After that filthy election campaign that “ZP” ran in its pages during the election period, one might have thought it would change the form of the lies and slanders written by its sons, loyal to the party, against the opposition and its members. At least the form, I say, since their content (the lies and slanders) has been, is, and will remain the same: filthy. The lies and slanders fabricated by the mouthpiece of communism, ZP, about the opposition’s leading figures are still fresh in our minds. At that moment of the Democratic Renaissance and the destruction of communist rule in Albania, they put their heads on the line to win what we almost won: DEMOCRACY. All kinds of methods and vile tricks were used by ZP’s scribblers to obstruct and attack the opposition at that extremely delicate time before the elections. And in a way, more or less, they achieved their aim. The PP won the election. Time and again, they wrote about the supposed distrust the people, especially the peasants, had for the opposition, chiefly the PD, because these people were supposedly incapable of governing, careerists, immoral, ungrateful, wanting to sell Albania; because Mother Party (PP) was the only one that wanted what was best for Albania; and because they were supposedly against Enver, the communist from the very beginning (a Stalinist on an unprecedented scale), and the 46-year era of communism in Albania. They gave no opposition member a break, publishing biographies, epithets and comparisons, and all sorts of other filth—lies—against this opposition, still in its infancy, only two or three months old, but which was dealt such a heavy blow that it still has not recovered to this day. They were written, then forgotten. But old habits die hard. They grew tired of Berisha, Pashko, Çupi, Hajdari, and the others, and started in on the whole new party, the PSD, with Gjinushi and Bashkurti, and the “SD Alternative.” Later, the disillusioned and persecuted members of the PD began to appear on the scene. This gave ZP an opportunity to appear credible and compassionate toward the “persecuted,” to defend the dignity and authority of these opposition “dissidents,” while at the same time fighting the opposition through its own members. And many “dissidents” and “persecuted” people, seeing the possibility of making a name for themselves in ZP’s pages and the impossibility of doing so in RD or in the ranks of the PD, began openly to oppose the PD’s line or its leaders. Perhaps some of them had a point, but finding refuge in ZP does not seem honest or reasonable to me. The PD, PR and PSD (I am not talking about the PP) may make mistakes, and do make them, but try telling them to their faces, at least in their own press or in recognized opposition newspapers. I do not understand how you became one of the earliest members of the PD and one of those who prepared the arrival of December 8. Where this Rrushi came from now, as the very first initiator of the student movement, I cannot understand. Unripe or rotten Rrushi became known only through his reply in ZP. And ZP knows how to hunt this kind of prey very well. It has an uncanny nose for dead prey. You imagine you have become an interesting newspaper, gentlemen of ZP. You are wrong. With these kinds of “sensations,” you will always remain the most unreadable newspaper, as you are today. There is no page or article in your newspaper that does not repeat the PD, PR, PSD, RD, Republika and Alternativa twenty times, so much so that at first glance one might think it is an opposition newspaper. For years and decades you had the same face: you lied and deceived, cursed and insulted all sorts of people, friends and enemies, parties and organizations, states and nations, under the title “Voice of the People.” And how can you be the voice of the people?! You, who never told the truth as it was. By keeping this title, you insult an entire people and call them liars, although the voice reflected was never the people’s, but the voice of the bloc and the members of the bloc. The voice of the people cannot be represented by a newspaper belonging to a whoring party like the PPSH, which makes love to who knows how many lovers and now, in its old age, on the verge of going out… the PD, since these were supposedly the first to govern, careerists, immoral, ungrateful, wanting to sell Albania; because the communists from the very beginning (Stalinists on an unprecedented scale), the infiltrators (destroyers), the border-breakers (obscurantists), the educator (dictator) of socialist Albania. Letters and telegrams supposedly bearing the signatures of dozens of townspeople and peasants, though not a single specific name was published, expressed the belief that only under the leadership of the PP would happy days be achieved, and that the PD and PR were seeking to destroy the victories achieved in the life of light, least in their own press or in a non-party newspaper, and not in ZP. An injustice was also done to the leaders of the PD in Lezhë. They were asked to go to the press and tell the truth. But they refused. They said that what they had to say they would say at the party conference, and if there were no response there, they would say it in the press, but never in ZP. Such was the case of Mr. Valter Rrushi, who considers himself one of the career leaders and one of the representatives of the Voice of the bloc and its members. The voice of the people cannot be represented by the newspaper of age, on the verge of retirement, changed its name under the pretext of rejuvenation. You could call yourselves “Voice of Untruth,” “Voice of the Bloc,” or “Voice of Socialism.” Under no circumstances “Voice of the People.” In the name of rejuvenation, you could change this too, comrades of the “Voice of…”

I who am writing to you am a member of the PD. To keep this brief, let me remind you that the doctor Paulin Gjonaj and Gjokë Lleshi were the initiators of the creation of the PD Branch Committee for Lezhë. I was the third. I am not reminding you of this like “Beluli”; this is the truth, since some “democrats” have emerged as leaders at the head of the PD in Lezhë, as if they alone care about democracy! I work as a mechanic at the seaport of Shëngjin. So I will remain a mechanic, even if you help me get things straight, just as with the two comrades eliminated by the careerism of today’s leaders. I gain only democracy from the PD. Nothing else. I want to explain to you how the Initiating Committee was formed in Lezhë. At first it was difficult for us. Many people did not come near us. Some did it out of fear of the regime, some to keep their jobs, and others were waiting for an opportunity to corrupt the fruits of democracy. Despite the pressures brought to bear on us—“we’ll cut your heads off,” “you’ll pay for it,” and so on—we managed to form an Initiating Committee of 10 people. Today only two remain! After January 12, when the PD rally was also held ...the youth organization of the PD. They eliminated Esat Agroni. Also, in Zadrimë, Jak Pjetri was selected as the parliamentary candidate, not Agron Belishova. The self-proclaimed candidacies of Esat and Agron Belishova provoked protests among voters in their respective areas. Only your intervention was needed. Gramoz Pashko, Preç Zogaj and Gjokë Jaku intervened so that the voters would give Esat Myftari their vote. On 9.6.1991, a PD district meeting was held. Immediately, sharp disagreements broke out. Gjolë Jaku stood up and said that these problems were precisely caused by Agron Belishova. More heated debate. More machinations. The people, that is, the members, left the hall. Even your delegate said that this was undemocratic. It was postponed to another meeting. They asked you to come too, Mr. Sali. But it seems you had a lot to do in Tirana. In the end the meeting was convened, but not everyone was there. People were there to count who should attend the meeting. Then Agroni won. He became chairman. All of this reminds one of the dictator Enver Hoxha’s rise to power, when he eliminated all his comrades to become leader of the Communist Party. It seems Enver learned the tactics and acrobatics very well. Mr. Belishova decides everything for the PD in Lezhë. We have informed you of this too, but you have not replied. It seems you have had many troubles. But you would do well to come and talk with all the democrats of Lezhë: with the real intellectuals, with the fire in the hearts of the people of Lezhë, with the students, rather than listen to sycophants and careerists like Agron Belishova and Esat Myftari, who have damaged the image of democracy so much. They have handed a powerful weapon to those forces that want to undermine and destroy the path to democracy. Do not forget: during the 45 years of the Labour Party in Lezhë, there was never a first secretary from Lezhë, only an outsider. That is how powerful Enver felt in Lezhë. We do not want, nor can we believe, that the PD too will follow that autocratic path of [unclear], and that it lacked true democrats neither in the stormy days nor now. the pressures brought to bear on us: “we’ll cut your heads off,” “you’ll pay for it.” eliminated all his comrades in order to become, at the same time, Chairman

In the 4.9.91 issue of the newspaper «RD», under the heading «RD’s Mail», among other things it published a letter from Zana Halimi of Vlora. The woman in question says more or less that she is angry because the former editor-in-chief of «RD», Mr. Frruk Çupi, “gave an interview to a monist newspaper.” The newspaper in question is «Koha jonë», the organ of the Union of Journalists of the Lezhë district. By means of this article I do not wish to argue with the woman from Vlora, since that is what she thinks and that is what she has written, regardless of whether she has ever read «Koha jonë». After all, she may have limited ability to judge a newspaper’s level and character objectively. This disability does not deprive her of the right to express or write her opinion. That is why I have nothing against the letter-writer from Vlora, who is angry. My objection is that «RD» has dared to publish this impoverished opinion. The editor of «RD» and its publishing council, most of whose members are people who have served and continue to serve true democracy with their pens, should have understood that publishing this letter is unethical, shows haste and irresponsibility, and implies that «RD» shares Ms. Zana’s views. From what we see, «RD» too believes that «Koha jonë» is a monist newspaper. I want to clarify matters for «RD». Ever since it broke away from the official influence of the former District Party Committee, the newspaper «Koha jonë» has covered various issues concerning the district as well as issues of national scope. Government officials, doctors, trade unionists and ordinary poets have expressed their opinions in it. Many members or supporters of opposition parties have found a platform in the pages of this newspaper to express their views. Every issue of the newspaper bears the clearest witness to this. It is an undeniable truth that no kind of Zana can distort or manipulate, even if she is a mountain fairy from folklore.

According to the German news agency DPA, Germany has recently been swept by a new wave of strikes to raise the price of toilet paper. The strikers will demand the government’s resignation if it is unable to satisfy the strikers’ tastes. The government spokesperson told journalists yesterday that the German government, facing difficulties in the face of the strikers’ demands, is ready to resign.

SHALL WE INVENT A PARTY? Three strangers happen to meet on the steps of the Lezhë District Committee. As they chat, they discover that one is from Kashnjet, another from Mamathia, and the third from the Gurrave neighborhood. And all three discover that they are unemployed. The man from Kashnjet: Oh dear, indeed! The man from Mamathia: What if we formed a party? The man from Gurrave: Don’t you mean we should create some kind of friendship association? The man from Kashnjet: A little higher up—what if we formed a Party? The man from Mamathia: Right there! Let’s form a party with socialists in front, or... The man from Gurrave: In front or behind, it hardly matters. All three: Let’s start a party...!