1981–82: TIMES, REUTERS, ANSA, AFP—what the foreign press wrote about the Tirana dynasty On pages 12–13

DISMISSAL OF THE CHIEFS IMMINENT Prime Minister: Fight the darkness On page 3

Ardit GJEBREA When the “noise” in the press about the Song Festival at RTSH begins, you feel that the “Grand Festival” is approaching, as the artists themselves have “christened” it. Of course, for the great majority of artists it is the Song Festival, while for some others it is considered the “Feast of the Sacrifice”; all kinds of fantasies, fabrications or rumors begin to take shape, and during the Festival period they grow to the point of becoming an institution. Thus, you are taken aback when you read in the Albanian press that a Challenge Festival will be organized, alongside the Grand Festival, with artists who were disqualified in the selection by the screening committee and during the first phase taking part. A spontaneous question naturally arises: “Why do the authors of this fantasy use their energies negatively instead of doing the opposite?” Put another way, at the very least we should immediately think of a reaction, encouraging the dissatisfied to retaliate, rather than considering how they might cooperate with the Grand Festival. The selection mechanism has always existed, and of course 105 songs cannot be performed at a single Festival; nor can the judgment of a selection committee be criticized when it is accepted that artistic judgment always remains subjective. Could it have been otherwise? Let us listen to the Festival songs and then give our opinions. In any case, this needs to be studied more carefully, and a more effective mechanism must be found so that names such as Mula, Deda, Peçi, Laro, Shehu or Kotani do not remain ... Continued on page 19

special feature On page 8