A few days ago, in an article, we criticized «ADA» for a number of things, foremost among them its suspicious links with the «red bosses». Representatives of «ADA» came to our office. We discussed the matter. They acknowledged some points and promised to put others right; one or two things were inaccurate. But when we asked for an explanation as to why this company was not bringing in any food to sell, he put a fax in front of us with three points. The first point said that, since 29 June, a ship carrying chickens had been unloading at the port of Durrës. Instead of the 700 tons a day that were supposed to be unloaded under the contract, only 104 tons were currently being unloaded. The losses would be very great, especially at this time. The second point said that a ship loaded with flour, after waiting nine days to enter the port, was still waiting to be unloaded. The third point said: despite the immediate arrival of a ship loaded with powdered milk, we kindly ask you to take all necessary measures to avoid these problems. What could I say to the representative of the «ADA» company when he set out such obstacles before me at a time when our children’s lips are parched for a drop of milk? Really, what is happening to us? What kind of work are these companies doing? They are part of the bloc. Above all, you see that almost no shop has opened. Is it the company’s fault, or is it our bureaucracy’s fault? We will call out anything we see going wrong. But before we do, we must have facts. If we attack every action foreign companies take here, we risk paralyzing the country’s economic life, frightening foreign investors, and leaving the people waiting in vain to see better days. This is where the government of national stability must act. We would like to see more action. If the government and its representatives are convinced that the activities of this or that foreign company comply with every international standard and do not harm the interests of Albania’s social groups and the Albanian people, then they should stand up for it and not allow all sorts of forces to obstruct it at every turn. As a newspaper of the Democratic Party, we will support the commercial activities of domestic and foreign businesses and, at the same time, raise our voices against anything that harms the country’s interests. We are also willing to publish advertisements in the newspaper for these companies’ activities, as the entire world press does, on the basis of proper advertising contracts. Everyone, wherever they are, must contribute to moving from words to deeds. The people want to see foreign capital’s commitment made tangible. But for us to make it tangible, we must paralyze the bureaucracy and all those forces obstructing the investment and commercial activities of foreign companies, solely in order to increase instability in Albania and once again revive illusions about the good old days of Enverian dictatorship. We therefore once again call on the Government and its ministers to act and to help bring about the establishment of pluralist local government, without which nothing can be done. “And company when he put such obstacles in my way a drop of milk? Indeed, what is happening to us? What kind of game is being played at this people’s expense? Who are these forces putting Albania under the wheels at every turn? A series of articles has been published in the press about the activities, including the dubious activities, of foreign companies. There will be more such articles. Because we really must be vigilant and not allow Albania to be sold off. We must be vigilant and not allow the «red bosses» to take control of all economic power. We must be vigilant because when you go to the «Iliria Holding» company, the first question they ask a job-seeker is: Are you patriotic towards the government? (The subtext: we don’t need dissidents.) You go to this company and among the drivers you see that a large number are from the Forestry Directorate, the officials and the surnames all the «measures» to avoid these problems. But to achieve this, we must paralyse the bureaucracy, all those forces that obstruct the investment and business activities of foreign companies, solely to increase instability in Albania and thereby revive once again illusions about the good old days of Enverian dictatorship. That is why we act, to save us by establishing pluralist local government, without which nothing can be done.

The political killings carried out in Shkodër on 2 April, only 20 hours after the results of Albania’s first pluralist elections were announced, were an act of violence by criminal forces against the peaceful population. The political killings carried out in Shkodër on 2 April, only 20 hours after the results of Albania’s first pluralist elections were announced, were an act of violence by criminal forces against the peaceful population, which had come out to protest peacefully for the resignation of the PP, which had lost the moral right to lead the political, economic and social life of the people because it had pursued an anti-national policy of self-isolation and the cult of the individual, bringing the Albanian people to the brink of a genuine catastrophe. This roaming terror had been prepared in advance at one of the peaks of the Enverist pyramid. The results of the massacre are now known. The terrorists inflicted a major reprisal on the innocent population, with consequences that rightly alarmed public opinion at home and abroad. From the very first day, the perpetrators of the crime began to misinform domestic and international public opinion by deliberately distorting the truth. The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ approach of accusing the people of Shkodër conceals the criminal’s hand and thereby gives the criminals a chance to cover their tracks, while shifting the blame onto others. It was no coincidence that the day after, at a press conference, the first secretary of the PP Committee of Tirana, Robert Koli, declared that Azem Hajdari had led the crowd in Shkodër. Radio Belgrade reported the same news in those very days. It appears that the terrorists had prepared carefully, confident that once the scenario began, it would not be difficult for them to obtain authorization to use firearms from the Presidential Council as well. Former Minister of Internal Affairs Gramoz Ruçi acknowledged in Parliament that he had been at the Presidential Council at the time of the massacre.

Like the rest of the people, Kamza faces troubling problems: jobs, housing, drinking water, etc. But when people confront insecurity, they forget even the many hardships and worries they face at this time of confusion that has engulfed the whole body of the homeland, in health and honor. It is hard to find a word in our language with greater weight than INSECURITY. It has begun to follow people everywhere, like a black shadow. There is no way to protect yourself from it. In truth, a terrible kind of drama has long been playing out at the people’s expense. It is not yet known what forces have an interest in continuing this dramatic game, but one thing is certainly clear: the murderous hand that is cutting short the lives of 18- to 20-year-olds is still well hidden. Kastriot Çollaku was 17 and Ylber Çenmurati 22 when they were killed by police patrols in the village of Laknas on the morning of 14 July. Their friends, Luan Hyka, Fluturim Qamo and Agron Peza, were even younger; they were wounded. That day, Kamza awoke bathed in blood. Here is what witnesses to the incident say: Lulzim Lipe: There were seven of us in a little hut, returning from Laknas to Kamëz. A relative of ours was marrying off his son, so we celebrated until 2:30 at night. Since we still hadn’t eaten dinner, the homeowner gave us some bread to eat on the way. Fluturim Qamo: As we were walking near the Laknas bridge, while we were eating bread, we saw a policeman and two civilians in the distance, in the dark. The policeman raised his weapon and fired three times into the air and three times in our direction. The frightened horse began to run faster. Some other policemen fired at us without stopping. A bullet hit Kastriot in the head, and he fell dead at our feet. He still had a mouthful of bread in his mouth. Agron Peza: A hail of bullets hit the horse, broke the chain and punctured the cart’s tires, and then went straight into Ylber’s chest. He too fell dead in our arms. Just then, a policeman approached and shouted to his companions: «We still haven’t killed them all!» Then he loaded his automatic weapon and fired. Saimir Rezi: We still couldn’t understand what was happening to us. With bullets whistling after us, we ran toward Valias, where we hid in a cornfield. Three more of our friends were wounded. Of the seven of us, only two escaped without being bloodied. Ilirjan Qosja: In the morning, we saw six policemen at the scene collecting the cartridge cases and wiping away the traces of blood. (Perhaps they were trying to erase the traces of the crime.) I recognized Lefter Gjonin, Ramazan Durrësin and Sami Zonen... To learn more about the incident, we also asked at the police station. Chief Lavdosh Isaraj told us only that they had sent two patrols to that area because they had information about burglaries. The six policemen involved in the incident had been detained by the investigators... These were the witnesses’ accounts of an unprovoked and entirely «preventable» killing, the circumstances of which will no doubt be clarified by the justice system. The statement by the Ministry of Public Order, which, oddly, was not published by any of the press outlets, does not clearly explain the circumstances of the killing, as public opinion expected it to. It seems to have been issued only to counter the Democratic Party’s statement, which condemns the crime and calls on the law-enforcement forces to punish and expel from their ranks all those elements whose actions feed the strategy of terror and insecurity and seek to revive illusions and nostalgia for the time of the dictatorship. The Democratic Party stresses that under no circumstances should these destabilizing elements be confused with the overwhelming majority of the police, from whom the people ask and expect strict observance of the laws and regulations in force.

On Monday afternoon, the delegation of the Democratic League of Kosovo, headed by Dr. Ibrahim Rugova and including Bujar Bukoshi, secretary of the League, left our country. At the invitation of the Democratic Party of Albania, the delegation had visited our country. During the talks between the two parties, the political situation in Albania, Kosovo and Yugoslavia was analyzed. The talks took place in an atmosphere of fraternal understanding. Both sides agreed that the situation in Kosovo is extremely grave and threatened, and that the crisis in Yugoslavia cannot be resolved without the Republic of Kosovo’s full and equal participation in all dialogue on the breakup of Yugoslavia. Both sides agreed to maintain regular contacts and expand cooperation between the two parties. At the airport, Ibrahim Rugova was seen off by the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, the party’s secretary, Eduard Selami, as well as gentlemen Neritan Ceka and Shahin Kadareja.

In the People’s Assembly The work of the People’s Assembly seems to be getting bogged down. For two days, groups discussed the land. The position of the Democratic Party’s deputies is clear. Without privatizing the land, while suspending its sale for a certain period, there can be no further persistence in the countryside. The socialists are close by, insisting that the land belong to the state. Yesterday, Finance Minister Genc Ruli was expected to present to the Assembly a report on the scandalous expenditure and squandering by the communist «Block» elite. However, the report had still not been delivered by late evening. We hope he will be given the opportunity to present it today. Yesterday afternoon, the Health Commission also met to discuss the scandals involving medical treatment for the Enverist elite. And for a portion of the... they were being sent for treatment in Paris or Vienna, while the people languished. Endless scandals. These are scandals that expose a hated regime, a corrupt judicial system, violated laws, and corruption in every cell of society. These are scandals that call on us to fight them, uproot them and punish those responsible, so that we can build a clean, honest society. RD Correspondent

From the offices of the Labour Party, which at its 10th Congress was to change its name to the Socialist Party as part of the promised changes, the intentions have not ceased to become clear. In their endless inventory, the place of honour these days undoubtedly goes to the statement their leaders repeat from time to time, according to which the Socialist Party is an entirely new party. One might think this was said for the moment in informal conversations and meetings, where words are not all that carefully checked. No, that is a misunderstanding. This statement appeared in an editorial in the party’s daily, «Zëri i Popullit», dated 10 July 1991. Polemicizing with a sister party, it says that its name was invoked on 20 May, when the presidium of the 10th Congress of the Labour Party met and decided to create the new Socialist Party. And as if this were not a new matter but, rather, an abuse—the claim «three hundred and fifty»—it goes on: «The 10th Congress of the Labour Party, since the creation of the Labour Party, decided to create the new Socialist Party, which in fact has never been a socialist party...» «We will not dwell on the bewilderment this bold assertion causes the ordinary person, since the press reported on that Labour Party congress, and there are also accounts from those who were inside: the question of dissolving and disbanding the Labour Party in order to create a new party was never raised. They spoke only of renewing it. So no party was dissolved, nor was another founded. We are not referring to some kind of rumour that also spread among a number of delegates, mainly intellectuals, who, on learning that the party’s new name was identical to the new name of Millosheviç’s party, shamelessly declared that they confused the first party, the «Communist» one, created by Popoviç (Miladin), the second—the Labour Party—created by Vlladisloviç, as Enver Hoxha himself says in his memoirs, and now the third, the Socialist one, created by Millosheviçi. We do not want to deal with these claims. We are discussing only what was written in the newspaper, and, based on the truth, what was declared and who signed it. Now, then, contrary to what was said at the congress, it turns out that a new party has been formed. We certainly do not wish to question the statement in «Zëri», but one thing puzzles us: why was this party, which is said to have been created, founded clandestinely? And afterwards, why was it kept secret and not publicly announced in November—or the day after? We do not want to believe it, but this practice reminds us of the old tricks by which the Labour Party maintained itself for fifty-odd years. A party that claims to stand for transparency, rules and modernity, a modern party, self-governing and European in type, goes so far as to explore ways to preserve itself on the internet. Has it also presented itself to the Socialist International, and does it not find itself in a somewhat awkward position because of such cunning manoeuvres? Ordinary people put all kinds of versions up for discussion. For example, perhaps the creation of this new party was kept secret so as not to lose the existing members of the Labour Party, so they would not fall into line and leave; perhaps they were being slowly led along in this way, deceived, to the point where now, calmly, without their realizing they had been taken in, it tells them...

“And what could I say to the representative of the «ADA» company when he put such obstacles in my way at a time when our children’s lips are parched for a drop of milk?

15 July 1991. Another wall comes down in Tirana. Without a doubt, it is the tallest wall ever erected between Albanians, separating and isolating the architects of Albania’s great isolation from the people. The barriers had been removed, and the soldiers guarding the Block were no longer at their posts on the morning of 15 July. The citizens of Tirana could not believe their eyes. They freely entered the inner lanes of the «Block», this extraterrestrial paradise for the Albanian people. They say that, in gardens full of greenery, in luxurious villas, with... bearing in mind that «Blloku» had a tape recorder under his arm, intending to make a report for Radio Tirana. The little streets were full of curious onlookers. There were plenty of older people, but young people too. They craned their necks, talked to themselves; someone pointed at one of the villas, while someone else asked where the dictator had lived, near the corner by the villa railings, and each, in their own way, passed judgement on others. I tried to turn it into a conversation, but as soon as they learned my purpose, they walked away, some frightened, others laughing. It was clear: the fortress generations of the dictatorship, the shadows of its palaces, inspire fear—a fear that is still kept alive by the entire state apparatus established and entrenched over 50 years, precisely for this purpose. And while I could not complete my report, it seemed to me that an inner voice was addressing everyone: «People, go and see how your masters lived; try touching the trees, the stones, the railings, the walls, and you will feel the pain in your body, because your labour, your sweat, your work, your toil are there. Try looking into their palaces and your ears will ring with the cynicism and the bells that have been ringing in your states about which bride should cook in the bathroom and which in the kitchen; you will relive the anguish of waiting before the committee for authorization to be given for the apartment you built with such effort, with your own hands. Step into their gardens and a lump will rise in your throat for your brother, father, child, mother, husband, wife who is no longer alive, because the pharmacies lacked trinitrin, the hospitals had no damned equipment, antibiotics were lacking, because...» «Blloku» is beautiful, but only as a tourist attraction. And those who come as tourists, perhaps when our children grow up they will defy our memories and say, «This is how the kings of Albania lived»—and then they will walk away laughing.

For nearly half a century, a large part of our people—a higher proportion of the population than in any country where real socialism held sway—has suffered inhumanely in prisons, internment and political exile for periods so long they may seem unbelievable. These exhausted and broken people, tortured and physically and spiritually maimed, are finally free de jure today, but de facto they continue to live in their former economic misery. They are without shelter, without work, without pensions, without income to secure even a minimum standard of living; they wander the streets of the major cities without a place to go. There is an urgent need for measures to resettle these people, broken by the totalitarian system, and bring them into the flow of normal life, in keeping with the statement the Party made some time ago on this matter. The Democratic Party also appeals to all Albanians, both at home and abroad, in whose veins flows the blood of the Arbër, to do everything in their power to provide their long-suffering brothers and sisters with suitable material living conditions, as well as a warm spiritual atmosphere to ease their pain and deep wounds. The Democratic Party considers it an evangelical and moral obligation to appeal to the compassionate and generous peoples of the European family, to the American people, and to the charitable associations and institutions of these countries to make their invaluable contribution during these difficult times we are living through, in order to alleviate the consequences of the appalling tragedy of slavery in our country—a tragedy without precedent in the history of this people, one of the oldest in Europe. Steering Committee of the DP