Kosovo Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi speaks We could be left empty-handed p. 5

Brojka: Electoral law? Toward a majoritarian system p. 4

Bread and the price bogey p. 3

PR faithful to national ideals and aspirations It has become customary for every party to celebrate its birthdays, not simply by clinking glasses with leftovers. Nor can one be satisfied with the routine congratulations for its growth, whose stereotyping during the years of dictatorship turned into a repellent formality; rather, one should look clearly at oneself and at one’s own development, with a sense of responsibility and of growth over time. The Republican Party has the fortune and the merit of being almost the twin of pluralism in Albania, because of the well-known historical fact that it was born before the ninth month of the system was even completed; the system still forced the dictatorship to decree political pluralism, but also because it was the second opposition force that, together with the Democratic Party, stood against communism and played a special role in its overthrow. To judge the growth of PR, not only by the obvious practice of numbers, but above all by its weight in the country’s overall political life, cannot be done without viewing this phenomenon apart from nationwide political developments. Nor can one be indifferent to the course of the arrival and consolidation of democracy, as an institution long built and long aspired to by Albanians, yet almost unknown to them. The Republican Party in pluralist Albania could not emerge with the weight, let alone the potential, it possessed, outside the constraints of reality and the political conjunctures in Albania. Like the natural ally of those years, the Democratic Party, PR was forced to confront a truly dangerous force with considerable experience both organizationally and politically. The PPSH (the force we are talking about), now converted into the PS, also possessed the entire possible arsenal to achieve its aims, which were nothing more and nothing less than the maximum possible braking, and if possible the complete elimination, of the country’s democratization process. To this end it was prepared to use even force (army, police, justice, etc.), but also demagoguery, concretized all the way into institutionalization and structures. The fallback objective, in the event that the goal of completely eliminating democracy was not achieved, was to monopolize it and create a democratic alibi, not only by calling it a product of the communists, but also by reaping the false fruits of such a democracy, which, in the example of the kinozodikt[?], created fictitious firsts that “voluntarily” accepted the tutela of the communists. It was precisely here that the struggle of PR began, more than the mere gathering of votes, relying more on its political intuition than on political experience, which, to tell the truth, must be admitted was nonexistent. Proposal for the Council Further p. 6

The Socialists make an unsubstantiated request. The Constitutional Court cannot reach a decision The Constitutional Court rejects the PS request to suspend the law on cleansing political life of those implicated in crimes during the communist dictatorship. The court also fails to issue a ruling on the lawsuits filed by the two left-wing parties seeking to declare unconstitutional two laws approved by Parliament: the law on the vetting of public figures and the files law. After a three-hour court hearing, the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Rustemi Gjata, decides that a final ruling on the two lawsuits by the left-wing parties will be delivered on 31 January 1995. The hearing began on 18 October 1995, but the Constitutional Court could not issue a decision because the implementing regulations of the parliamentary law had not yet been published. The session continued at the end of November 1995, but the secondary regulations were still not out, so the hearing was postponed. With the adoption of the files law, the Constitutional Court informed the PS and PSD, which were particularly opposed to article three of the law, which excludes from political life not only the leaders of their parties but also around 30 percent of their officials, that it would issue a decision on 17 January 1996, as it considered the implementing regulations to have been issued. But at this session, no ruling was again delivered, because the court dealt with the admission of new facts by the two left-wing parties and with the preliminary requests they had submitted. A preliminary request was filed by the PS, which wanted the law’s implementation suspended until the Constitutional Court issued its decision. This request was rejected because the law had not yet entered into force, and therefore such a request is not considered valid. PSD leaders Gjinu[?] and Apostoli also left the session, even though they had not heard Mr. Gjata’s decision. I.Z

Honorable Mr. Prime Minister and members of the Government, Your Excellencies, representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, dear friends! Welcoming remarks by Mr. Godo, delivered on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the founding of PRSH The growing influence of PR is well deserved Honorable Mr. Prime Minister and members of the Government Your Excellencies, representatives of the Diplomatic Corps Dear friends! On 10 January the Republican Party turned five years old. Time has its own secrets. Because of the intensity of events, these five years have passed very quickly. But looking back at what has been achieved, we can say that we lived those five years with dignity. Our people entered the path of democracy and progress, and nothing can turn it back. The fate of our country was finally decided; situated at one of the crossroads between East and West, it carries on its shoulders a history that is both glorious and tragic. All Albanians have the right to enjoy a future as a free people, thanks to the international circumstances and to the efforts made in the country over the past five years. From the day it was founded, the Republican Party has persistently intensified the struggle for freedom and for the fairest possible solution to the fundamental problems of the time. As the second opposition party, the Republican Party faithfully engaged in breaking communist power, taking care in every case to avoid civil war, which would have been more destructive than in any other country in the East. Our consistency in the struggle for the peaceful unification of the Nation has become well known. With our principles and our everyday policy, we have demonstrated the need for a free and strong democratic order in which the law rules equally for everyone. With our alternative we have clearly shown that we stand for an economy based on lawful private property and individual initiative. We stand for the protection of our national, social and family morality from the phenomena that threaten it. These now well-known phenomena have drawn public attention to the Republican Party. The growth of its influence is deserved, and we can feel joyful and at peace with our conscience on this fifth anniversary. Yesterday afternoon, in the halls of the Palace of Congresses, a cocktail was held on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Republican Party. Attending were Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi, Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi, Interior Minister Agron Musaraj, deputies of the People’s Assembly, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Albania, leaders of political parties, journalists, etc. The welcoming speech was delivered by the chairman of PRSH, Mr. Sabri Godo. Gentlemen, In today’s political reality, two questions are again being raised that should have been definitively clarified in recent years: first, whether Albania will move toward the West or the East, and second, whether there will be a return to socialist regimes. It is completely impossible for Byzantine currents to gain the upper hand. But if there is a return to socialism of any kind, our western orientation would also suffer a severe setback, just as the efforts of the whole people for a better life would be called into question. We are facing a moment of great responsibility for all Albanians concerning the future of the country and of the entire Nation, beginning with the major issue of Kosovo. The Republican Party is ready to take its share of responsibility within the Right-Wing Alliance. We want agreements on the major issues of the country, viewing politics as the art of civic co-governance, something that is impossible without respect for the free vote and pluralism. We hope that this year will finally place Albania on the right path of democracy and toward Europe. I warmly salute the Republicans and our supporters throughout the country. Thanking you once again for your presence, I invite you to raise a glass to peace and friendship.