(Continued from the previous issue) Unprepared in terms of programs and lacking people, demagogic propaganda emerged in the press and on TV, willingly or unwillingly. Populist thinking, becoming more or less an ideology, began to cloud transparency. It seems as though the more the Government and the presidency engage in contacts with foreigners, or the more factories begin operating, or the more cases of corruption are uncovered, the more people will believe that the state has got back on its feet. There is no doubt that it must be shown that the world is helping us. But humanitarian aid is not hope. It is only survival. It is support so that people do not starve to death, and I call this more a duty of civilised Europe—partly, why not, frightened by the waves of exodus—and it does not mean profit; it means income, it means easing assistance. For this growth to be achieved, restructuring and privatisation must be carried out. Put simply, this means that work must begin, but not as before. The void left by the reform cannot be filled by showing how many enterprises have started operating and how much raw material has been secured. The most basic question is: which industries have been put back to work, and whom will the raw materials that are due to arrive set in motion? Let me remind these gentlemen of some figures: in 1989, Albanian industry was operating almost at full capacity, but a quarter of it was making losses, and was therefore subsidised by the state. Subsidies amounted to 1 billion lek, or more than a third of the budget deficit. Over these three years, losses have worsened, along with the technologies invested in during the periods of Enver and Ramiz, when the plans were being fulfilled. The issue is where the genuine investments are that will create jobs and replace our dead industry. It is precisely the start of investment that would signal that capitalism is being taken seriously. But investment requires seriousness on our part—and seriousness expressed not in words, but through reforms and laws. Then, do foreign companies have the security they need? Are they guaranteed that the state, and the executive committees as well, will not interfere? Do we offer foreigners and their families security for their lives, or do we think they will accept the same degree of security that we provide for ourselves? Populist mentality hates capitalism; it hates the fact that someone can make a profit and enjoy a better life. According to this mentality, how can one trade? Well, without them, there will be no investment in Albania. Much as we might wish otherwise, the state sector will not be able to ensure economic growth. Unfortunately, we still hold to the idea that people should not aspire to a better life, and that those who earn more and those who earn nothing should live alike. This is because, as in primitive communism, those who make money are expected to share their wealth with others rather than give others work. Recall Sali Berisha’s speech at the presidential oath-taking ceremony: «Albania has a presidential palace, but I will live in a modest apartment». This stance implies that no one should aspire to earn money and build at least a better home than a two-room-and-kitchen apartment. Must one live like Diogenes in a barrel for the people to love you? This mentality has left precisely those steps of reform that would stimulate economic growth in limbo. And by leaving the reform in this void, it makes the private sectors extremely vulnerable in the future. Does the danger not remain ever-present that the state, with its empty coffers, will increase taxes on the private sector or on farmers, the only ones who will have some income? Or that money will start being printed again? This is how populism turns everything back to where we were: populism does not let capitalism develop. GRAMOZ PASHKO is only a survivor. It is support to keep people from starving, and I call this more a duty of civilised Europe—perhaps partly frightened by waves of exoduses—rather than something that demonstrates any merit of ours. Undoubtedly, a commendable macroeconomic reform was implemented: budget stabilisation, price liberalisation, wage controls, etc. But this reform has consequences, and one of its consequences is assistance. Meanwhile, people wanted to see the first signs of life changing, and, above all, for the anxieties to disappear from Albania and for work and life to begin. The latter must begin differently from before: new, productive work that is well rewarded. At the same time, monetary reform must encourage economic growth, which will these three years, losses have worsened; the technologies installed back in the period of Chinese aid have become extremely outdated or have been destroyed. According to some very rough calculations, Albania needs at least 5 billion dollars in investment over five years to renew its main technologies. So the question arises: what does it mean to put our enterprises to work using existing technologies? What do they produce, anyway? Do they operate fictitiously and still make losses? Then where does their funding come from—from the state? From taxes, from the money taken from those who work productively! So, according to the mentality that says our industry is working, it is just like saying we were doing just fine even in the ti- can make a profit and live a better life. According to this mentality, the private farmer or the shopkeeper may be accepted, but when it comes to the big trader, the entrepreneur, or the person who makes money by acting honestly in the currency market and will be a future banker tomorrow, we call them speculators, sharks, etc. We raise their taxes, hold trials against them with the financial police, or send them running from one government office to another. Will we accept our new capitalists, who will make profits, invest their money, create jobs, soften the consequences of assistance, but will also build villas for themselves, own cars and travel abroad

Last Saturday, at a meeting of the PD Steering Committee, the party’s leading figure, Mr. Azem Hajdari, resigned from his post as deputy chairman of the PD.

A few days ago, the vehicle in which Minister Bashkim Kopliku was travelling struck and killed a citizen who was riding a motorcycle. The incident happened near the main boulevard bridge in Tirana, and there were many reactions from witnesses. An elderly woman addressed the Minister, telling him, “You have become worse than the communists.” Mr. Kopliku retorted, saying, “You are a communist.” The injured man was taken to hospital, and Mr. Kopliku went on his way.

In the documentary broadcast twice on television, with a script by the director himself, Skënder Buçpapaj, among the many meetings in the Kingdom of Kuwait, President Berisha also gave a press conference. Among other things, our President said, approximately, that when he was young he had felt sympathy and respect for Kuwait. Does the President know, by any chance, that Kuwait was established as a state on 20 July 1961, when he was 18 years old?

The man of the Rolls-Royce and the Sheraton, the boss of the Iliria Holding company, Ajdin Sejdia, was arrested last Saturday. On that occasion there were many onlookers, and just as many people with grievances who watched the police operation, which, it was said, was directed by Minister Bashkim Kopliku himself. After a relatively long absence—at least two or three months—Sejdia came to the capital on Saturday afternoon, only to be arrested two hours later. But did the Minister know he would be arrested? It is hardly credible to say no. The arrest warrant was issued a year earlier, on 19 September 1991, and at the time it had been carried out by the Albanian police under an agreement with Interpol. This means that Interpol had been pursuing him for a year and eventually found in Albania the man who had defrauded the Swiss state. But since last September Sejdia may have spent three or four months in Albania. So why wasn’t he arrested then? The Albanian representative of Interpol provides one answer to this question, saying that the notification concerning the arrest of A.S. arrived only recently. It is quite possible that, together with the arrest warrant, the Albanian side was also informed of the date of his arrival. Asked where A.S. was coming from, the Interpol representative refused to answer, which makes the matter even more intriguing. But did Ajdin Sejdia really arrive, or was he already in Albania? If he arrived, why wasn’t he arrested at the airport? Why was he not freed until he reached his brother’s home in the middle of the capital? On the other hand, why was he kept under house arrest from Saturday evening until Sunday afternoon, and then transferred to a cell? Who needed Ajdin Sejdia to have 24 hours of freedom? Perhaps those to whom he owed money, who watched the whole operation with tears in their eyes! One of them says he had lost 20,000 dollars. Recently, there was also talk of a large sum that A.S. owes the Albanian state. Nevertheless, so far no Albanian lawsuit has been filed against him, although, according to a police official who refused to be identified, one may be filed soon. If the Albanian side files a lawsuit against A.S., that would mean our government is interested in his arrest and that there is no particular reason for Sejdia to have been detained in Tirana. Some points remain obscure, while others are just as clear: Did Ajdin Sejdia know he would be arrested? Since he had been pursued for a year, did he know he would be arrested in Tirana—and, if so, why did he accept this scenario? BEN BLUSHI

At a meeting some time ago with 40 prisoners, the director general of prisons rejected their requests for a television and for permission to listen to music in prison. “It cannot be better in prison than outside prison,” he said. Meanwhile, according to the director, there have been visible improvements in prison life over the past two years. Communal sleeping arrangements have been eliminated, and now everyone has their own place. A month ago, KARITAS opened Italian-language courses, and it is reported that the Italian missionaries are very pleased with the prisoners’ enthusiasm and the time they devote to learning the language. An agreement with KARITAS is also planned for the prisoners to produce gloves; however, the representatives of the charitable organisation are still not convinced that the state will not appropriate their proceeds, which has delayed the contract. At present, Albania’s prison population numbers 914 inmates, which means nearly 3 inmates for every 10,000 people. Of these, 6 are children in the Lezhë prison and around 16 are women in the Tirana prison.

For several days, in some French press outlets, Mr. Rosh, president of the French-Albanian joint venture, has been attacking Abdi Baleta, describing him as an instrument of the State Security service and as someone who set Albanian officials against one another. Meanwhile, in several Albanian press outlets, Baleta accuses Mr. Rosh of being an agent of the communists and of wanting to rob the Albanian economy. The dispute continues unabated. Rosh is also considering taking the case against Baleta to an international court. The president of the ADA company has also prepared a response to A. Baleta’s article published in two issues of «Republika», entitled «Albania has not been and will not be a French protectorate». Mr. Zhylien Rosh hopes to publish this response, entitled «Albanian comic theatre is enriched with a new play: Abdi Baleta», in the Albanian newspapers.