At a meeting held in place No. 420, on 14.9.1991, the KPD of the PSSH decided: To elect Ylli Bufi, member of the PSSH presidium, chairman of this highest forum. All 107 “for” votes elected him to this post, to lead the activity of the PSSH until the congress. Ylli Bufi has taken very mature and courageous positions before the socialists. In its decision the KPD justified this choice with his work, authority and organizational and leadership abilities. Some time ago he was re-elected secretary of the Executive Committee of the Tirana district. Recently, he publicly came out in defense of 2 July and the cause of pluralism. In his speech before the KPD, Ylli Bufi said that he is in favor of consolidating the PSSH and reforming it, in accordance with the interests of Albania and the Albanian people. In Thursday’s second session, after a long discussion, the General Steering Council decided to form the appeals and requests commission, which will be led by Dritëro Agolli. Ylli Bufi himself was elected a member of this commission. Later the KPD approved another resolution by open vote. It states that the KPD considers the establishment of party forums at the base and the creation of socialist associations in neighborhoods and sectors to be very important. Likewise, work among women and youth is considered of particular importance. The KPD calls for the organization’s front to be broadened with individuals who believe in socialist ideals. Measures should be taken to raise the level and morality of party cadres. Yesterday too, a decision was made to encourage and support as much as possible party members and the broad organized and unorganized masses to defend their rights. The KPD also calls for the reporting of every violation of legality committed by local state structures, law-enforcement bodies and the prosecutor’s office, asking them for an independent and impartial application of legality to citizens and representatives of political parties. Thus, in one day, the General Steering Council managed to accomplish two of the most important tasks arising from the congress, decisions expected by the entire political opinion. A. D.

Why and by whom Kadare was targeted (letter addressed to A. Demaçi) Last Saturday, in the latest Albanian issue of “Bujku” by Lulzim Shkreti, there appeared a piece by Popoci titled “Reply to A. Demaçi”. Kadare is known for his relations, as well as for everything he has said or written after leaving for France, for their delicacy and sharpness. Now, after an article of his titled “For a dignified people” appeared in “Bujku” before Saturday, he thought it proper to send Adem Demaçi an open letter, to draw his attention to the fact that just because an article by a great writer appears in the same newspaper as one of his own writings, there is no reason for him to feel outraged. On the contrary, he should feel honored. It is not enough to have suffered much in order to gain the right to deny others. A. Popoci began his writing with words that are not very measured about Kadare and the Albanian people. His choice of words is inaccurate and in some cases offensive. Kadare is a writer who has given voice to the Albanian cause with special weight in the world, and this cannot be diminished by personal grudges or misunderstandings of the moment. He who today plays the innocent has had doubts about leaving the country, and not only that: for quite a long time he has attacked the line of Kosovo’s independence and has been wavering in his positions. Now, after the appearance of an article by Kadare, it is incomprehensible how he can launch an attack against him. Has he thought through why he is doing it? Or is it a push from someone else? Does Popoci have the right to claim a monopoly on sacrifice? No. There are people who have suffered prison and internment, but that does not give them the right to declare themselves judges of the nation. What he has written is filled with exclusionary tones and a nervousness that does not serve the Albanian cause. What is most troubling in all this is that certain circles are trying to create unnecessary divisions among Albanian public figures, instead of strengthening unity. For this reason, the reaction to Popoci should not be seen as a personal matter, but as a matter of the culture of national debate. (Taken from the newspaper “ZËRI I RINISË”, PRISHTINË)

Journalists in crisis At last, the detached possibility put us in its hand. To be with us and to keep it for “their own,” say the largest columns along the boulevards of Paris. The latest polemic between Ismail Kadare and the Albanian journalist in France, Gëzim Basha, slipped out of the hands of the protagonists themselves, turning into a newspaper item, a journalistic spectacle and, oddly enough, into a kind of moral gauge for many. After it ended temporarily, only to begin again immediately in other forms, this polemic revived an old question: is journalism a second-rate trade, a second-rate craft, or a profession that requires just as much talent, ethics and thought as literature? Since Diderot and Voltaire, since Balzac and Zola, journalism has often been the first refuge of the critical mind. But also of daily bread. The writer and the journalist have always had an intricate relationship: one looks at the other with hidden jealousy, with refined contempt, but also with mutual need. One comes from patience, the other from haste. One believes in the work that remains, the other in the word that burns today and is forgotten tomorrow. And yet both live from the public, from words, from influence. In Albania, this relationship has been even more difficult, because journalism emerged from propaganda, not from freedom. That is why our first free journalist is often insecure, harsh, still unformed in the ethics of debate, but hungry for space and influence. This makes him fallible, but not worthless. Ylli Bufi? Kadare? Basha? These are only the names of a time when the word began to move freely, but had not yet learned to walk straight. The crisis of journalists is not the lack of talent, but the lack of standards. And standards are not born from resentment. MARASH MIRASHI

ON PAGE 3 YOU WILL READ:

1 — Albania in agony: the dirty cross-shaped mine [?] (By Luan Stani and Marsel Hoxha) 2 — The people are being stripped down to the bone. Why this time is it the PS? (By Aleksandër Frangaj) 3 — Interview with the PD journalist, Mr. Qamil Xhoxhi 4. — On the eve of the all-national Assembly! (By Alfons Zeneli) 30 meters of tunnel to escape. A few days ago, in the camp of Albanian refugees in Albania, a serious घटना occurred: some Albanian refugees dug a 30-meter underground tunnel to escape from the camp. The tunnel was opened in complete secrecy and with primitive tools, while the authorities discovered it only after a surprise inspection. The event shows the severe psychological condition of the people trapped inside and their desire to leave at any cost. Friday, 15 September 1991 Published by “KOHA JONË” Year IV of publication. Weekly. No. 49 (188)