The class struggle, innocent victims The former communist leader speaks from house arrest CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA — Without glasses, wearing only a shirt, seated in an armchair in the living room of his daughter’s house, he has lost some of the authority he had when he spoke before the nation. Now that he is no longer President of the Republic, but merely a man awaiting trial while under house arrest, Ramiz Alia writes books: so far he has published only one, about his role as a “Witness to Albanian History”; he has sent a second one to the press, about his relations during his months as president, and he is beginning to write a third, perhaps about Kosovo. Ramiz Alia does not like giving interviews, and his circumstances as a man awaiting trial under house arrest make the process even more complicated. But at last, after lengthy authorization and consideration, we managed to obtain his testimony. It is the testimony of a man—whose sincerity, I hope, is for everyone to judge—who was a participant in and witness to a 46-year regime. A human odyssey that the very rapid course of history has led from the country’s most powerful armchair to another, less powerful one: that of the repentant man, awaiting trial. “I hope to meet the judges as soon as possible,” says Ramiz Alia, “although I would have preferred to face a political trial rather than a trial for stealing a cup of coffee.” Does that mean that, politically, you accept that you played a harmful role? “I am certainly not the first communist to be put on trial. But over those 46 years of the regime, many mistakes were made...” Which would you like to start with? “The first, and certainly the most serious, was the class struggle, with all its extremes. It caused great harm to many people, not only physically, but also psychologically and socially. The class struggle undermined the unity of the Albanian people. What was most wrong on our part was that repression was not limited to those responsible for ideological offenses (which were provided for by law), but also extended to their relatives, who were certainly innocent, and even struck at the Party’s internal structure.” Today Parliament has rehabilitated all the victims of communism. Do you approve of this decision? “One cannot generalize. Certainly, communism created innocent victims: people who were imprisoned, interned, and even killed despite having committed no offense. These are people who absolutely must be rehabilitated. Then there are those who were convicted for their anti-communist ideology: one can discuss whether that was an offense or not, but certainly the sentences were handed down under the laws in force at the time. Finally, there were war criminals, those who collaborated with the Nazis, who killed Albanian women and children simply because they were partisans. In every country in the world, war criminals are still prosecuted and punished today. It does not matter whether we are communists or anti-communists. Albania, on the contrary, has treated them all as equals and today calls them by the same name: heroes.” Let us return to the mistakes of the dictatorship. It is not true that all sentences and persecutions were carried out in accordance with the law... “Yes, unfortunately there were many abuses. First of all by those who administered it in practice, and this refers especially to the Sigurimi and the investigators. The climate in which Albania lived certainly contributed to this, with constant external threats and Greek, Yugoslav, and Anglo-American espionage attempting to enter the country. But this situation often created an alibi for condemning internal enemies too, breaking the law and going beyond the bounds of the rules.” What other mistakes do you now acknowledge having made? “Another mistake was economic policy and the decision to force the country to rely only on its own resources. In this way, we were unable to take measures to develop the economy, and could only ensure survival. In my opinion, banning small private property was also a mistake: we could have tolerated it, because it was something that could not harm us. It was only large-scale property that we needed to fight.” And what about freedom? Do you not consider depriving a people of freedom a mistake? “I told you that isolating a country is a mistake. And that isolation also includes freedom.” You swore an oath of loyalty at Enver Hoxha’s grave. Do you deny that oath? “I do not believe I was the only one who felt loyalty to Enver Hoxha at the time. We managed to see only what he had done well, and he had done some good things. If I had had this suggestion, I truly believed it. Enver Hoxha’s figure deserves a deeper and more careful historical analysis than it has received so far.” So you still defend the dictator? “He made mistakes, and we have spoken about them, but I cannot agree with those who want to completely erase his image. No, even today, I cannot do that.” “We were wrong to target the families of anti-communists too.” “Many abuses were committed.” “My relations with Hoxha” Former President Ramiz Alia

The project will be signed in two days. We will begin work before summer’s end It is the first holiday village TIRANA — The era of major tourist developments has begun in Albania, too. In two days, the contract to begin work on the first tourist resort will be signed. It will be built in Ksamil, a place renowned for its beauty on the Ionian Sea. The project, undertaken by the Italian-Albanian joint venture “Shoqëria Turistike Sarande”, will cost around 30 billion lire. It will also be financed by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Work will begin in September. Positive signs are emerging at two other points along the Albanian coast. In the area between Durrës and Golem beach, beyond the simple Italian sign, there is now the country’s first private beach in its history. After many years, this land has been returned to its lawful owners. A few kilometres farther north, near Lezhë, an Italian company from Lecce has drawn up an investment plan to develop agritourism. The company has begun paving a road connecting Lezhë with the village of Shënkoll.

Parliament approves a new social law TIRANA — “The weekend” now has meaning for Albanians, too. EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — The “weekend” now has meaning for Albanians, too. Starting with the first Saturday in July, no one in Albania will work more than 40 hours a week. By approving the law “On the regulation of working and rest time,” the Albanian Parliament is taking another step toward a social state. “This was not a gift, but a necessity of the times,” says Dashamir Shehi, Minister of Labour, Emigration and Social Support, “because a people who have worked hard for many years and been poorly paid ultimately deserved to rest like other citizens of Europe.” The law itself is quite complex, although many of its provisions need no comment. Above all, it establishes a five-day working week and a 40-hour week. To protect those under 18, the working day is reduced to six hours. In addition, the law regulates other employment matters, such as night shifts, women’s work, annual leave, and unpaid leave. Implementing the law is easier for budget-funded institutions such as medical and health services, education, the army, and similar bodies, since non-budgetary enterprises must first prepare collective or individual employment contracts. The new working system, which will come into effect on July 1, will increase state budget expenditure by around 300 million lekë this year. “This is a social achievement for which other countries have had to wage a major political and trade-union struggle,” Minister Dashamir Shehi continues. Although, according to figures from the same ministry, unemployment in Albania stands at around 450,000, the approval of the new law is truly a major victory for social awareness.

The court takes remorseful attitudes into account TIRANA — (Ed. La.) — From today, Albania will have three fewer women in prison. This was the decision of the Tirana District Court, which considered a request from the New Institute of Re-education for the early, conditional release of four women. “Their specific circumstances and their remorseful attitude while serving their sentences,” Judge Urim Bejleri told the newspaper, “led to their early release.” Mimoza Spaho, 21, from Uznova in Berat, and Vjollca Laci, 25, from Puka, had been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment “for failing to report a criminal offense.” Neither had reported the criminal activities of her husband, who is also now in prison. Mimoza also suffers from depressive neurosis. The other woman released is Mimoza Lushnjari, 27, born in Elbasan and resident in Tirana. She had been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment “for stealing another person’s property.” Her being divorced and having two children was one of the main reasons for her release, since one of her children is cared for by her elderly mother and the other was taken in by her former husband’s brother—who has now disappeared without a trace. Although their release is conditional, there are now three fewer women in Albanian prisons. There are three more mothers outside prison.

Where the “commander” used to relax, pasta is now being cooked TIRANA — (Fa. Ba.) — Many people may once have remembered a ulop. Today it is almost a thing of the past throughout this area. Enver, known as the “commander,” surrounded by guards, used to think about the class struggle; today, the citizens of Tirana enjoy themselves here. In the middle of the greenery — at its head is one of the few places where Enver Hoxha once lived in a house with a garden — a restaurant has been set up. It has been converted and is run by the Government Services Prefecture, which administers all the areas of the former “leadership bloc,” until two years ago a zone forbidden to the citizens of Tirana. “Master ‘Bar-Restaurant Tirana’ — that is what the place is called, where anyone can go [unclear]. When we hold an important event, and earlier for jokes, I try [unclear],” say people from the workshop who have been assigned [unclear] at the restaurant to serve the new Tirana. [partly illegible small print] … in the restaurant there is a small pond with running water that brings to mind the springs of Vorë, the place where Enver liked to rest for long periods. Where Enver’s armchair used to be, the restaurant staff have now put a counter to serve customers. After the cooks and the first [unclear] that the citizens of Tirana experienced after the red fence was removed, the “bloc” has now become a peaceful place for walks. Where an unusual silence once prevailed, today the laughter of people chatting along the edges of the [unclear] can be heard. And now, after the small shops on the terrace, the “bloc” — now completely changed — has also had to accommodate a restaurant, right in its heart. A sign that many things in Albania are changing rapidly, including aspects of everyday life that once seemed like nothing but dreams.

Yesterday in Albania Parliament approves a new social law Court takes remorseful attitudes into account Inside

SHOPS OF FORMER OWNERS DAMAGED IN DURRËS — Many of the shops that, under the law recently approved by Parliament, are now being returned to their former owners have been damaged by those who owned them until now. This has given rise to many conflicts between the two sides, often quite heated. ENTERPRISE RESTRUCTURING AGENCY ESTABLISHED — The government decided to establish the Enterprise Restructuring Agency (ARN). The agency will operate under the Ministry of Industry and Mines, with the aim of becoming independent of the ministry by the end of the year and coming under the direct authority of the Council of Ministers. ARN will oversee around 30 state enterprises whose financial position is currently very weak. These enterprises have accumulated a very large debt, which has created considerable problems for the country’s economy. NEW CONSTRUCTION IN KORÇË — Construction by private entrepreneurs is increasing in Korçë. Four premises for public entertainment and a new residential building are under construction. Private entrepreneurs will complete 250 new residential apartments and will also build facilities to house light-industry factories. Work will soon begin on a chair factory, a filter factory, and a sausage-production unit. EVENT IN TIRANA FOR SALVATORE QUASIMODO — The Italian Embassy, the League of Writers and Artists, and the Tirana Forum of Intellectuals organized a poetry evening dedicated to the Nobel Prize-winning poet Salvatore Quasimodo. During the event, Albanian actors performed some of the poet’s best-known poems. The well-known writer spoke to those present about Quasimodo’s work.

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