Why is the bloc not crying Nevzat Haznedari has for so long acted as a zealous soldier of the communist regime. The more faithfully he devoted himself to the interests of the party and family bloc, the more faithfully he carried out orders and performed services for the bloc. For a long time he followed and listened in, persecuted and constantly monitored people close to figures of the bloc or their families. None of them escaped the order of his chief or the measures taken. At least that is what has been stated by employees who worked with him or came into contact with his work. Now he must account and testify before justice for his activity and especially for the persecution of dozens and hundreds of people. For years, as head of the Tirana branch of internal affairs, he violated freedoms and the elementary rights of man. With the information the prosecution body has about him today, his activity emerges very clearly as a serious violation of human rights and in contradiction with the laws. In the end, he functioned in the service of a regime that itself denied these rights. Since he has been arrested for abuse of office and not for other activities, the question that arises is: why has nothing been said until now about all this? Will justice be satisfied with this alone? Or will other matters related to his activity also be investigated? This is the question many people are asking. In the circles of the Party of Labour and the State Security organs, it has been said that he was a trusted man for special tasks. He dealt not only with open opponents of the regime, but also with people from the bloc itself, with relatives, kin, or persons suspected by them. This gives the case an even greater moral and political weight. If there really is to be a full and fair trial, then he must reveal much about the real mechanisms of persecution in Albania. And not only about the known cases, but also about those that were kept hidden. FREÇ ZOGAJ

Request to the Presidium of the People’s Assembly The Initiating Committee of the all-Albanian Cultural and National Association «Shqipëria», elected on 25 December 1990 at the founding Assembly in Tirana with the vote of 1,500 participants, is addressing you with a request for the registration and granting of legal personality to this Association. The submitted documents are in accordance with the law in force and require urgent review. On 28.1.1991 at 14:30, representatives of the people and chairman Mr. Ismail Kadare delivered the documentation to the Presidium of the People’s Assembly. On behalf of the Association Anastasi Gjinarusi, Petrit Arbnori

On the 55th anniversary of his birth (Read on pages 3 and 6)

Who is denouncing the communists «ZP» or «RD»? On 20 January, the newspaper Zëri i Popullit, organ of the Party of Labour of Albania, published in its issue an «open letter» addressed to the Presidency of the Democratic Party. The letter was given a title that was as sensational as it was defamatory: «Who is inciting civil war in Albania?». The authors of this letter accuse the Democratic Party and its chairman, Sali Berisha, of inciting class hatred, of division, and of organizing a climate of tension in the country. According to them, «RD» is calling for political revenge and for the overthrow of the socialist order. Our answer is simple: no one needs to denounce the communists more than they are denouncing themselves. It is enough to read «ZP», enough to read the statements of the leaders of the PPSH, enough to listen to their threatening language and immediately understand who is in fact inciting the political conflict. The Democratic Party has continually called for political pluralism, free elections, freedom of speech, human rights, and the rule of law. If these demands are called «incitement to civil war», then the opposition is not at fault, but those who fear democracy. «ZP» does not argue with facts, but with insults, labels, and fabrications. This old style of propaganda can no longer hide the deep crisis of the communist system and the historical responsibility of the PPSH for the catastrophic state of the country. FREÇ ZOGAJ

Italy Those[?] who naively[?] and historically[?] As diplomatic Venetians, after the establishment of the communist totalitarian regime and the revolution that brought fascism to power in 1919, in the Albanian capital, they ask me and smile with disbelief: Does this country even exist, or is it merely an invention of Italian national-socialists? A newly formed government that in its first moves shows geometric incompetence, or only a giant regime that hides behind ideological camouflage a predatory and destructive order? As soon as the 600 million-dollar institute opened so as not to be left with empty hands, the Italians ask other questions. How far will this transformation go? Is this the beginning of the end of a closed Albania or merely a temporary episode? In the halls of PDSI, for the first time a political class afraid of itself speaks without an ordering tone. In private conversations the name of Albania is often mentioned as an old wound of the Adriatic. It is clear that no one still believes in the myth of the «small heroic country». The curtain falls on a legend and the reality of poverty, isolation, and manipulation appears. TEODOR KEKO (Continues on page 5)