Reforms will bring economic stability Today the diagnosis is clear: the market economy has won, the centrally directed economy has lost. The architect of the centrally directed economy—communism—has also tumbled into the abyss. This is the picture in the countries of Eastern Europe. The same picture can be seen in the Soviet Union. But what about Albania? Enverism danced across the Albanian economic stage for half a century. A unique case in the world. An unprecedented dictatorship because it destroyed property, human dignity and the human spirit. In the form of an equation, this theory looks like this: Enverism = Sparta + Marx + Stalin. This is the theoretical legacy. In practice, we inherited economic crisis, unemployment and poverty. On this terrain, it has proved possible to make a political revolution, but very difficult to make an economic revolution. Six months after the establishment of pluralism, this is the economic picture: four billion lek in deficits. Of these, three billion were inherited from the previous year. Meanwhile, the Bank has extended credit. These loans have not been repaid because the economic engine is not working. Thus the public deficit rises to 7 billion lek. The other side of the coin: the coffers are empty. Exports are at 20–25 percent. With industrial production achieved at these levels, employees’ wages were raised by 50 percent; pensions by the same amount. The result? Billions of lek in circulation, not backed by goods. If we add to this the financial scandal concocted by Dhimitër Gazhga, with Mr. Çarçani’s blessing, the difficulty of moving from economic Enverism to a market economy increases considerably. To accomplish this transition, two theories have been sketched out in recent months. The first group consists of the «cautious» ones. Their advice: be careful, measure seven times and wait once. A proverb intended to sound as popular as possible. First let us stabilize the economy, then let us embark on reforms. Because we will have inflation, unemployment and an exodus. The second group includes the reformers. In their view, reforms—and privatization first and foremost—will bring economic stability. But this cannot be done by decree. The smile of Hungarian economist Laszlo Ksaba is famous: he smiled when he was told in Poland that the market economy would be built on 1 January 1991! To accomplish this transition, Albania needs meat, butter and wheat from the West, or dollars to buy these goods. During these six months, this assistance has been lacking. Or, to be more precise, it has been provided only in dribs and drabs. This has allowed the first theory to flourish on more favorable ground. Along with it has come nostalgia for planning, for centralized price-setting, for an economy commanded from above. Look carefully at some theoretical articles published in the pages of «Zp». Between the lines, one senses a desire to keep planning and its pyramid standing. One senses an boundless love for the role of the state in economic life, in people’s very lives. They sing the praises of the marriage between the plan and the market economy. But this practice, fruitful for the capitalist economy of France, cannot be adapted to Albanian economic Enverism. The market economy is in opposition to economic Enverism. As such, they cannot coexist or be grafted onto one another. At the beginning of summer ’91, Albania was admitted to the CSCE. The green lights were switched on for the West to help this country, which is both close to and very far from Europe. With this act, «the cautious ones lost their case». The reformers came onto the scene. September ’91 may perhaps become a month that marks the beginning of the end of economic Enverism and the dawn of the market economy. It is neither chance nor fate that the reformers are looking to September. Three events, linked to one another, explain this choice. First, the start toward a market economy cannot happen without food aid from the West. During August, in the grand orchestra, Italy became the first violin in food aid. We now have an agreement between the two governments, signed and sealed. Italian and Albanian experts took part in drafting it. Starting on 15 September, every month 100,000 tons of wheat, 13.2 thousand tons of meat, 2.4 thousand tons of butter, 15 thousand tons of edible oil, 23 thousand tons of sugar, 8 thousand tons of powdered milk, 3.3 thousand tons of beans and 10 thousand tons of flour will arrive on Albanian soil. With this support, with these food products, the collapse of economic Enverism will be less painful. The «cautious ones» can no longer wave the «flag of inflation». For ease of explanation, let us make a comparison. Let us imagine the money supply in the form of a set of scales. Money is on one pan. Goods are placed on the other. What do we have today? A complete imbalance. There are 5 billion lek on the money pan. The other pan is short of an equal value of goods. What will happen with the aid? By the end of 1992, goods worth 360 million dollars will be added to the goods pan. If these are converted into MITRO ÇELA (Continued on page 5)

THE FIRST CONFERENCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY BRANCH IN THE DISTRICT OF DIBËR WAS HELD On 29 August 1991, the conference of the Democratic Party branch in the district of Dibër convened in the city of Peshkopi. On 29 August 1991, the Dibër convened in the city of Peshkopi. In addition to the elected delegates—

We were talking with a group of friends in the town of B. Curri when we were given the news that the school in the village of Degë, in the district of Tropojë, had been burned down. Later it was said that the school in the village of Dragobi had also been burned, and that an attempt had been made in Valbonë as well. Is it only in Tropojë that these inhuman acts against schools are happening? No, they are happening in some villages of Kukës too. Schools have also been destroyed in Pukë. In Shkodër and Lezhë, too, tiles are being removed from school roofs. Who dares to attack schools like this? Could they be Albanians? Compare this: in the Malësia e Gjakovës, schools are being burned; in Gjakovë, Albanians are being burned and killed for the sake of schools. Who burns and destroys schools? Whoever it may be, sin will pursue them. They do not think about life or the future. They do not think of their children, their younger brothers and sisters, who wait at the first gateway to learning, ready to take flight like birds. We are indeed unruly at this time, people, but the school is not to blame. It is true that the first words we learn at school are “Party-Enver”, but it is not the school’s fault that it did not teach us the first value of our mother, who gave birth to us; that it did not teach us to love our country, property and work, but only how to love “Uncle”. It is true that we want to uproot from our schools everything outdated, but not their walls and roofs, because today we have nowhere to get replacements. I appeal to villagers everywhere to remember the time when people used to “let the school go” for the sake of schooling. Sadly, today these very villagers’ sons rise up and burn it down. As we have heard, the children—the ones who destroyed the churches and mosques—curse those who destroy the schools today. They curse them, but they also bless them. Which one of them will think that the future should be as it is today, after what they have done?

On Friday afternoon, the Tirana branch of the Democratic Party organized a large, peaceful protest in front of the Albanian Radio and Television building. Hundreds of DP members and supporters took part, along with members of the independent RTSH trade union, etc. The purpose of this demonstration was to express dissatisfaction and protest against the labor-party leaders of this institution, who continue to cling tooth and nail to their positions and to work according to the old mentality and practices of their party, from which they can never break away, even though they have handed in their Communist membership cards. The demonstrators’ slogans openly called for the resignation of the institution’s leading officials, such as Fatmir Kumbaro, Hysni Lita, Thimi Nika, etc. RD correspondent

On 29 August 1991, the conference of the DP branch of the Dibër district convened in the city of Peshkopi. On 29 August 1991, the conference of the DP branch of the Dibër district delegates elected by the sections in the town and villages, the meeting was also attended by the secretary of the DP Steering Commission, Eduart Selami, the chairman of the DP Political Commission, Azem Hajdari, etc. The report delivered by Safet Zhulali, chairman of the Steering Commission of the DP branch in this district, provided a thorough and concrete analysis, with a clear spirit of self-criticism, of the achievements of this five-month period in the 31 March electoral campaign, in the work to expand, extend and establish the branch, to stabilize the situation in the district, etc. It then highlighted the fundamental tasks and objectives for the future, in order to carry the reforms in the political and economic fields through to completion. In their discussions, Spartak Tapallaj, Maliq Bitri, Ali Dodë- (Continued on page 2)

REPLY “Close to the people and their troubles” is the title of the lead article in “Zëri i Popullit”, in which comrade Hamdi warmly and enthusiastically describes comrade Fatos Nano’s meetings in the district of Fier. in the district of Fier—as though they had read this title here. Ah, yes, they are two books from the Enver school from which Hamdi took the title for his article: “Among Ordinary People” and “Our Strength Wells Up from the People.” Anyway, there is nothing wrong with that: comrade Enver’s immortal work is a great source of nourishment for Hamdi and his comrades. “Such encounters convince you that the PS has not lost its audience, has not lost the trust of this political force,” writes the newspaper “Zëri...”. But how could it lose people’s trust, comrade Hamdi, when all our lives we have been told, time and again, that the people and the party are one and inseparable, and that “the party does what the people want”? And how could we not trust you when all our lives you have told us that we live happily and joyfully in a flower garden on the Adriatic? Further on, the citizens of Patos apparently told Hamdi in confidence that none of the leaders of the other political parties had gone there, and Hamdi replied that perhaps they had been busy, or that “the residents of this town don’t like rallies with two fingers raised.” There you have it: that’s the rabbit Hamdi and Fatos have flushed out. The chairman of the PS turns out to be the first to meet the residents of Patos, who greet people with a fist, not with raised fingers. Poor Hamdi doesn’t understand, and has no way of understanding (reading the works of Enver or Ramiz’s speeches), that two fingers forming a V are a sign of victory, not a symbol of the DP. People raise two fingers all over the world—in America, Italy and Africa, and they raise them in Kosovo too—and they cannot all be members or supporters of the Albanian DP, which Hamdi and his party fear like the devil fears incense. Further on, Hamdi is heartbroken that “the citizens of Patos still don’t have an ample supply of drinking water.” How can that be, comrade Hamdi? At your Ninth Congress, you made the historic decision to provide plentiful drinking water to all villages and towns- (Continued on page 6)

Some meteorologists—the ones who forecast the “weather” and provide “synoptic” data on the economy, market supplies, the population’s nutritional level, etc.—say that there will be no winter this year. Meanwhile, those who forecast the actual weather say there is no reason for this year to be any different from the others. Which of these forecasts is right? Let us set comparisons aside and talk about the concern. It is not that those who ought to know are unaware, but what is being done...? Until a few days ago, not a single kilogram of grain or food reserves had been delivered to the northeastern region of the country. You can see this everywhere in Tropojë, Kukës, the mountainous area of Shkodër, Lezhë, and other districts. Given the state of the reserves in this region, if supplies were interrupted for even one day by some force of nature, the people of these areas would be left without bread or food that day. Well, as the saying goes, “the heat went away with August.” In September, the first signs of winter’s arrival appear in this area: frost, hoarfrost, etc. Political upheavals, decisions and instability must not make us forget that winter is coming to these areas. Time is short and there is much to do. How will such remote areas be supplied? Lekbibaj in Tropojë and other villages, (other villages in Kukës, Lura in Peshkopi, where even in midsummer it is difficult to get by car, let alone now that winter is drawing near! It does not occur to us that the government has failed to consider this fact, but the people in these areas are nevertheless afraid. Why conceal their uncertainty about winter? And they have good reason. They compare this year with previous years, when at least there was a lot of talk from early on. This year, however, neither the newspapers nor the residents of these areas are saying anything. Anyway, the issue is not whether people write or merely make a fuss about supplying these areas with reserves; the point is to get those reserves there. To reassure the people, I would ask one of the members of the Government of Stability to take up a pen and write an article in the press (it does not matter which newspaper), stating clearly and factually how and when the mountainous areas—and the Northeast in particular—will be supplied. When will the warehouses begin to be stocked, and what plan does the government have for these areas? What improvements will there be compared with previous years? Which countries’ aid will be available to these areas, etc.? This would reassure the people about the coming winter. But, of course, they would feel completely at ease only once there were truly ample reserves and trucks travelling along the roads to these areas loaded with winter supplies. It is not too late. Everything is achievable, because every day that passes is one day closer to winter, and one more day that adds to the difficulties of supplying these areas.

Decision on: ADMINISTRATION OF THE FIXED ASSETS CURRENTLY IN USE BY POLITICAL PARTIES AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS On the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Ministers D E C I D E S: 1. The General Directorate of Communal Economy and the district executive committees shall assess and register as state property the fixed assets that are currently in use by political parties, social organizations and various associations. 2. The fixed assets shall be transferred to the administration of state bodies. 3. The competent state bodies shall transfer fixed assets to political parties, social organizations and various associations as their property or for their use, for payment according to needs and available means. In special cases, the Presidium of the Council of Ministers may authorize the transfer of these assets for use without payment. This decision enters into force immediately. CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS YLLI BUFI

– LET US ROOT OUT COMMUNISM, EMBRACE DEMOCRACY – We wholeheartedly welcome the just decision of the Government of Stability, headed by Mr. Ylli Bufi, concerning the property of political parties and social organizations (in practice, only the Party of Labour, now the Socialist Party, and its levers—the trade unions, the youth organization, the women’s organization, the Front, etc.). At long last, that legitimate demand of the people and all democrats has been met. A very good step has been taken toward ending that paradoxical situation in which not only the property of the Party of Labour, but all of Albania, was the fiefdom of this Stalinist Party and its corrupt leadership. «Zëri i popullit» complained yesterday in its leading article that it was being unfairly attacked, saying that the Socialist Party does not need mansions, a palace, villas or «magnificent» buildings. The queen mother and her sons also complained some time ago that they were being unfairly attacked, that NAPOLEON ROSHI (Continued on page 2)

TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TO THE MINISTER OF HEALTH ... other incidents of this kind have been brought to the attention of our department, the Ministry of Public Order. The People’s Assembly has

MINISTER OF HEALTH TO THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC ORDER TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY The medical, nursing and sanitation staff of the «Frederik Shiroka» surgical hospital in Tirana hereby inform the public throughout the country of the following: Operations for planned illnesses have been suspended at this institution, and now we are unable to perform even procedures in emergencies (which, with the increase in accidents, have become even more numerous), since we lack the most basic supplies, such as alcohol, iodine, antiseptics, gauze, cotton wool, suture material, oxygen, various antibiotic solutions, etc. Every night, drug dealers come to our institution and forcibly seize narcotic substances, endangering the lives of the staff on duty and spreading a national calamity among the young. Our department, the Ministry of Public Order and the People’s Assembly have been informed of all these problems—which are not being raised for the first time—as well as others of this kind. Finding ourselves in this catastrophic situation, we demand: 1. That the «Frederik Shiroka» surgical hospital be urgently supplied with consumable materials in the minimum daily quantities required to enable us to provide assistance to around 100 emergency patients who present themselves every 24 hours. 2. That police posts be established near this institution, with a patrol covering the area. 3. To ensure the emergency service (obtaining blood and solutions, securing specialists, and transporting patients), an ambulance is needed, and we have been without one for a year. We request that everything set out above be provided by 9.9.1991. Otherwise, on 11.9.1991, the staff of the «Frederik Shiroka» surgical hospital will be forced to stop work because of these conditions. SURGICAL HOSPITAL