The government declaration of 18.4.1991 on favorable measures for the countryside is not only disadvantageous, but also demoralizing and insulting to the honest farmer. The reaction of the working rural population, both in cooperatives and in state agricultural enterprises (NB), which manage them, has often involved actions that may have very harmful consequences. We learn with great concern that an assault is underway to seize everything: livestock, land, material assets and everything that the economy comprises. The government is silent in the face of this tragedy, which will bring great injustices. An unprecedented process of self-privatization is taking place which, in terms of its speed and manner of execution, may be very harmful. Of the approximately 1,069 agricultural cooperatives in the republic, 125 have been completely dissolved; around 200 others have such small areas of land that they are not economically viable and are therefore heading toward dissolution. Dozens and dozens of others are following their example. Today, the cooperative yards have around 220,000 head of cattle; 18,000 head have been forcibly taken from the concentrated herds, which today number around 38,000. Great injustices have been committed in the distribution of livestock, creating conflicts and discontent that have greatly undermined unity and harmony, even ... ... if you take it away, what will you use as a material base if it belongs to the cooperative? Is the strength of one’s arms really everything? Is the security of the bread supply not at risk now that the land area occupied by household plots will amount to around 37–40 percent of the land area held by agricultural cooperatives? A major dilemma now faces specialists who have been left without work: What will become of them? Has the government opened up any prospects for them? So far, no. What will become of the agricultural cooperatives? These are all question marks in an endless questionnaire. Someone thinks that by pushing the clock hands forward by hand, they can speed up time, but in reality they only break the clock! Let us move quickly, but not rush into destruction. The DP cannot remain silent in the face of this situation. It has made clear in its program the path for agriculture and for improving the life of the rural population. It remains faithful to its program, which it did not adopt merely for an election campaign, but defends to the end as the only path to saving, reviving and modernizing agriculture. Privatization is its inevitable alternative. Only privatization that is economically responsible and based on a free market. Bringing agriculture onto a competitive path is ... ... our nation suffered very heavily. The poverty of a nation, just like its wealth, has its roots in the countryside, where the “fuel” for everyone is produced: for the farmer, worker, intellectual, artist, soldier, politician, and so on. These measures are another experiment whose outcome should be clear from the outset. The countries of the East have been trying what our countryside is experiencing for dozens of years, but they abandoned such drastic Stalinist reforms, which were leading the economy to certain destruction, and undertook the privatization of land and, step by step, of the entire economy. The current government’s agricultural reform rests simultaneously on the cooperative household plot and on cooperatives whose optimal size has not been studied; in them, the farmer remains without property (apart from the strength of his arms). They have been called allelopathic, parasites upon one another. The world is completing its forecasts for agriculture after the year 2000, while our government, by working on privatization historically ... began in the ... century, is now experimenting with a practice left behind 40 years ago. GOVERNING COMMISSION OF THE DP, MIRDITË. The DP ... past, self-isolation, collectivization, megalomania, persecution of thought, etc. Thus, they are considered only in this context, as misguided implementations in individual aspects, and not as a whole policy of the PP. This is what Mr. Bejo does (ZP, 5 June 1991), where he honestly criticizes particular elements of this policy and, although familiar with the theory, does not integrate them into the policy as a whole. As a result, the impression is created that, taken as a whole, this policy had no fundamental shortcomings, that its foundation is sound, and that its elements, although causing serious consequences, merely descended into absurdity. This same idea ... and even the social wage that we need so much today. The distribution of land by the rural bureaucracy has been carried out without any criteria, splitting it into 5–6 plots far from one another. In this division of land by illegal commissions, the first to benefit are the red beys (that is, those who have always been the winners). Today we live in a different era, when people speak openly, and those “ordinary people” whom Stalinist rule kept needy until yesterday now know how to do the sums much better than the apparatchiks in the ministries. Are the areas of land given to farmers sufficient to keep livestock and support families through agricultural production? What effect will this kind of private ownership have on cooperative property? How will the farmer ... cultivate “pro- ... defends it to the very end as the only path to the salvation, recovery and modernization of agriculture. Privatization is its inevitable alternative. Only responsible privatization within a free-market economy. Bringing agriculture onto a competitive path is its definitive solution. Only on the basis of land privatization can genuine cooperation emerge, which would be necessary and would be built solely on the free will of the owners, the farmers, the masters of the land. Only in this way does the land become more truly national property, the property of Albanians; the dream of centuries is realized. No one in the world has a greater claim to the land than the Albanian, who is indigenous to his own territories. Albania is nomadic. The Democratic Party’s program for the countryside has been praised by many foreign specialists and politicians. The existing cooperatives, invented by the political offices of the Party of Labour of Albania, failed completely. The world called them the most radical reform ever seen in history. From

Political note In the Albanian political developments of 1990–91, the PPSH, as the sole political force holding power, has had a negative influence and lacked a vision of the future. It has been compelled to accept the democratization process under pressure from the economic situation and the people’s democratic spirit, as well as from the opposition political forces. On the eve of its Congress, the PP is trying to liberalize and revise itself. This is essential because developments within the party in power are reflected in the country’s political developments. From this perspective, every citizen and democrat has an interest in this process going well, and may therefore offer observations and analysis. The more radical and transparent the renewal process is (as has been stipulated), the more its outcome will be so as well. PP intellectuals and leaders are putting forward new ideas with a democratic orientation and proposing platforms which, ultimately, break away from Leninism, Stalinism and Enverism. However, I observe that these presentations make no comparisons with the PP’s ideological and political legacy. Thus, the PP draft program presents a platform of the kind associated with left-wing parties, but does not declare a divorce from Leninism, Stalinism and Enverism. If for 50 years it has advocated violent revolution, class struggle and the state as an instrument of violence, then, according to its own theoreticians, the PP cannot break away without settling accounts in the realm of theory. Leaving these issues untouched creates the impression that there is not only nostalgia for this theoretical baggage and its authors—Lenin, Stalin and Enver—but also dreams of returning to it, and that only circumstances prevent the re-embrace of this baggage and these authors. It is also noticeable that criticism of the reality targets certain absurd manifestations of the PP’s policies, such as self-isolation, collectivization, megalomania, persecution of thought, etc. In other words, they are viewed only in this context, as misguided implementations in particular honestly criticizing theory, failing to integrate them into the policy as a whole. ... and Mr. Dede (ZP, 15 May 1991), when he says that with regard to class struggle, “they went too far,” whereas, if he had attempted a fundamental critique, he should have examined, if not Marx’s or Lenin’s concept, at least the Enverist theoretical concept and practical application of class struggle. Even when they distance themselves from the results of the policies, the theses are not analyzed and are not linked to their authors. Thus, a veil of silence has fallen over the work and name of E. Hoxha, and I must point out here that a genuine break with his legacy cannot be achieved without first subjecting it to a cool-headed judgment. One feature of the renewal struggle is that a cult is being built around PP leader R. Alia as a democrat who is opening the way to pluralism, while other members of the PP Political Bureau are attacked in parallel. Criticizing them is positive, but, in the interests of truth, I did not hear them say—but did hear R. Alia say—that pluralism has no place in Albania, that Albania is not the East, that their aim (those turning points in the East) is to return the land to its former owners, that the cooperative system must be strengthened, etc. It has been forgotten that in 1985–90, Mr. Alia was First Secretary, the person who conceived the continuation, and that he had more than one opportunity to make a turn. The notion of an insurmountable obstacle posed by conservatives in the Bureau has been put forward; in my view, it is false. It is true that most Bureau members, in terms of characteristics such as arrogance, etc., considered themselves unmatched anywhere in the world, and I believe this made them conservatives. But it is just as true that in Stalinist-type parties the First Secretary had absolute power and that his star, sooner or later, became the will of his colleagues, then of the party, and ultimately the will of the entire people. Mr. Bejo, meanwhile, places the burden of the sins only on those he can, and says that the Bureau members left him alone “with the ...” Also, it would be good to provide information about the chief horsemen alongside the ranks of these “horsemen”; otherwise, suspicion arises that this is one of E. Hoxha’s masquerades, in which, before removing (imprisoning, killing, etc.) his colleagues, he created a negative public image of them. The Reception Directorate and the Bloc belonged first to the First Secretaries and then, according to hierarchy, to the others. Therefore, it is impossible to determine whether this is an effort at renewal or a purge according to the old method. On this day Mr. Mustaqi, bypassing procedure, presented the People’s Assembly with a relatively credible apologia. In it, he stressed that he had not made the law governing the treatment of Political Bureau members. To analyze their privileges, he addressed Mr. Alia and emphasized that one must begin with the 1956 Tirana Party Conference. At that Conference, communists honestly accused E. Hoxha and the Political Bureau of the privileges they had secured for themselves. The accusers ended up facing the firing squad, in prison, in internment, or dismissed from their jobs, etc. Therefore, K. Mustaqi’s suggestion seems right to me. The people’s empirical experience, condensed into a proverb involving a fish, tells you that “the analysis of the fish should begin at the head”—that is, with Hoxha, Shehu, Kapc, Alia, and so on. Efforts to improve the PP’s image and present it as a reformed party, without openly acknowledging responsibility for its totalitarian policy and the economic and political crisis that resulted from it, do not show that the renewal is sincere. This political picture highlights above all the desire to retain power and the party’s connections, making changes according to the situation. ARBEN IMAMI some absurd manifestations of the implementation of the PP’s policy, such as «the grudge that left him alone». If the silence about F. Hoxha in this process of renewing the PP can also be regarded as a manifestation of the communist archetype of mythologizing the leader, it is difficult to explain F. Alia in this way in particular. To continue my argument, I want to mention the publication of information about abuses and expenditures by the PP’s top leadership. The desire to take an open stance toward them expresses a tendency toward renewal, a break with the PP’s past, which, in my opinion, is full of crimes—something essential for our political development. In the ru- can and says that the members of the Bureau left him alone and «it was better that they left him alone». If the silence about E. the ru-

The DP is growing In the Mirditë district too, organizing the DP sections has been identified as one of the main tasks for this period. Alongside new memberships, attention is being paid to the quality of the work, so that the Party’s ranks include intellectuals from all professions, especially knowledgeable and educated people. Over the past week, sections were established at the Rrëshen secondary school and in the villages of Malaj and Prosek, while the ranks were also expanded with other intellectuals in Ndërfushaz, Kurbnesh, Rubik, etc. Work in this direction is continuing, and many other sections are on the verge of being established. «RD» correspondent

On Thursday, 6 June, Father Artur Liolin, Chancellor of the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America, arrived in our country. He was accompanied by Father Dionis Schutte, Secretary General of the Diocese attached to the Presidency of St. George’s in Boston. They were welcomed at Rinas by representatives of the Committee for Relations with the Outside World, representatives of the Orthodox Church, the Muslim, Catholic and Bektashi communities, and the DP Religious Commission. During his stay in our country, Father Artur Liolin will visit many cities, including Durrës, Kavajë, Elbasan, Pogradec, Korçë, Përmet, Gjirokastër, Sarandë, Berat, Fier, Vlorë, Lushnjë and Shkodër. Religious services, baptisms, blessings of water, etc., will be held in some churches in these cities. On Sunday, 9.6.1991, he will lead the service at the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Tirana together with Father Dionis Schutte and subdeacon William Poist, who arrived in our country earlier. ALEKO DHIMA Deputy Chairman of the Orthodox Church of Tirana.

Recently, and especially in the press, there has been much talk about the mass departures. Thousands of people, including young people, students, my friends. It is true that almost all the students were, and are, the quickest to reject our 46-year-long stifled reality. But should they also be the main force rebuilding the new life that is beginning to emerge? Of course they should. Who could play this role better than they can? In this article I do not want to blame any of those who left, because the real culprits are well known. It was not my friends’ fault that there was no prospect, nor the dire situation created by the events and the dictatorship, especially after 20 February. It is not their fault that the new Speaker of Parliament, Kastriot Islami (who does not like being called “sir”), not only closed the University, but also refused to legalize the Albanian Student Association, giving a completely absurd reason. The new Speaker knows very well that if the University were functioning normally, the number of students who boarded the ships to leave would have been much smaller. Nevertheless, as I said above in this article, I want to be optimistic. This may seem a little strange in this situation, but it is what I wish for. When I was in Italy, I met quite a few of my student friends. On their faces one could read their doubled sorrow: they were distressed and forced to live as strangers, without any ideal to preserve hope. I do not want to urge them either to return or to stay. I want to remind those who are here that we have not lost hope or the strength to change this country, which we love and which urgently needs change today. Nothing old can endure after it has fallen; let us do the impossible so that the generations to come may feel proud of their origins. Naturally, this is a difficult task, but also a human one. Therefore, those of us who are here should each do what falls to us as human beings, as members of a generation aspiring to freedom and democracy. The time of war and anguish is over for civilized peoples, and no one, whoever they may be, can call our civilization into question. Communism has been discredited everywhere, and here it is in its death throes. Let us not allow it, as it leaves, to cause us further tragedies, but let us no longer fear it. I want to remind you here of the words of a wise man, Dr. F. Koku: “Communism cannot bear even a scratch, let alone having bricks removed. And you, Albanian youth, have removed its bricks. This is absolutely true. Now it remains for us to manufacture new bricks and use them to build the society we all want. A society whose future generations will not only refrain from removing its bricks, but, on the still-undried mortar of those we laid, will lay others without ... Along Europe’s roads I cannot forget so many of my student friends. Those promising painters, those young poets and ballet dancers, left with great dreams. “We will continue our art,” they said, smiling at the moment of parting. But the art of life became their daily bread, mere survival. It is still too soon, but one day we will feel their absence deeply: the boys and girls who boarded the ships with a lost past and an unknown future. Musicians and artists from the Opera Theatre left; well-known footballers and athletes disappeared without a trace across Europe; young engineers vanished, and alongside them so many promising students... But Albania needs them. It needs their energy and enthusiasm; it needs courage and intelligence. It needs those who brought pluralism... BLENDI FEVZIU (Read in the next issue) The first bitterness, caused by the cooling of their enthusiasm and ideals, burst into pain; it had given way to the bitterness one feels in a foreign land, which today needs change so much. Nothing old can withstand its fall. Let us do everything possible so that the generations to come will feel proud of where you are forced to live, known and without any ideal to preserve your hope. I do not want to call on hope, nor which today so badly needs change. also a human one. Therefore, we as human beings, as members of a generation that aspires has passed can call our civilization into question. Communism has proved this everywhere, and here among us it to cause us further tragedies as it departs, but let us no longer fear it. Here I want to remind you removed. And you, Albanian youth, have removed those bricks from it. This is absolutely true. Now we must only refrain from removing its bricks, but will add more and more to the still-unhardened mortar of those we laid.» ARMAND SHKULAKU

Today, 5.6.1991, at around 02:30 in the morning, a vile terrorist act took place near the headquarters of the Shkodër Branch of the Democratic Party. The honorary policeman Celi was shot with a firearm while on duty near the DP headquarters and is now in hospital in very serious condition. In connection with this, the Shkodër DP branch declares the following: Whether at the DP headquarters or in its vicinity, there is nothing that could constitute any kind of target, so the act in question cannot for any reason be construed as an attempt at ordinary theft. It is a despicable attack of a provocative nature against the DP branch; it is a terrorist act against our state, which we are trying to build and in which the democratic forces have more interest than ever; it is a crime against a person, against an ordinary son of the people, against our values. This terrorist act strikes deeply at the fabric of peace, as on the 16th ... In this crisis situation, full of tension and acts of violence, this action reminds us once again how intolerable the situation is and how urgent it is to put it on the road to recovery as soon as possible. It is a call to all political forces to contribute with all their strength to building a state governed by the rule of law as soon as possible, so that the people may regain social peace and calm. We call on all members of the Democratic Party and other democratic forces to distance themselves unequivocally from such vile terrorist acts and similar acts such as thefts, abductions, acts of violence, etc., which cause destabilization, division, fear and insecurity. At this moment, more than ever, the people need calm. Such terrorist acts, which have no connection whatsoever with democratic processes, and even less with the DP, are and will be condemned by us. Shkodër DP Branch Shkodër, 5.6.1991