(continued from the previous issue) SOME DISTORTIONS IN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS OF FORMER POLITICAL PRISONERS AND THE POLITICALLY PERSECUTED. (continued from the previous issue) SOME DISTORTIONS IN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS OF FORMER POLITICAL PRISONERS AND THE POLITICALLY PERSECUTED. Misunderstandings, speculation, abuses and demagoguery in dealing with former political prisoners and the politically persecuted were an important factor that influenced the election results. The motion presented addresses the essence of this problem. Society has an obligation to do as much as possible for this broad group, to compensate, at least to some extent, for the suffering of the past. This will be achieved through strong social support to improve material living conditions. The most capable representatives of this group should be given priority in appointments to senior posts in the state administration. For example, the appointment of Mr. B. Kokalari as Albania’s ambassador to Sweden is very fitting. Not only does he belong to one of the most persecuted and most respected families, but he is also a first-class intellectual. Nevertheless, there must be no abuse in this field under any circumstances. Messrs. T. Dosti and L. Toto must be told where to draw the line: after emerging from the hiding places where they had remained concealed during the first period of democracy, they have been abusing appointments of the state-party kind to a considerable extent. The absurdity reaches the bounds of the unbelievable and scandalous: democracy is built with rhymes and jokes. He strains his voice shouting that he will wipe out communism, but in fact he has hatred for people and seeks salvation in its entirety. Can a normal person vote for U. Kostreci? An important message we must draw from the July 26 elections is this: although the people respect former political prisoners and the politically persecuted, they will under no circumstances hand power to them. That would be a national catastrophe. The years 1945, 1946, etc. must never be repeated: the communist rebels of E. Hoxha and others came down from the mountains like wild beasts, massacred, persecuted, imprisoned and interned the cream of the nation—the intellectuals and the most honest, nationalist patriots—and imposed a tragic repetition of history. Back then, the slogan was to establish the communist system as Albania’s savior; today, the slogan is to uproot communism as Albania’s plague. The slogans are diametrically opposed, but the mentality and the purpose are the same. If we also take account of the historical circumstances (national and international), it would emerge that these two situations from different historical periods are similar. It is right—and, above all, it is the duty of the intelligentsia and of the most educated and balanced section of the people—to speak out, become involved and lead the development of events during this period of transition. [Text cut off at the top edge] ...owed to this section to do everything possible to compensate, at least to some extent, for the injustices support to improve their material living conditions, by giving them and especially their children priority access to education, and by involving them in political, economic, cultural, etc. life, in order to make their natural integration into the future democratic Albanian society possible. ...as they should be from the spread... [text cut off] ...concealed during the period of the... [text cut off] ...1946, etc., when the communist rebels, followers of E. Hoxha, etc., descended like wild beasts from the mountains, massacred, persecuted, imprisoned and interned the cream of the nation, the intellectuals and the most honest patriotic nationalist segment, usurping power and massively placing ignoramuses and executioners in leadership positions. We must not allow the harsh psychology of this unfortunate people to dominate ... [text cut off] ...the intelligentsia and the most elevated and balanced segment of the people, so that they may express their views, become involved and lead the development of processes during this transitional period. At the same time, the speculations being made about the concept of the persecuted must be properly clarified. Today, everyone is coming forward as persecuted. (Continued on page 3)

In the next issue: By ARBEN IMAMI — Interview with the First Secretary of the American Embassy in Tirana, Mr. KRISTOFOR HILL, given to our newspaper’s director, Mr. NIKOLLË LESI.

As we have been informed in recent days, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Mëhill Marku resigned from this position. The reason given for the resignation was health-related. But, as we have been informed, at a meeting requested by Mr. Marku himself with the staff, he declared that, unfortunately, he was in perfect health. We hope that in forthcoming issues Mr. Marku will clarify his position himself, so that we can better inform our readers.

The newspaper Sindikalisti 6 million lekë in debt As we have been informed, the newspaper «Sindikalisti», published by the Independent Trade Unions, has failed to pay the Polygraphic Combine for around 40 issues of the newspaper, approximately 6 million lekë (old lekë). Also, after this newspaper left this prin-

A few days ago, an incident occurred at Kune — Vain in the district of Lezhë. Although it was reported by neither the media nor the press, and perhaps there were no casualties, it was serious and unjustifiable. At the opening of the 1992–93 hunting season, hunters from LEZHË went to the Forestry Department to obtain the necessary permits. But there the hunters were informed of a new instruction for opening the 1992–93 hunting season, according to which an annual tax of 5,000 new lekë had to be paid. This tax caused dissatisfaction among the hunters, who naturally could not afford to pay such a tax. Even after their arguments with representatives of the Forestry Department, no result was achieved. After that, the hunters entered the reserve. To prevent this violation, the director of the Forestry Department notified the law-enforcement authorities, who surrounded the reserve with a large force and began “the battle to liberate it.” Hundreds and hundreds of rounds were deliberately fired to frighten the hunters. The question arises: what caused this incident? The cause was undoubtedly the astronomical increase in taxes, since the police cannot be blamed. At the same time, the indifferent attitude of the Forestry Department representatives may also be considered a cause: they immediately alerted the police, even though the hunters had pointed out that the director of the Forestry Department, together with an Italian hunter, had gone on a private hunt before the season opened, thereby violating the law in a far more serious way. Meanwhile, along the entire coastal area, one sees fishing taking place every day without interruption, ruthlessly wiping out the fish. It would be better to deal with that instead of with professional hunters, who do not hunt for commercial purposes. Let us return once again to the unacceptable increase in hunting fees and taxes. To hunt a particular animal or bird, you have to pay in advance. Here are the rates: for a pheasant, you must pay 1,500 new lekë in advance; a mountain partridge, 3,500; a pigeon, 1,000; a wild goose, 2,500; a wild duck, 1,500; a coot, 1,000; a snipe, 2,000; a woodcock, 1,500; a turtle dove, 1,000; a hare, 5,000; a fox or marten, 12,000; a wild boar, 150,000 new lekë. So, if a hunter entered a reserve during one season and wanted to kill one of each species, he would have to pay 183,500 new lekë in advance, plus the 5,000 tax for the shotgun, making about 2 million lekë a year. As can be seen, this amount is prohibitively high and unaffordable for a hunter in Albania. This means that none of the Republic’s more than 10,000 hunters can go hunting; in other words, it means a ban on hunting. Paying 2,000 lekë for a 100-gram snipe, or 1 million for a boar weighing half a ton, is truly absurd. Dear readers, imagine what would happen if we were a tropical country with rhinoceroses, elephants, hippopotamuses, etc. Naturally, the absurdity of this tax increase lies in the fact that Albanians’ wages are at the lowest level ever seen, when compared with the vertical rise in the cost of living. An Albanian hunter would have to work for a year and a half to shoot a snipe, more than four months to shoot a hare, ten months for a marten, and seven years to shoot a wild boar. As can be seen, these figures need no comment and truly sound unbelievable to the ears of the majority; nevertheless, this was decided by the government and has now become reality. Only those officials and department heads who drafted and signed these documents know what they were thinking. NDUE LEKA Secretary of the Association of Sport Hunters and Fishers LEZHË.

As we have been informed, the newspaper «Sindikalisti», published by the Independent Trade Unions, has failed to pay the Polygraphic Combine for around 40 issues of the newspaper, approximately 6 million lekë (old lekë). printing house because it was unable to pay, it went to the «Mihal Duri» printing house to be printed. It has also failed to pay this printing house 50,000 old lekë. Thus, it owes the state 6 million and 50,000 lekë, while Blerim Çela is involved with «Koha jonë», which pays the state 400,000 lekë a week, or 1 million and 600,000 lekë a month, and settles its bills for every issue of the newspaper. We remind readers that the wages of all the workers at the «M. Duri» printing house total approximately 400,000 old lekë a month—that is, as much as this printing house charges the newspaper «Koha jonë» for just one week. So, even if the «M. Duri» printing house did no other work, «Koha jonë» alone would cover the wages of about 150 workers, even though only five or six workers are involved in printing this newspaper. And the printing house’s prices go up every week.

On Sunday, an Albanian delegation led by President Berisha set off for the Kingdom of Kuwait. Among the members of this delegation, along with Messrs. Ruli, Xhaja and Buçpapaj, was journalist Artjan Tepelena. After the delegation had passed in review before the military parade, it took its seats on the plane. Just as the plane was about to depart, one of the flight attendants suddenly approached journalist A. Tepelena, who was standing because all the seats were occupied, and told him [?]. As his companions were leaving, Mr. Tepelena began shouting on the airplane stairs. Because there was no seat on the plane, journalist Tepelena’s assignment was given to his director, Mr. Buçpapaj. KOL DOGANIERI

The editorial office of «Koha jonë» asks the sellers of this newspaper in all districts to settle the invoices for newspaper sales regularly.

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