Debate over the Association The debate over the “Privatization of the League of Writers and Artists” brings the head of this League, Xhehavit Spahiu, to the pages of the “Gazeta” this time to explain in his own words the steps taken to privatize it. So far, the Minister of Culture, Edi Rama, and the publicist Fatos Lubonja have commented, both taking a tough line against this initiative. Indeed, the two well-known writers have openly called into question whether the League of Writers and Artists should exist at all, regarding it as an association with a dark and useless record for Albanian art and literature. Today Spahiu tries, in his article, to explain the necessity of this privatization and the League’s role in Albanian art. Xhevahir Spahiu This open discussion aims to answer the questions: what was, what is, and what should the League of Writers and Artists of Albania be? The second and third questions seem to me to have vital importance. We have had our fill of “historical flour”; it doesn’t give you bread, at best it gives you stale bread. What are the paths, what are the means, what are the new structures that move culture forward and turn the largest association of Albanian creators into a real force that energizes the country’s literary and artistic life? These are worth discussing. The writers and artists were granted ownership [of the building], as were painters’ and sculptors’ studios, back in 1992. The decision bears the government seal and the Prime Minister’s signature. The building has been registered in the land registry, and expropriation can only be carried out through a court. Expropriation at the same time as ownership! 1998 and 1945 resemble one another like two drops of water! In all countries with an advanced culture, creative associations were given their own temples, service passports and villas for their international activities, and legal and economic advantages were created for them. Why should we have to be a “special species” in these respects too? Indeed, ideological oppression has been removed here, but brutal economic oppression is threatening us. Without material empowerment and the securing of financial resources, there can be no talk of the association and its members being fully independent, as enshrined in the statutes. The League no longer has any budgetary ties to the state. Despite our persistent requests, the Ministry of Culture agreed to let the money allocated last year “go to waste” and not to renovate the building. Now the association is waiting for support and seeking resources to be there for its members, as it promised at its 3rd Assembly in February 1998. Writers and artists will not allow themselves to be trampled on; they will know how to defend their rights and, if they feel threatened, will escalate their actions through democratic means, within the country and abroad. All creative work is genuine conviction. Do not make it even more repulsive, or instead of works being born, dead times will be born! the new structures that advance culture These are matters worth discussing. The longevity or short life of the governments that come and go in Albania will depend greatly on their attitude toward culture. For this devastated country to rise again, it needs books, music, painting, theatre. The only life-giving cult would be the cult of culture, the cult of the educated person. Let a new path be opened to put culture on the main road. This can happen when a new way of thinking takes root and leads the way, and this way of thinking is perfectly clear: without culture we cannot build democracy; without culture there can be no national future. Albanian creators experience abandonment; they feel themselves far removed from recognition and very close to social and state neglect. After the blows delivered to culture from every side during these difficult times, voices are now being raised to take away from writers and artists even their shared home! For years, they have had their eye on this building in the middle of the capital — a ravenous eye, for heaven’s sake. The Municipality, in particular. This must not happen: the building was

The Minister recounts the behind-the-scenes events of the Government Cabinet What happens at the oval table? Here are the vices and virtues INTERVIEW / An account of life in the Government, from petty quarrels to deep disagreements TIRANË - “Nano is a contradictory character. On the one hand, he has taken responsibility for leading the country during one of its most difficult periods; on the other, perhaps precisely because of this, he has created tension within his cabinet of ministers, which has also been reflected in their work.” The person speaking is one of those who often sit with Nano and the others—whether pleased or not—at the oval table where the Prime Minister’s Office meetings are held. Criticism of Nano has come not only from the opposition—which is naturally interested in amplifying the contradictions—but also from within the very party that made him Prime Minister. What happens behind the Government’s façade, beyond what is seen in official news and at diplomatic receptions? What is his real conduct? On page 2

MAJKO CALLS ON THE HEAD OF SHIK: TAKE IT TO THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE TIRANË - “Klosi must submit the evidence to the Prosecutor’s Office.” Pandeli Majko reacted in this way to statements made by the head of SHIK in the magazine “Klan,” where he accused Gazidede, citing several new facts, of destroying the platform of the Albanian secret service. Other figures have joined Majko, accusing the former head of SHIK of involvement in this criminal matter, which must be investigated and brought to trial as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Minarolli of PD has come out in favor of investigations into Gazidede, but only if there is truly evidence against him. In response to opposition politicians who have criticized the former head of the secret service as a criminal, he has answered them in kind. On page 3 Klosi Gazidede

TIRANË - Education is going on strike. Today, secondary and eight-year-school teachers will walk out of schools in protest at the Government’s silence in response to the economic demands put forward by the people of learning. On page 4

Masked gunmen strike 30 minutes after President Meidani’s departure SHKODËR - They tried to rob a truck in broad daylight, but fell victim to the defenders’ bullets. Three robbers fired at a truck that was traveling along the Torovicë road at ten o’clock on Sunday morning. In the battle between the two sides, two of the masked men were wounded; one of them later died at Tirana’s Military Hospital. On page 6

VLORË — “Foreign investments are not knocking at the door on the coast, and even the state’s investments have not yet begun their journey to those parts of the city where it was promised that various interventions would be carried out.” The Chairman of the District Council, Medin Xhelili, spoke to “Gazeta” about the problems and projects the western city has for the near and distant future. On page 7

DURRËS — Durrës’s garbage made its way around the city because it could not be unloaded at the place where it was supposed to be dumped. Residents who arrived from the North and other cities and built homes there are preventing the trucks from dumping it, creating major problems for the city’s sanitation. According to the mayor, the police will soon intervene to remove it. On page 8

Search for the 29 people who disappeared two years ago TIRANË — The investigation into the people missing from Dibër has been reopened. The General Prosecutor’s Office has returned to the investigative file that was suspended some time ago. What really happened to the 29 people from the commune of Maqellarë in Dibër, who disappeared on the night of March 10, 1996, only four kilometres from the Italian shores of Otranto? Their families believe their relatives are alive, but are in a distant third country, perhaps England, perhaps hidden somewhere in Greece. To verify this mystery, prosecutors will also pursue painful accounts, and information will even be sought through Interpol and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several points in the investigation from two years ago are still incomplete... On page 4 Photograph of the search in the water; several people wearing protective clothing near a boat.

New response in Kosovo: 9 Albanians killed TIRANË — “The talks between the government in Belgrade and the Albanians of Kosovo are a charade that Milošević will drag out until an international mediator is finally appointed,” President Rugova said yesterday in an interview with Reuters. Late last night, news agencies reported the tragic news of another Serbian response in Kosovo. According to them, yesterday’s clashes in Decan left 9 Albanians and 1 Serbian policeman dead. On page 11

December 21, where misery converges Today Gazeta Shqiptare begins a new series of reports and articles about life in poor neighborhoods, nameless alleyways, and the troubles of the capital On page 5