Interview with Mr. FRROK ÇUPI on the first anniversary of the publication of the newspaper «Rilindja Demokratike», given to our editor Aleksandër Frangaj. Mr. Çupi, how do you experience the first anniversary of the publication of the first issue of the newspaper «RD», as its first editor-in-chief? The publication of the newspaper «Rilindja Demokratike» is a moment that I would like to be remembered for some time. It is the first Albanian newspaper in Albania during half a century of dictatorship and the rule of one party. Perhaps one could say only that much. I believe that people in the prime of life know how to read and know that this much meant: to be an opposition to dictatorship in this Albania. We will try to [unclear] that the dictatorship had its own structure still standing, both its structure; one must not consider only the Political Bureau and its «colossi», only State crime, etc., but also bear in mind this scene that [I saw] when I went to cover the students’ hunger strike. All those people gathered, from Tirana and the districts; I was right among them, trying to make my way to the door to get in to see the students. A man stood in front of me. I walked two steps—he was still in front of me. I turned slightly to one side; he was still in front of me. His jaws were trembling with anger at me. Then he burst out: «This fellow, would you believe it, rises up against Enver Hoxha?!». Some people stepped in front of him. I felt very sorry for him: he was completely worn out, his face deeply marked by hardship, unkempt and not having taken care of himself—he was unshaven. I remember him: his jacket was patched. Today he is surely someone who has embraced the processes of democracy with affection, but that day, well, that was how he was. So it was a part of the people, or a part of people’s minds, that had unwittingly become a «structure» sustaining the dictatorship. That, too, was undoubtedly an image of the dictatorship. So even if that were all RD had done, it had emerged as an opposition at that time! But it was a noble newspaper, which did not come as a well-dressed guest to say: «Here I am, I’ll stay as a guest». No, from its very first issue it got to work, and at the biggest task Albania had: breaking the dictatorship. How do I experience the anniversary of the publication of its first issue? It seems sad to me to think that it really is time to talk about «RD» in the past tense. It seems to me that the first issue is still coming out; that the first readers who went out at night, supposedly to get in line for milk, are still waiting for it. It seems to me that dozens of editors of the big, old newspapers are still waiting for it in their offices, holding large scissors, ready, as soon as a copy of that «RD» arrives, to take it in their hands and say: «Come here, let’s give you a little haircut, cut off a bit more of your tongue too. Where did you learn to be different from us and not reflect the Party line?!» (Many of these journalists have now become «opposition figures», and each is making gestures that sometimes show even a little, or a lot of, democratic heroism, etc.). So the newspaper «RD» is still young, it is beautiful, it is an angel of democracy. I still see it that way. Even today, it really is still at the beginning. There is a risk that this will confine RD to memories alone. But it must move forward while remaining as young as it has been. I am also someone who likes to put things into history immediately. — How did you find the courage to found and lead «RD» at extremely difficult moments, when you could have lost your head for doing so?! (Continued on page 2) (From left: F. Çupi — A. Frangaj. Photo: Leon Çika)

— Following Robert Papavrami’s conversation on Television — Here we are at the end of another year. What will I remember from this year? Many, many things. Many years have been given labels referring to great events. For Albania, I would call this year a POLITICAL YEAR. But I cannot call it a YEAR OF POVERTY! There is no need for many comments. Look at our parties (they say a deputy said in parliament that the meeting of 81 parties will be held in Albania in the years to come). They fight like cat and mouse. They wind up, make declarations, hold meetings, form alliances and counter-alliances—they look for leaders and kings. Look at their newspapers. Let them fight. I am all the more astonished by the distinguished journalist of ZP, who was scratching out an adolescently banal article in his party’s newspaper, then changed parties and changed his mind. But it gets worse. Even before the election campaign has begun, the electioneering of the parties and their press has reached its peak. Party people think and work out how to take power, win the elections, and not give up their armchairs. It would be better (if they thought not about the party (as though we were repeating all of it), but about Albania) if they looked around! What haven’t we heard and seen this year? A friend of mine put it well: «People, [who have been] (s)tormented by half a century of dictatorship, are all right. They have even lost their reason; they don’t know what they’re doing or saying. They keep destroying things, even though this people has never seen greater poverty, not even “in the time of the great socialist victories”! » But people are still alive. Hope for the future keeps them going. As I write these lines, a girl’s voice is coming through to my ear from the next room: she is learning English, even though in a few moments she will go on her third shift to her patients (politicians: even though you promised a lot during the election campaign, our women and girls are still feeling the “burden” of the third shift). Those who have ears, let them hear. The (new) election campaign has begun! Anyway, there is a lot to write about this year. We have gained something, and at the same time we have lost a lot. But I say we have gained! Let us hope this year brings us much more! It is enough that we have been freed from the huge wagons of dictatorship! And as I sat down to write these lines, [unclear] I had in mind those enchanting words of Robert Papavrami, spoken on our Television a few days ago. The next day, many people were talking about the former traitor to the homeland, the father of the great talent, little Tedi. He said a lot. He spoke about his country, praised the character of Albanians, their generosity and nobility. He did not talk about the parties, or politics. Nor about newspapers or associations. He said that the schools are of world-class standard! How fortunate are those who have children like ours! We would truly be very proud. And his homeland was in his heart. He had refused millions of Spanish currency; he was asking only for a little house here, in Albania. We all remember those moving personal moments from his conversation. He felt great longing for his country. Everything he said is an example for every Albanian. It is a great message for us on the road to democracy. This country needs people like Robert. We hope that this year we will have many more people with such messages for their country. Without politics... We hope this year will be full of PEOPLE, many of them. We hope that this year, and as soon as possible, a GREAT HUMAN BEING will be found for this deeply wounded country. Not a party leader, but a GREAT HUMAN BEING. From the time of the great Skënderbeu and the vanguard that followed him, this country has produced such men. I too knew one such man. And I am glad he is from a village in Lezhë. Leaving aside local loyalties and personal sympathies: he is truly a human being. So, let us keep such people in mind this year! MARTIN LEKA 1 January 1992

Telegram: The crates have arrived. There are five. Each has four wheels. Come. Telegram: The crates have arrived. There are five. Each has four wheels. Come. According to Cartesian arithmetic, five crates with four wheels each make exactly twenty wheels. Not one wheel more or less. Twenty wheels and five crates. That the wheels are lined up with [unclear] in the mind of the mathematician [unclear] is thanks to the first wheel invented by Rocati [?]. Rrotaci? Rotacilani? So, since the crates are important, we must call on Noah’s Ark, the cramped ancestor of our human father, for help. These two powerful means are what saved humanity. The first added Noah to humanity’s [lineage], so that he could reach the humanity of today in time. The modern [unclear] arrived and joined into a single being, pleasant and peaceful, bearing the name of the protector of Antares [?] on wheels. Or a crate on four wheels. And after setting off from a distant place in the far west, called, perhaps, America, they travelled by whatever means came to hand, on various wheels. Their direction was opposite to the sun. To a Balkan country called Albania. The crates travelled on various wheels: truck, car, airplane. They crossed highways, states, continents, oceans, and finally reached Rinas Airport. To move on their own wheels. To be laboriously pushed into a car and taken to a distant destination. To have the necessary wheels removed from the car. The crates, whose wheels, at last. Just empty crates, friends, assigned to...? THE [F]AREWELL OF THE SUITCASE CHOIR [?] The crates have been mentioned above for their wheels and for the crates; let us leave aside objects with an earlier biography, and with a more ancient importance in the biography of humanity. These have always held and preserved treasures. One thinks of the treasure of Monte Cristo, discovered by Aleksandër Dumas. But Edmond Dantès’s treasure, after his own treasure, Dumas gave as a gift to Mondi, and, further aside, the treasure discovered by Edmond Kan[ç]eli in our own fairy-tale language at the beginning of the nineties of the century we are living in. Our treasure! Our treasure! A treasure made not of silver plates and gold bars, but of tape-recorder records and [unclear]—Telenaritomoni. A whole heap of records and record fragments, a gift not from Abbé Faria but from great-grandfather emigrant Metër to the clan that included Elidon. Treasures are a genuine apple of discord. In the face of such a treasure, the apple of discord that erupted over the treasure hidden on Treasure Island is insignificant. If that involved a [unclear] and a band of criminals, then our old record fragment involved a clan spread across twenty villages and three towns, along with the whole [unclear] clan and its respected friends in the suburbs. Homer would have added another volume to his works in honour of such a success. In the end, [unclear] and [unclear] for a moment, comically, as [unclear], to remember a [unclear] of record crates. We crates are not at all happy. Not because of our empty fate, but because of the fate of the clan of Klidoni’s father. One of the most prominent clans of the Epic North, which fell silent deliberately, noisily, as it faded away without a sound. EDMOND KAÇELI