Today marks five years since the unforgettable massacre of April 2. This massacre, which led to the deaths of four young men from Shkodër, was one of the most tragic events in the final period of the communist monster, which was living through its last moments. The killings carried out that day, as well as those committed in the second half of February, were a concrete expression of the statements by some of the leaders of Albanian communism that “we took power with blood, and with blood we will give it up.” The four martyrs who lost their lives that day would join the list of others who were killed after December 12, as a result of the violence of the communist regime, which had no intention of surrendering so quickly. The Albanian opposition of the time, led by the Democratic Party, its largest force, openly denounced the April 2 massacre that took place in the city of Shkodër, this longstanding stronghold of anti-communism, but the communist regime tried to hush everything up. The April 2 massacre took place just two days after the end of the elections, whose result kept the PPSH in power once again, and only a few days before the first pluralist Albanian parliament began its work. Since then, the four martyrs, now known as the “martyrs of April 2,” have been honored and respected by all the Albanian people. Their memory has been perpetuated in many different ways, but the most important thing—the discovery and punishment of the true culprits, which featured on the PD’s long list of promises—has still not been accomplished. Several trials have been held, and some transmitters of orders who led to the massacre have been sentenced, but both its actual perpetrators and its architects remain shrouded in mystery. The PD promised that after taking power it would find and give “the punishment they deserved” to those who caused the painful massacre of April 2, 1991. Five years have passed since that day, and four years since the PD came to power, yet nothing has changed regarding April 2. Several governments fell; among the counter-accusations cited and said to have hastened their downfall was April 2. But even today, the repeated fact of the matter remains a mystery, and in connection with this event, a deputy minister of the interior served as a ceiling that could not be breached to go any higher. Throughout all these years, the highest leaders of the regime of the time have been accused, but no concrete step was taken. With April 2, as in several other cases, the government resembled a dog that only barks and does not bite, or is content with the bones of the dead. April 2, too, given that elections will soon be held, is very likely to be followed by... G. Levonja

In the tradition of feminism, April 1, April 2 and April 3 are respectively the Day of Lies, Stones and Nettles. They were designated this way through the virtue of the customary calls of the lying streets: “Girl, you dropped your handkerchief,” “Uncle, your bicycle has been stolen”; on the second day they pelt you collectively with stones, while on the third they whip your face with nettles. That is how it must have been, at least. Only April 1, as the television news reports say, had a special feature. It was meli, and in the cafés they sing fake songs, the kind with shajre, sea, sun and jackets that fly open for fun. Nobody remembered to lie; perhaps that is because in a democracy people always tell the truth. It was the dictatorial system that forced people to feed on lies from childhood. That way, we would have more opportunity to tell how the system-capitalist-pintigakinpunëfort would take away the lies from the union leaders, mesheqarkatdejgura. Since ro faj, this shpërje was born of lies and is illustrated nearby by some lying apple covered with signs of ekrire... So, then, April 1 was born in Sh... gjen, just as in the end in Sh... where every good and bad thing was born. Albanians are the bravest, most beautiful, most trustworthy, most hospitable, most ... and most ... nation of all. Thus, we have made elbale tregëve. Bes... we this and happy of B... in, we were reborn as great and Kris... with a brother from and white ... life from one ... of all. With tregulla of ... for them to ... white. So we take and ... the saints ... from Livis or ... L. Stringa

Foreigners see every Albanian as an illegal migrant The incidents connected with illegal migration bring to mind the bombastic promises by the leaders of the Democratic Party to organize legal emigration, in which most Albanians saw the golden key to the gates of paradise for themselves. As if all the countries of the West had opened their gates to welcome Albanians, whom the PD government would send in batches. It was inevitable that not much time would pass before Albanians, too, quickly experienced the bitter feeling of disappointment, while the government experienced its own inability to fulfill its bombastic promises regarding organized emigration. Even a few cases, such as sending a group of girls to Cyprus or another group to Croatia, were as laughable as the official propaganda itself. Continued on p. 4 VISA

...at the expense of business owners Yesterday, after a “flash” meeting with the trade unions that lasted no more than two hours, the government gave the green light to a 20 percent increase in wages and pensions. Setting aside the fact that the announcement was made on April 1, which casts doubt on its truthfulness, this increase in wages and pensions has been made under questionable circumstances. First, it was done without transparency, with no disclosure of the economic factors that made this increase possible. The increase in wages and pensions was announced on the eve of the start of the election campaign, which adds to suspicions about the basis for such an increase. The problem is that the state, without being accountable, has not managed to make clear once and for all whether this increase is genuine, just as citizens are forced to do with the many taxes, most of which go toward maintaining the bloated state apparatus.

Mother Teresa, aged 85, has had an accident that caused her to fracture a collarbone. It happened after she fell on the premises of her mission in Calcutta. According to the latest reports, her health condition is not a cause for concern.

The meeting of the defense ministers of the southern Balkan countries concluded in Tirana. In addition to the Balkan ministers, the meeting was attended by the Italian minister of defense and the American secretary of defense, William Perri, who was the central figure at this meeting. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that the initiative of our minister, Zhulali, was undertaken without the suggestion of his counterpart from the United States. As was said both before and during this meeting, the main topic around which the Balkan defense ministers would hold discussions... The Tirana meeting also serves to consolidate the Turkey-Bulgaria-Macedonia-Albania corridor

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