Page 8 The capital: an army of 2,000 beggars; earnings of 10 million a day. Vlorë: the police chief is replaced. Football, Ukraine: Albania punished in ’87

Everyone was surprised by former parliamentary speaker Pjetër Arbnori’s initiative to go on hunger strike. The members of the PD parliamentary group themselves were no exception. First of all, Mr Arbnori had no reason to choose self-sacrifice as a way of protesting against the RISH leadership, given that they had only been at work for a few days. Secondly, the suspension of a session in which a law with no future was being discussed—one that Arbnori himself could have fallen victim to—was not a particularly convincing reason to resort to such an “in extremis” protest. All the more so since Mr Arbnori had not said a word about RISH’s alleged manipulations, claimed by Berisha and others on the day PD MPs entered parliament. In view of this, and despite the tragic nature of such an act as a hunger strike, the former parliamentary speaker’s use of it resembles a spectacle bordering on the grotesque. The decision by a member of the PD leadership to begin an indefinite hunger strike is part of the campaign against the RISH leadership, over what Berisha has labelled “an information blackout against the opposition.” Nevertheless, his accusations were broadcast word for word in several of the television station’s news bulletins. Perhaps, seeing the lack of arguments with which to substantiate these accusations, Mr Arbnori thought it appropriate to come to the aid of his friend Berisha once again. This is nothing new for Arbnori. He had no qualms about turning against his own persecuted community and his prison comrades when they clashed with Berisha. Likewise, during the first months of this year, when Berisha’s downfall was clear to everyone and even his closest friends were abandoning him, Pjetër Arbnori was the one who defended him fanatically, not hesitating to make himself look ridiculous and sacrificing whatever remained of his personal standing. It seems Arbnori is in a great deal of trouble with Berisha. A hunger strike, like any other form of protest, is every individual’s right. But Mr Arbnori would be far more convincing if he first made public his criticisms of the RISH of his own time, which broke every record for imposing an information blockade against the opposition of that period. By doing so, Mr Arbnori would help his friend Berisha much more, by preventing him from letting such gems slip out, as “the previous opposition had shut the doors of RISH in its face”... But he cannot do that, since on more than one occasion he himself ordered that parliamentary sessions not be broadcast, despite the opposition’s requests. At one point, he even came up with the excuse... that there were no film reels. But, more than being in charge of the television station, Mr Arbnori was himself proud to act as a censor of MPs’ words in parliament. Arbnori’s action, through such an act and seeking to stir up partisan emotions, seems to be the high point of a game the PD has been playing since it moved into opposition. With endless noise about everything, while leveling accusations at the other parties, the PD is afraid of something else, something bigger than what it has encountered so far. They still are not playing the role of an opposition, perhaps feeding themselves the idea that this whole game is still a kind of trap, and that they are afraid of being devoured by it. The PD seems to understand being in politics as either being on hunger strike or being in power. Establishing a constructive opposition in Albania is difficult, but it is undoubtedly the only way for the PD to recover what it lost when it was in power. K.I.

The “Nano 3” government, just like the “Meksi 2” government During Meksi’s years in government, the independent press was discriminated against through a multitude of taxes and high fees, with the aim of bankrupting it or bringing it under the heel of those in power. Several times the independent press went on strike and published blank pages in protest against Borisha’s empty and opportunistic promises. Nevertheless, the independent press survived, albeit by the skin of its teeth. The opposition of that time—or, more accurately, today’s ruling coalition of PS-PSD-PAD—spent all day defending the free press and calling for the high taxes imposed on it to be abolished. It is clear from Nano’s, Gjinoshi’s and Ceka’s public statements in favour of this idea. But the opposition turned into the governing party and has now forgotten every kind of promise it made to the free press. Naturally, the “Nano 3” government may have many problems awaiting solutions, but promises that have been made and are justified must not be turned into hypocrisy. A.GJ.

Arbnori meets his wife before entering the hunger strike Photo REUTERS Arbnori meets his wife before entering the hunger strike. Photo REUTERS

All journalists in the districts must provide information to radio “KOHA” every day by calling telephone number 287 96