanian communism—not only in the essence of their interpretation of the legality they devise, but now, frightened by the shame history is preparing to heap upon them, they rush so much to justify themselves that they no longer even try to modify the form. It has been very easy for the press to mock—even as a sensation—the continually apparent plagiarism in the manner of expression, the organization of proposals, the arguments of political forces and of the government itself, from their predecessors. Indeed, this has often amused people, and has even been dressed up in the flattering garb of intellectual justification for the character of the person who carried out this plagiarism, such as eccentricity, egotism or even traditional chieftainism. Yet making ironic insinuations in a pluralist press is not difficult. This becomes all the more comfortable when, as an oppositionist—or at least someone outside government—you strike by conjecturing or implying, always in an ironic sense. It is difficult, but more just, to know how to strike at what truly undermines the very foundations of the society we are exhausting ourselves to create, first and foremost by destroying the foundations of its communist antithesis. At first glance, for all those who have long been carefully observing the PD's drift to the left, the loudly proclaimed presidential assertion that “The Democratic Party is not the party of the large landowners— of solutions. This is not only to indoctrinate the wavering sections of the electorate with demagoguery, but to modify. expression, the organization of propaganda, the interpretation of facts or official statements by... party of the large landowners...” More on p. 4

A 24-hour watch has been organized in some parts of the Albanian coastline. In some parts of the Albanian coastline, a 24-hour watch has been organized. Since Friday, 4 August 1995, four families living in Divjakë and 20 families with the surname Como living in Tirana have been guarding the coastline, which is their property according to their title deeds. According to Lindor Como, a resident of Tirana's Neighborhood 36, “The Lushnjë Property Restitution Commission has hesitated to return to us the Divjakë-Ardenicë coastal area, although our claim is supported by extremely precise and legal documentation.” “My father and uncles bought this coastal stretch for 11,000 gold francs in 1934, and we were displaced in 1947. Our family has now grown, and it will be divided among generations over 120 years, with each person entitled to less than 60 hectares. We have organized a watch, because, according to Meksi, our title deed has old names on it, and the owners are to be compensated there. It is very difficult for this to happen,” Lindor Como continues. “How can we allow our property to be trampled on when it used to be pasture and forest, and the regime has massacred it? Our title deed is in the Cadastre of the former Prefecture of Durrës, in the Lushnjë Municipality, and in our hands. But this is the only family that reacts immediately to the Government's decision on compensation along the coast.” On Saturday, the Goxhaj and Vangjeli clans travelled urgently from Tirana to Dukat in Vlorë. They are the lawful owners of the Orikum-Karaburun coastline. “There,” says Azis Goxhaj, “we kept 2,000 head of livestock and had around 80 households with the surname Goxhaj. We have the documentation and cannot allow this property to be trampled on. We will not leave there during August, and if necessary we will stay on. In the Patok-Shëngjin area, too, over these past three days, Zonja e Bushkësit has made an incursion onto her former properties. Thus, the owners are travelling to the coast faster than the Government. B. MALO

After the petition bearing 175,000 signatures against the Law on the sale and purchase of land was submitted to Parliament, the telegram sent to the president by the rally organized in Tirana on the same issue also had no effect on those determined to put all the land up for sale. It seems that, for our government officials, members of parliament and the president himself, party decisions are laws above all laws. The president himself, the speaker of Parliament, the prime minister and other senior officials have already made it perfectly clear that the Law on the sale and purchase of land, like other measures adopted over these years, had first been decided at meetings of the National Council of the party in power. This cannot help but remind us of a recent past when the party decided everything in advance. The president's lightning-fast promulgation of the Law on the sale and purchase of land shows that the government officials themselves are aware that something dishonest lies behind it. The speed and strange procedure used to draft the Law on the sale and purchase of land—the president's proposal, its being placed out of turn on Parliament's agenda, and its approval within a few hours—constitute one of the rare records in Albanian political activity. That was not enough: the owners and buyers [text unclear] the sea breeze in order to promulgate one of the greatest injustices sanctioned by today's government. This once again proves that the concerns expressed by LDSH entities regarding the consequences that will follow from implementing this law are entirely justified. Time will show what lies behind all this haste to implement the sale and purchase of land without first returning it to its lawful owner.

The law on the sale and purchase of land will come into full force today. Those who oppose this law should not be bothered. As you know, we are living in a jungle of laws, where you cannot make head or tail of them. In short, to be clearer about the land, let me explain that from now on it will not be sold, as some people think. It will be grabbed, as always. The cultivation of cannabis is the only result the government is not proud of. Shame! The only real increase in production, and the media are not covering it properly. Cannabis is bread, a meal, and a pastry. Whoever grows cannabis on someone else’s property has to deal with the government. It is not true that the government will distribute cannabis on a per-capita basis. Cannabis will go to the new big landowners, with new title deeds. Amnesty International has decided to plough up an innocent person. You will ask how? Simple! If the person in question is not released, then Sh... will not be accepted as a member of Amn... Int... with equal rights, but only as an observer. If the person is not released, Al.’s statute will also be changed. That article which released ordinary prisoners... Anyone wishing to spend their holidays in Belgrade or in the Bosnian areas in the hands of the Serbs should report to Namikë Fadil Vehbi Hoti.

THE HEAT AND FRUIT BRING INFLATION TO A HALT The labyrinths of the new passports p. 3 Skill in links, skill in propaganda p. 4 The destruction of forests

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The destruction of forests p. 5 The parties sue the judge p. 2 Albania heading toward an aging population p. 5 The Croatian offensive exposes the world’s incompetence p. 6 Students of the summer German-language course—a surprise for the German lecturers p. 7

[The illustration depicts a figure holding a clock; vertical text: “STOP”.]