After a full eleven hours of uninterrupted work, the first Assembly of the Democratic League of Kosovo concluded on May 5, 1991. It was held at the premises of the «Alaudin» secondary Medrese in Prishtina. The first Assembly was attended by 293 delegates from all parts of Kosovo, as well as numerous guests. At the outset, the chair, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, announced the greeting telegram sent to the Democratic League of Kosovo by the Democratic Party of Albania. The reading of the telegram was met with frenzied applause that lasted a full ten minutes. During its proceedings, the Assembly adopted a political declaration emphasizing that the Democratic League of Kosovo would in the future work for the full establishment of Kosovo and Albanians everywhere they live as political subjects. After the political declaration was adopted, the Council of the Democratic League, comprising 55 members, was elected; it would later elect the party’s Presidency. Following a proposal by the delegates from Gllogovc, Naip Zeka, the Assembly elected Dr. Ibrahim Rugova President of the Democratic League of Kosovo by acclamation. LLUKMAN HALLILI

— Interview with Eduart Selami, secretary of the DP Steering Commission, given to the newspaper «Rilindja Demokratike» — Question: What are some of the reasons that make it essential to improve and strengthen the DP’s organization? Answer: Improving the DP’s organization is an important task of the day that lies ahead of us. During these five months of its existence, the Party has distinguished itself as a powerful opposition party. The Democratic Party was the first opposition party to be formed after half a century of one-party rule, and it clearly expressed its incompatibility with communism and the PP. Its first steps encountered countless organizational difficulties, which, it must be said, were successfully overcome. Within a few months, this Party counted around 100,000 members. In wholly unequal elections, it won approximately 40 percent of the electorate and 75 seats in parliament, earning a standing any other party would envy. It has had an intense program of domestic and international activity, and a newspaper described as one of the best opposition newspapers in Europe. But five months is too little time to have a perfectly organized party. As a result, the Democratic Party often looks more like a democratic movement than a party with regular structures, and the positive results it achieved in the elections owe more to the people’s desire for democracy than to its organization. A political party that does not justify the trust the people have placed in it must make way. These are the rules of pluralism. Therefore, the DP must be prepared and organized. The collapse of communism is now an indisputable reality. The opposition’s victory is a necessity for development. Question: What will be some of the distinctive features of the DP’s internal life and organization? Answer: The distinctive features of the DP’s internal life are connected with its program and aims. Conceived on political models that do not justify the trust the people have placed in them, parties a necessity for development. Question: How can the DP expand further and become more popular in the countryside and in small towns? Answer: In the small towns and villages, the DP suffered losses in the elections. There were villages and small towns where we found it difficult to gain a foothold, and there our losses were smaller, but there were also villages where we could not even establish sections. Small towns and villages are «the PP’s last bastions of Stalinism». Indeed, when you go to some of them, you feel as if you are in another era, as if you had suddenly returned to the harsh period of the PP’s absolute power. It is hard to believe that you are living in a pluralist society, because everywhere you look you see slogans for the PPSH and Enver Hoxha, not to mention the many forms of pressure against DP members. This high revolutionary fervor is encouraged and kept alive by officials of the committees of the people’s councils, law-enforcement bodies, and so on. The zeal and devotion of these PP bureaucrats and officials stem less from their political and ideological convictions than from their efforts to preserve, at all costs, their unearned privileges. It was these people in these areas who waged a campaign of slander and insults that even the medieval Inquisition would have envied. But this truly antidemocratic history is now fading. Gradually, people in the countryside and in small towns are coming to understand what the DP represents. They are… (Continued on page 6) looked its organization. The present political situation makes improving the DP’s organization all the more urgent. The country is gripped by a deep social and economic crisis. The PP won after the March 31 elections—that is, the very party responsible for this situation won. We want this situation to be overcome as soon as possible, and, by remaining in opposition, we will contribute to making that happen. At the same time, however, we seriously doubt the PP’s ability to fulfill what it promised during the election campaign. Under these circumstances, the possibility of new early elections also exists. When we say this, it does not mean that we favor destabilizing the situation or want things to become more tense. On the contrary, we want the situation to be overcome as soon as possible, but it… Unlike Western European parties, it will be a Party with regular structures, but outside rigid bureaucratic and hierarchical norms. Its organization will be based mainly on sections, as provided for in the draft statute. For some time, the sections will also operate in workplaces, with the aim of moving to a territorial basis in the future. What matters at this point is that the sections function and conduct their activities on the basis of the DP’s program and the particular characteristics of each section. The DP is an open party, where each member, according to their abilities

— The Shkodër tragedy is also an indictment of all the crimes of this year. — — The questionable legal status of certain formations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs leaves room for wrongful, illegal actions. The replicas among the deputies about the «mystery» of the crimes in Shkodër could be discussed one by one, filling dozens and hundreds of pages. But this would not serve the issue at hand very well. …inform public opinion in the first few days about the chronology of the tragic event. Since uncovering this matter is easier than finding the criminal who fired the gun or issued such an order, this may be the starting point for reasoning without too many obstacles. So far, a “scapegoat” has been found for this as well. The false announcement that was circulated, bearing the seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and which, in those days, was confirmed and reconfirmed by the government at a press conference at the “Palace of Congresses” in the presence of around 200 foreign journalists, turned out to have been the work of the head of the Shkodër Internal Affairs branch, and he alone is supposed to bear responsibility (!!). In his speech defending himself against the proposal to dismiss him, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. G. Ruçi, said that on the morning of the day of the incident he had been informed from Shkodër about the killing of Arben Broci and what followed. So it is only natural that the reports were made in accordance with the actual chronology of events. Indeed, as is now known— …to inspire terror; after they had tied them with barbed wire, these acts point to crimes several times more monstrous than the one of April 2. The deputy who denounced this crime before the Assembly, and the author of an article in the newspaper «Republika», both discussing the same event, explain that those who took part in this execution wanted to show this gruesome scene to the victims’ family members as well, but the village council chairman had stopped them. It is impossible to believe that executioners of this kind, who resemble characters from the Middle Ages, would commit such acts for payment or any kind of reward. Their barbarity can only be explained by the cultivation GENC TIRANA (Continued on page 6)

The plane lands at one of Europe’s largest airports, in Frankfurt. Travelers from every country in the world hurry through the cool airport, and amid that indifferent setting, our Kosovar brothers suddenly rush to welcome us with open arms. «And now to Hamburg, to take a better part in the information forum of Albanian political parties organized by the branch of the L. D. of Kosovo in Germany». This event commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 1981 events in Kosovo and also provided current information about Albania and Kosovo. The long new road ran through green spaces full of tulips, past beautifully laid-out towns and villages, and through dense forests. As we traveled through all that greenery, I don’t know why I was reminded of the films, newspapers, and heavy propaganda about the destructive smog in capitalist countries, about the «difficult life» of the masses in Western countries—the sort of thing that had been drummed into us for forty-odd years. Hamburg. The fine rain falls without stopping, and the colorful flowers look fresher. The car stops in front of a building, and we make our way inside, into a large, plain hall full of Kosovar participants. Tired, working faces. So many Albanians in this city alone! Later, meetings and forums were organized in Munich and Stuttgart. They followed with great interest the information on the political developments in Kosovo presented by representatives of the various political parties there. Suddenly we heard a microphone announcement: «Welcome». Greetings, greetings from the DP of Albania. I want to understand why everything touches me amid Albania’s turmoil. Had a hall this large ever been experienced before, I wonder, and had those hot tears ever been shed before, as they spilled into a dance of unending joy? Mr. Prokop Çupi, the Democratic Party’s envoy from Albania, greeted them; they listened calmly and welcomed him warmly. They plunged into conversation, one after another, facing him. They wanted to know, to know everything about what was happening in Albania. When the conversation ended, we were surrounded by longing faces and warm embraces. As you spoke, downcast eyes followed you, and when they touched your arms, it seemed to them they were touching something of Albania. They wanted to know about the stones, the springs, and the people whom the border fence had separated while they were still alive. They wanted to know everything about Albania. They are Albanians without Albania. «We miss it, dear sir; we don’t want to die without seeing our land.» «Welcome—you are always welcome, with our hospitality.» «For years we have been asking, but they don’t give us a visa. We long to come, but we need a visa.» ... Some young Albanian men from Kosovo and emigrants from other Albanian regions addressed us. A visa for the children of a mother to come to their mother? And getting this visa meant waiting for months, for years, in anguish, fear, and apprehension, as if entry were forbidden even when it was wanted and deserved. Why was the door to the homeland, which had protected lives and was secured with iron locks—perhaps for most people—kept shut, when it should always be open to everyone? Agimi, an activist of the L. D. of Kosovo in Germany, tells us: «I have told my family: don’t let them close my eyes before I have seen our lands once». This is a painful wound, like many others. And while we seek unity with Europe, Albanians around the world today seek unity with Albania, unity with the millions living in every corner of the world, where divisive politics has scattered them and may continue to keep people unsettled there as well. But time always clarifies things and brings what is dark into the light. Today, having awakened from political opium, Albanians everywhere seek to be gathered like a hungry family into the warm embrace of their motherland. Let «Albania the planet» no longer be foreign to Albanians. This warm spirit of togetherness and understanding accompanied us at the further meetings in Munich and Stuttgart. Everywhere the conclusion was: «Albania belongs to the Albanians». TATJANA LUCI

The Assembly Bell (Telephoto: A. Nenshati)

— GREETING FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ALBANIA ADDRESSED TO THE ASSEMBLY OF THE DEMOCRATIC LEAGUE OF KOSOVO — Dear brothers, The Democratic Party of Albania has never sent a warmer greeting than this one today. Our national identity and our democratic ideals and love of freedom are what unite us in a common human purpose and outline the contours of a secure future for us all. We have closely followed your courageous and determined efforts for Kosovo’s independence. Kosovo’s independence. We have watched with admiration your efforts at the altar of freedom and democracy. Your efforts for national and democratic affirmation undoubtedly constitute the modern Albanian epic. We know that, in the face of such a grave test, even nations greater than ours have surrendered. Therefore, anyone who has followed your activities in Europe and around the world has seen your prudence, seriousness, tolerance, and commendable willingness to engage in dialogue, even when the passions of this chauvinism take the form of brutal violence. A few days ago, the Albanian parliament drafted a resolution on Kosovo. It was the distillation of our shared aspirations, which fortunately coincide with the will—and, we believe, the policy—of today’s Europe, as also affirmed in the final documents of Helsinki. Every Albanian expects wise, farsighted, and courageous decisions from your assembly. We are all convinced that you will emerge from this assembly even stronger and even better able to meet the challenge imposed on you by the times. We wish you success in your work, from the bottom of our hearts! THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ALBANIA

On Sunday, May 5, our people honored the memory of their sons and daughters who fell as martyrs long ago for freedom, independence, and democracy. This May 5 was exceptional. It was preceded by a tragic and deeply bitter event: the events of April 2 in the city of Shkodër, where Arben Broci, Nazmi Kryeziu, Bujar Bishanaku, and Besnik Ceka were killed by bullets fired by the law-enforcement forces. They fully deserve to be raised to the pedestal of the martyrs of democracy. At 10:00, at the National Martyrs’ Cemetery, the Prosecutor of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Ramiz Alia, led the line of those paying tribute. He laid a wreath bearing the inscription «Glory to the martyrs» beside the «Mother Albania» monument. Aleksandër Meksi and Lush Përpali also laid wreaths here on behalf of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, as did Fatos Nano and Skënder Gjinushi on behalf of the Council of Ministers. The ceremony was also attended by the chairman of the DP parliamentary group, Neritan Ceka, and the chairman of the PP parliamentary group, Ismail Lleshi, among others. Leaders of all the country’s political parties and forces, young people, and veterans of the Nation also paid tribute and laid wreaths beside the «Mother Albania» monument in honor of the fallen. The chairman of the DP Steering Commission, Dr. Sali Berisha, together with the commission’s secretary, Eduard Selami, and deputy Tritan Shehu, visited several families of war martyrs and martyrs of democracy in Tirana. In the afternoon, Mr. Sali Berisha, as deputy for the city of Kavajë, visited several families in that city, now well known as one of the hottest centers of our struggle for democracy. Throughout the country, leaders of DP branches and its members paid tribute, laid wreaths at the graves of the martyrs or at their monuments, and visited their families. Correspondent of «HD»