Decision No. 420, dated 11.11.1991; ON THE ALLOCATION OF THE MAIN ASSETS THAT HAD BEEN USED BY THE PARTY OF LABOUR OF ALBANIA, which states, among other things: «The Executive Committees of the districts shall provide, free of charge, premises for the district leadership committees of the Socialist Party in the buildings of the former Party of Labour committees, giving them 10 offices each, as well as the plenary meeting hall together with its equipment. These committees shall also be given 2 passenger cars each for use free of charge. The buildings made available to other political and social parties and organizations, except those represented in the People’s Assembly, shall be used in return for payment of rent». So, the Socialist Party is given 10 offices and a meeting hall free of charge, all equipped with the necessary facilities, with telephones and a typewriter in each office; it is also given 2 passenger cars, likewise free of charge, while other parties are charged rent even for a single office. Is this fair, Mr. Ylli Bufi? In Lezhë, the Democratic Party has only two offices, one telephone, one broken typewriter and a passenger car that you might better call a chicken coop, because it has never started since it was acquired. The Republican Party has only—in since it was acquired. The Republican Party has only Ylli Bufi? The Socialist Party gets to keep 10 offices furnished better than anyone could wish, while the other parties get one office apiece with only two chairs? How are these parties supposed to work when they do not even have a typewriter, the most basic thing, while you give your party 10 of them, as well as mimeographs and photocopiers, and all free of charge? How are the opposition party leaders supposed to get around when they do not have a single passenger car? Is it honest for opposition members to walk or wait for a ride in the rain and wind while the Socialist Party is given two luxury cars, which most of the time they use as taxis? The people are demanding that the blocists, the beneficiaries of illicit wealth, be brought to trial, while you are once again leaving the Socialist Party all the illicit wealth of its mother, the Party of Labour. Is this kind of discrimination fair, Mr. Prime Minister of the Socialist Party? Are the opposition parties still to be treated as if they belonged to the same party? When we read this decision, we thought it might have been signed by the Socialist Party chairman, Comrade Fatos Nano, and not by you, the Prime Minister of Albania. Or is this the reward you are giving the party that made you Prime Minister? Could it be that you think the Socialist Party will win the elections again and you will be Prime Minister once more? From the beginning of the text: ...the old party split. The Party of Labour ... The Communists formed parties... of their own. The Enverists formed their association... A Socialist Party was created... It is said that this party is rejuvenating... and has nothing in common... with Marxism-Leninism, with ...munism, with Stalinism, with ...verism, with Pali, Rita, Mu... Adil, Nexhmije, Lenka, etc. During the election campaign too, it ... presents itself as a new party, re...newed, transformed, unmarried... etc. The Socialist Party denied it all... But there was just one thing it did not «forget» to deny: its wealth. In this ... case, it did not prove completely foolish... For this wealth they deceived... discriminated, imprisoned, interned, killed and butchered, devastated ... all of Albania, all Albanians, ... and engineered the exoduses, forcing the people ... to take to the roads of the world for a ... crust of bread, for a better life. ... After all these «sacrifices», can the Socialist Party hand over this wealth? It was once said that the wealth of this party, or rather of the Party of Labour, would be nationalized and then distributed equally among all the parties. But would the Socialist Party accept that?! Why should it be compared with the new parties that have just been born?! Why, does it not have its own sons, Esat?! Why a head of government? Just as the opposition parties woke up and rejoiced at the thought that they might get some equipment, so that they too would be able to cope with an election campaign, Prime Minister YLLI BUFI, fi? started since it was acquired. The Republican Party has only one office and does not have a single typewriter. The Social Democratic Party has neither a passenger car nor a typewriter? What do you think of this discrimination, sir

At last, the long-awaited miracle waved to us. We all saw it and were astonished by it. The monotony came to an end. People’s spirits were calmed. The cities were freed from their long gridlock and breathed easily... This happened first in «Skënderbej» Square, precisely in that corner, where several months earlier Thoma Gëllçi, Napoleon Roshi, Musa Ulqini, Petro Dhimitri, Pëllumb Bataj, Gjovalin Gjeloshi, Frrok Çupi, Aleksandër Frangaj, Hamdi Jupe, Bedri Islami and other journalists had brought an unfortunate man to the brink of death, after getting inside his stomach. And so our capital, for the first time in so long, woke up without all kinds of newspapers shouting at the top of their lungs. For the first time in so long, there were no piles of newspapers on the sidewalks, croaking in chorus about their daily misery like cicadas. People were bewildered for a moment, but it was an exceedingly pleasant bewilderment. The most fanatical, most voracious consumers of the press felt such a great void that, out of habit, they began unconsciously to chew over a few old newspaper issues, which left a bitter taste. People laughed at their own madness. Joy was everywhere. The absence of newspapers had released human potential. People became kinder to one another. Passersby greeted each other even when they did not know each other. They had gained time and space. The chairmen of all the parties slept peacefully. The campaign had suddenly fallen silent. No one stuck their nose into the affairs of the Prime Minister and his ministers. Journalists abandoned their cold newsrooms and went off to occupy themselves with their loves and poems, which they wrote on biscuit wrappers. What can you do? Times of crisis! Only a few zëpëgjistë, in the smoke-filled journalists’ club, were upset that the lack of paper had scuppered their «plans» against the opposition… Everywhere throughout Albania, patched up by newspapers, the joy of liberation from them (temporary liberation) could be felt. The only one who felt nothing at all and had not changed in the slightest was the president, who had never read a newspaper.

WHY AND FROM WHOM DID KADARE FLEE (LETTER TO A. DEMAÇI) In my letter addressed to Adem Demaçi, I will agree with his views, which he presents in his letter addressed to Kadare. After the article is published and these two concepts are brought face to face, a dialogue may begin, one that can begin in the realm of our national-political consciousness. There is no doubt that Kadare divided Albanians into those who described his act as an intellectual gesture and those who called his exile desertion. It is more than true that Albanians are united on the surface and that, as a people, we are full of national and political frustrations. Kadare is aware of this; therefore, as an intellectual, he largely freed the Albanian nation from its frustrations. In short: Kadare divided Albanians who were united on illusory grounds in order to unite them on democratic grounds. In order to unite them on the basis of sensation, Kadare truly made no sensation at all; logically, he simply waited and waited. Finally, Kadare would not be Kadare if he were understandable to everyone. Comparing his position with the current situation in Kosovo is misplaced, because he is not an emigrant, but in «exile». He fled from his intellectual collaborators, who in reality are no intellectuals at all (A. Kostallari). One thing that may help us understand Kadare is the fact that the academician Rexhep Qosja, an intellectual such as academician Rexhep Qosja, proved intellectual enough not to support Kadare, though nevertheless not to condemn his act either. Whether I call Adem Demaçi an intellectual is not central to the argument. Kadare could have acted from within, but how could he have convinced the Kosovars from within, when they were committed to resisting Serbian rule, and persuaded their hopes to shift? For this reason he settled in the West. For this reason Kadare settled in the Western world, on the surface, not in the spirit (how can the writer of a suffering people be happy), and changed a house prison for a home on the outskirts of Paris. We all agree that Kadare is a genius. Therefore Demaçi is wrong when he says that Kadare deserted. Adem Demaçi apparently still does not understand that E. Hoxha handed all of Eastern Albania over to Yugoslavia. And not only that, but he never took an interest in the human rights of the occupied Albanians, nor in the Albanians of the diaspora. Enver never internationalized Adem Demaçi’s cause. And now it is hardly surprising that Demaçi did not understand Kadare. This means, however, that if Ademi was far-sighted three decades ago, it does not mean that he is just as far-sighted today. Now, since I have learned something, as Kadare’s works and poems are coming to light, it is fitting that Adem Demaçi support his brother Kadare, who deserted the anti-Albanian regime in Western Albania. Those who think that, objectively, the Albanian people could not have had a better country than the one they have now are, first and foremost, belittling the Albanian people. A person, meanwhile, can fall into the position of a traitor only when he belittles his own people. I am convinced that Adem Demaçi holds the Albanian people in high esteem, and for that reason he also gave them three decades of his life in prison. But as for why Demaçi did not understand Kadare, I have no answer for Demaçi; when, for example, even after so many Albanian studies, many Albanian intellectuals still do not understand Migjeni’s stormy patriotism, let alone Kadare, who lives and works today.

A few days ago, at the re-education camp in Shënkoll, a desperate mass attempt by ordinary convicts to escape from the place where they were serving their sentences failed. The prisoners had begun digging an underground tunnel in the greatest secrecy. Taking advantage of the rocky terrain, using makeshift tools and concealing their work amid the washing and showers at the camp, after intensive labour they managed to dig about thirty metres of tunnel underground without being noticed. The aim was apparently to pass beneath the three barbed-wire fences, which are about 130 metres apart. The tunnel had been shored up with makeshift materials. Despite their efforts, after passing beneath the first two fences, they were discovered by the patrol soldiers as they emerged from the ground. It is suspected—and immediately after an inspection, the tunnel was discovered.

Interview with Mr. Remzi Lani

1 — Albania in agony: Youth at a crossroads (By Lazër Stani and Marash Mirashi) 2 — The people are being skinned to the bone. Why is the PS silent this time? (By ALEKSANDËR FRANGAJ) 3 — Interview with RD journalist, Mr. GJOVALIN GJELOSHI. 4 — On the eve of the Pan-Albanian Assembly. (By ALFONS ZENELI)