The martyr of democracy Arben Broci did not have the opportunity, like his fellow students, to defend his thesis on 3 July 1991. In the Faculty of Mechanical-Electrical Engineering, the students have put up a large photograph of him, and fresh flowers are always placed beside it. His memory lives on among his friends. But on the day the theses were defended, Arben was present just like his fellow students, through his thesis. He had prepared it, had worked on it, and only the final retouching remained. They took his life, but they did not take his ideals or the fruits of his work. His friends made the finishing additions, and the dean’s office decided that the thesis should be defended. It was presented to the state commission by the thesis supervisor, Doc. G. Demiraj. The work, entitled “Design of a machine for drawing very fine wire and reconstruction of the wire-drawing workshop,” was highly praised in the review by Doc. A. Bushati. The state commission, chaired by the Dean, Dr. G. Karapici, awarded Arben Broci, Eng., a grade of 10. This was another tribute, in the era of democracy, to the achievement of the future engineer Arben Broci. The Dean of the faculty, Arben’s friend and fiancée Ana, his brother, his fellow students, and representatives of the Democratic Party, A. Çika and B. Sala, attended the moving thesis-defense ceremony. Presenting Arben’s fiancée with a beautiful bouquet of fresh white flowers, the Dean told those attending the ceremony that, after the great sorrow in the Broci family, a joy was now coming: Arben’s engineering diploma, the result of his own hard work. His mother’s wish was for the diploma to be presented in Shkodër, where the family would host a reception for Arben’s friends and lecturers. RD correspondent

Mr. Alia! My opinion and position regarding your election to the post of President have been consistent and clearly expressed, but incomplete, because the overall assessment lacked a concrete, publicly known, indisputable and conclusive fact proving your direct connection with a political crime that was committed or planned but not carried out. Mr. Alia! My opinion and position regarding your election to the post of President have been consistent and clearly expressed, but incomplete, because the overall assessment lacked a concrete, publicly known, indisputable and conclusive fact proving your direct connection with a political crime that was committed or planned but not carried out. This fact was exposed through the statement of the former Minister of the Interior, a former member of the Political Bureau of your party’s Central Committee. Therefore, I am now able to address you in your capacity as holder of the office you occupy, regarding the incompatibility between your person and actions and the nature of that office. I have the moral right to do so as a citizen of a democratic country who has had the courage on more than one occasion to tell you what he thinks about no less important issues. You, Mr. Alia, should not be President of this country for a host of reasons that my fellow MPs and many representatives of public opinion have put to you. The fact that Enver Hoxha chose you as his successor, and that you conceived and implemented the policy of continuity right to its bitter end, shows that your formation as a politician, under the pressure of a struggle for existence, was totalitarian and Enverist. You bore responsibility for the failed policies of the Albanian state across the board, as well as for a significant part of the life, dreams and economic circumstances of an entire people. The first act you performed after taking this office—which, given the accusations made against you, you normally should not have accepted—was your first address as President, in which you thanked the MPs precisely for electing you. This communist politician’s true nature was also evident in the political bargaining you offered the Democratic Party in January of this year, at a meeting with its leaders: not to postpone the elections and, in effect, to let you keep their victories in exchange for the local elections you were offering us. The rest of your address, constructed according to the principle “speak a lot, say little or evade the issue,” with the timeworn phraseology of your party’s plenums, did not address the essence of the political changes—the birth of a new state and a new conception of politics—but presented an outdated type of politician in a new political situation. Your attitude toward the opposition’s proposal for a government of stability has been extremely negative. Yet this attitude toward the possibility of cooperation among the country’s political forces is not the attitude that the law requires of a person who is supposed to represent the unity of the people. At the meeting with the leaders of the parties and parliamentary groups, the main alternatives you offered were a state of emergency declared by Parliament or by you personally. In reality, this would have been imposed, but the political style you used was blackmail against the opposition, with the aim of preventing it from acting. That your concern for stability was merely a pretext is made clear by your participation in the meeting of your party’s plenum with its parliamentary group. I do not know what you said, but it is clear that you were not among the few MPs in favour. Moreover, just three days later, the same meeting, held without your presence, reached the opposite conclusions. Your most recent address in Kukës definitively proves that “you have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.” Mr. Alia, I believe you should not be President of this country. With your decision to review political sentences, you benefit only those convicted whose trials were irregular (those against whom there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the charges). The decision is intended to prevent and obstruct the genuine solution: the full rehabilitation of former political prisoners and a general amnesty. It is true that amnesty is not within your powers, but it is just as true that the President of a country can do a great deal in this regard. Failure to act is as morally and legally reprehensible as harmful action. As President, as the representative of the unity of the people, it was your duty to make every possible effort for national reconciliation, peace and harmony, and to compensate, even if only a little, for the suffering that your party and you have caused these people.

Our pluralist Parliament continues its work. We call it pluralist, but the truth is that it is not. The block of “against” cards often reminds one of monism. The efforts of the 75 Democratic MPs are considerable, but the … socialist bloc does what it does. Nevertheless, many things have been achieved. It is enough to say that all 40 fundamental laws passed by Parliament are humane and meet European and international standards. Over the last two or three days, a number of draft laws and decrees were reviewed. Unfortunately, Parliament sometimes turned into an electoral battleground. “Socialist” MPs stood up one after another, asking for pensions for villagers: one wanted 500 new lek, another 600 new lek, and someone else even more. In all fairness, villagers should receive pensions each month that are not merely as much as requested, but at least twice as much. But it is a paradox that representatives of the party which, for 47 years, brought the countryside to this miserable state, stole the peasants’ land, livestock and children’s bread for 47 years, and left them with pensions of 100 or 200 lek a month, now pose as demagogues and pretend to be ardent supporters of the countryside and the peasantry. Enough, gentlemen, with your electoral tricks. You deceived the peasant once before the elections and took his land. I do not think the peasant will be deceived a second time, because he knows from personal experience what the Labour Party did to the countryside and the peasant, and how it rewarded them. MP Napolon Roshi stated that, unfortunately, for two days some Socialist Party MPs had been turning Parliament into an electoral field— …repression; the hand of the Sigurimi was felt. Therefore, the thorough reorganisation of the state security service is now more imperative than ever. The new law passed by Parliament makes the National Intelligence Service an agency under the Council of Ministers. It is not being created to fill dossiers and curtail citizens’ freedom, but to protect the state, freedom, independence and the country’s defence capability. The speeches by Democratic Party MPs Arben Imami, Petrit Llaftiu, Ylli Vejsiu, Neritan Çeka, Bashkim Kopliku and others were aimed precisely at ensuring that citizens’ freedoms and rights would never be violated, that this agency would not stand above other bodies, and that it would always be subject to oversight and act within the law. The law on the Status of Military Personnel in the Armed Forces of Albania was also very important. Even though our economic situation is difficult, Parliament quite rightly considered it entirely reasonable to approve a status for military personnel, covering fair pay, employment and remuneration, among other things. We must have an army and police force with a full status, incomes comparable to those in arduous sectors, and full legal guarantees for their activities. The passage of this law also prompted a series of debates. MP Sp. Hysni pointed out that the draft law said a great deal about the status of officers but little about that of soldiers, who, among other things, receive only 10 new lek a month. The Deputy Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Aleksandër Meksi, referring to the paragraph prohibiting officers, non-commissioned officers and police employees from leaving military service without legally recognised grounds, noted that criminal penalties had previously been envisaged, which constitutes a violation of human rights. Therefore, he said, we should pass a humane law that provides only for compensation measures or fines, which are also necessary to maintain the required discipline in the army and police. There was much discussion about officers’ pay. After some demagogic remarks by a Socialist MP demanding even higher salaries for military personnel than those of workers in the economy’s arduous sectors, MP Genr Ruli spoke. He argued that adding just one phrase, “above the pay of workers in arduous sectors,” would require the economy and the state budget (which this Parliament will approve) to provide at least an additional 200 million lek! Where would this empty budget find so much money, after 47 years of the ruinous policies of a monist regime? The main alternatives you offered to party leaders and parliamentary groups you personally. In reality, this would not have been implemented, but the political style you used was to blackmail the opposition, in order to obstruct it, even if only slightly—a style you employed throughout the parliamentary period and especially in February. Sir, you no longer have the power to uphold this outdated style, nor the power to change it. Furthermore, the effort Well then, as President, in your capacity was incumbent upon you harmony, and to compensate, even in some small measure, for the suffering that your party and you have inflicted on these people. I have also been astonished by your inaction over the publication of laws. This is one of the President’s fundamental duties. Inaction in this case renders the legislative activity invalid. (Continued on page 6) Enough, gentlemen, with the electoral tricks. You find the farmer once before the elections and give him the land. I don’t think the farmer will be found a second time, because he has learned well at his own expense what the Party of Labour has done for the village and the peasant, and how the Party of Labour repaid the peasant for the great support the countryside gave to the National Liberation War. Now that the Party of Labour has emptied the treasury, the state coffers, its deputies are calling for wages and pensions to be increased—something they never remembered for 47 years. The Democratic Party deputies exposed this Labour Party demagoguery in Parliament. Another important draft law concerned the National Intelligence Service. For 47 years, the Sigurimi in the hands of the Party of Labour inflicted so much suffering on the Albanian people. Through all those killings, internments, imprisonments, As President, in your capacity was incumbent upon you these people. There was also a series of discussions on the other articles. Deputy Petrika Minga asked that the statute also include provision for the training of military personnel abroad. Profe- accommodation, employment, and pay. We must have an army and a police force with full status, incomes comparable to those in difficult sectors, and full legal guarantees for their activities. The adoption of this law also involved a series of debates. Arben Imami rightly asked that the paragraph of Article 3 be reviewed, which stipulated that military personnel should protect the legal order, democracy, and citizens’ rights and freedoms. Does this not leave room for using the army to suppress the people’s democratic protests? At the insistence of the Democratic Party deputies, this paragraph was removed. Parliament continues its work. Discussions began in the parliamentary groups on the very important land law, which is essential because of the chaos and misery sown in the countryside by the Party of Labour’s policies. ...the budget will need an additional at least 200 million lek! Where will this budget, emptied by 47 years of destructive one-party rule, find so much money? Deputy Napoleon Roshi stated that, unfortunately, some Socialist Party deputies have been continuing their election campaign in Parliament for two days. They are the same people who for 47 years gave no thought to wages, pensions, or the benefits military personnel should receive. Above all, after completely destroying the economy and finances, they are now trying to undermine the fragile Government of National Stability and its empty coffers. N.R.

After returning from Brussels, the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, received the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Curtis Kamman, at the DP headquarters on 4 July and held a lengthy conversation with him. The DP Chairman briefed his American guest on current developments in Albania, the progress of the democratic process and the role played by the DP and its MPs in Parliament, as well as on the severe economic situation Albania is experiencing as a result of the 47-year policies of the monist party and regime. …pursued by the dictatorial regime. Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha spoke about the crimes of the Government of National Stability and the commitment of the DP MPs, whose efforts led to the passage of a package of laws meeting European standards and being highly humane. He also stressed that there are still many regressive, Stalinist forces trying to hold back the democratic process and even obstruct the work of the Government of National Stability. He particularly emphasised the urgent need for pluralist local government. Turning to the grave situation in Yugoslavia, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha condemned the military violence against the people of Slovenia and Croatia. He expressed concern over the continued military occupation of Kosovo by Milosheviç’s forces and reiterated that the Yugoslav problem cannot be resolved unless the Albanian people in Kosovo enjoy the same equal rights as all the other republics of Yugoslavia within a Yugoslav confederation; the Yugoslav tragedy cannot be resolved otherwise. (Continued on page 6)

- DOES ALBANIA HAVE ENOUGH ECONOMIC POTENTIAL TO MOVE THE EXCHANGE RATES OF POWERFUL CURRENCIES SUCH AS THE GERMAN MARK AND THE JAPANESE YEN? - TO ENTER INTO A PARTNERSHIP INVOLVING 1 BILLION U.S. DOLLARS A DAY IN THE GLOBAL CURRENCY MARKET? - ARE WE REALLY THAT RICH? For a long time, one question has been troubling the undernourished mind of the Albanian people: Are we rich or poor? In general, when people look at their homes and their miserable lives, they answer: Of course we are poor! But when they see the lives of former PPSH leaders, and then hear of scandalous “losses” of 200 million dollars and another 35 million that have apparently disappeared without anyone knowing where they went, they are left bewildered and shrug their shoulders. Their bewilderment has been greatly intensified by the enigmatic issue of the Albanian treasury. So, are we rich or poor? It is in the nature of dictatorial states to impoverish the people to the very limit, ruin the individual and enrich themselves without limit—as it is true that the opposite happens in democratic states. But what was the Enverist state like? You certainly cannot call it poor. All you need to do is look at how easily it directed millions in spending toward … the paranoid whims of the dictator himself. This is borne out by the “stubborn silence” of officials of every rank and level on the matter of the treasury and Albanian gold. It is also borne out by the special “care” taken by the PPSH to ensure that the State Bank was headed almost always by one of the Party’s own leaders. All you need to do is ask: Where has gone the value of all the sweat shed by an entire people over half a century? (Continued on page 2) ...of harm, which you carried out to its very last limit, show the struggle for existence was totalitarian, Enverist. You bore responsibility for the failed policy of the Albanian state across its entire spectrum, as well as for a not insignificant share of the waste and abuses committed by members and senior officials of the party-state administration, about which our public is also being systematically informed. The greatest waste is not that of money and goods, but the waste—

As the AFP news agency reports, the French State Secretariat for Humanitarian Action decided on Monday to send 40 tonnes of medicines and food products to Albania in the coming days, aboard a first cargo aircraft. According to AFP, this decision was made after a meeting between the Secretary of State Bernard Kushner and the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha. Mr. Berisha, the statement issued on this occasion by the French State Secretariat noted, briefed the minister on the situation in Albania and its need for humanitarian aid. He invited Mr. Kushner to visit Albania.

The Democratic Party of Albania is following with concern the latest developments in Yugoslavia and the de facto coup by the red generals, serving the anti-democratic and chauvinist aims of Slobodan Milosheviç. The facts show that what is now taking place in Yugoslavia is not a civil war, but a war between totalitarian and democratic ideologies, between the spirit and progressive European concepts on the one hand and regressive, isolationist ones on the other. As the voice and steadfast defender of the democratic and humane aspirations of the Albanian people, the Democratic Party strongly condemns the military violence and bloodshed inflicted by Yugoslav tanks, aircraft and army on the Slovenian people, as well as the similar threats against the Croatian people. We are following with concern and deep indignation the growing threats against the people of Kosovo, who for a year have been living under full military occupation, as well as the dispatch of phalangist troops to Kosovo in preparation for an anti-Albanian slaughter. The Democratic Party of Albania demands an end to the oppression, persecution and occupation of Kosovo, and warns that anyone who sheds the blood of the people of Kosovo will not go unpunished. It is now clear to everyone that the Yugoslav problem cannot be resolved without the active and free participation of the Albanian people of Kosovo, who are the oldest people in Yugoslavia and the third largest by population. The Yugoslav tragedy cannot be resolved as long as the most basic rights of the Albanians are brutally trampled, as long as the wall preventing legitimate, humane contact between the populations in the two parts of the Albanian nation remains standing, and as long as Albanians are not allowed to have their own republic in the Yugoslav Confederation and take part as equals in the dialogue about that state’s future. The Democratic Party calls on the Albanian people, as well as all the peoples of Europe and the world, to condemn Milosheviç’s violence and stay the chauvinist hand preparing further violence and massacres in martyred Kosovo. DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ALBANIA Tirana, 5 July 1991