Three or four years ago, even this article’s headline, announcing the Pope’s arrival in Albania, would have been a true heresy; the headline alone would have been declared a hostile act; the headline itself would have been considered “fake news” and disinformation that stirred up panic, prompting the communist regime to use its own weapon for the first time; and it would have provided grounds for dozens of “letters from the people” to be sent to the Central Committee of the PPSH, denouncing the author. But the period of two years or so in Albania freed this news from the chains of persecution. It not only liberated the news, but also made it possible for the Pope, for the first time in more than half a century, to set foot on Albanian soil. This is undoubtedly a good sign, a joyful and hopeful milestone, and undoubtedly also a victory on our path toward one day reaching democracy. The day the Pope arrives here is both joyful and so near that we, as masters of our homeland, must hurry. We must hurry to prepare for the honoured Guest, to put our house in order. A poor house, but a tidy one. We must gather flowers, choose our clothes, choose the ornaments, and so on. We are precisely at the time when we should look at the state of our house. Our house is now just emerging from the beautiful and magnificent celebration of Easter. We are beginning to celebrate Easter and other religious holidays again. Surely His Holiness Pope John Paul II knows this: that we are earnestly returning to our faith. What is the state of our house? We have many bad things to hide, many things that make many people blush and feel ashamed before the honoured Guest. What shall we do—really hide them? Hide everything? That would be a sin. What is the state of our house? Should we show him that our country has taken a misguided political direction, an oriental and Islamic direction, at a time when all the people of Albania have asked, and continue to ask, that they at least now be allowed their natural parity and return to Europe? (continued on page 2)

Azem Hajdari declares (In our previous issue, readers encountered for the first time the idea that “Albania needs a new political initiative.” Thousands of people have had their political thinking and hopes awakened in this time of crisis. What is this initiative? In this issue, Mr Azem Hajdari, leader of the December ’90 student movement that ushered in Albania’s historic pluralist period, explains the initiative in an interview given to the press in recent days. He emphasizes that a new political initiative has been declared. (Read on pages 5–6.) - The political situation in Albania is tense once again. - In the PD, the political struggle of the past 47 years continues. - We are convinced that reason will prevail over mediocrity and violence. - The advent of early elections is the result of confrontation between the extremes, but also of promises not being kept.

On 23 April, at 10:00, the trial of journalist and former editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Koha Jonë», Aleksandër Frangaj, who has been under house arrest for several weeks, will take place in the courtroom of the Tirana District Court. The presiding judge will be Ms Shpresa Papa, while Mr Spartak Ngjela will be Mr Frangaj’s defense lawyer. The prosecutor who will present the case has not yet been appointed.

(Once again, Albania is the laboratory. Once again, those in power are the lab technicians, whatever their color. And while people would eat grass because of ideology, today they will once again be fed 700 lekë a month because of ideology — Read on page 3. by Armand Shkullaku

— Read on page 3 —

written by Maksim Haxhia, read on page 4

read on page 7

read on page 2