Albania imports from abroad: cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, meat, potatoes, onions, etc. Meta demands an explanation from the Ministry of Agriculture as to why Albania imports agricultural and livestock products, when Albanians should be exporting them. The Agriculture Minister is on the verge of being dismissed page 20

BY BLENDI FEVZIU Asking for forgiveness, even belatedly, always has value. That is how one might comment on a decision by the Tirana Municipality to name “King Zog I” the stretch of boulevard that, for more than 35 years, bore Stalin’s name. On a logical assessment, the decision seems entirely justified, not to say overdue. Ahmet Zogu is not only one of the politicians who left their mark on Albanian history in the last century; he is also the builder of Tirana’s city center and the boulevards that extend from it. The subsequent architectural developments there have shown that, had King Zog not made such a decision, it is quite possible that Tirana’s center would have filled up with five-story apartment blocks built through voluntary labor. Or, at best, with some museum in honor of Enver Hoxha, like the one erected on the boulevard which, after more than ten years, no one knows what to do with. The idea of naming a square after the person who conceives and executes it is not new in European history. One of Lisbon’s main squares bears the name of the Prime Minister, the Marquis de Plombal, the man who built it 300 years ago, even though he has been judged one of the bloodiest and most negative figures in Portugal’s history. The same story is repeated in Paris, where Louis XVIII, who ascended the throne in 1815 after Napoleon’s defeat, did not touch his monument in the Place Vendôme, considering it part of French history. This is one side of the argument. The objections raised by the Socialist councillors of the Municipality and later by several veterans’ committees seem to have no connection whatsoever with reality. If history is examined carefully, everyone will reach the conclusion that Ahmet Zogu is the Founder of the modern Albanian state. He is the first leader who transformed Albania from a collection of estates under personal dominion into a real state. Ahmet Zogu is an important part of Albania’s history and, despite the criticism, deserves greater respect and attention. And finally, it is utterly absurd for that group of people who unanimously cheered the boulevard being named “Stalin,” or who knelt before the Soviet dictator’s monument, to seek to penalize a former President and King of Albania for the 50 dark years of lingering memories of the past. It is simpler to apologize for 50 years of manipulated history than to remain faithful to that false history.

Page 2 The “Fino” scheme against Italy

At the two-day conference, 44 countries and 36 international organizations are participating Although the Financing Conference for the countries of the Stability Pact officially begins today, in reality we can say that it effectively began yesterday, with the joint press conference held in Brussels by Katerin Day, Deputy Director-General at the European Commission, and Johannes Linn, Vice President of the World Bank. The two officials announced that, in order to accelerate the pace of political and economic reforms in the countries of the Balkan region, and to lay the foundations for lasting peace and growing prosperity, the European Commission, the World Bank and the Stability Pact agency have identified and set aside around 130 projects as among the highest priorities and of particular importance, with both national and regional scope. These are start-up projects, that is, projects whose advantage is that they can serve as catalysts for economic development and the strengthening of democracy in these countries, jointly and immediately. page 4

Page 15