09/10/1991
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Rilindja Demokratike

9 October 1991

NO ONE SHOULD TURN THEIR BACK ON A MOTHER WHO IS BEGGING

ADDRESS BY PROF. DR. SALI BERISHA AT THE MEETING WITH THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TIRANA, ON 8 OCTOBER 1991 . Look, do you see, it frightens you, it makes you angry. Today is 8 December 1991, and the people are speaking to our revolution, I mean the revenge of all the deniers of democracy. You ask me, well, what country is ours? They tell me in a thousand deep human languages, answer or mockery? I heard in various nicknames, and many words from students, comrades and brothers, that Tirana today has been a threat to democracy. I have always loved schools to be held in high esteem, and the most painful thing is that a student feels discouraged and rises up and asks us for justice. Look, I will tell you a case of conscience. The government’s work and that of its administration have become more and more scandalous every day. They treated the students in such a way as to push us back to yesterday. And I have said it, and I repeat it: no one has the right to turn their back on a mother who is begging. No one should turn their back on pain, on misery, on the deep social wound that has engulfed the country. Today, before you, I am saying that we cannot remain silent. We cannot remain silent when the young Albanian rises up and asks for hope, asks for bread, asks for dignity. Today the students are the living voice of the national conscience. Today they are telling us that they no longer accept empty promises, deceit and delay. We are for peaceful change, for a democratic order, for a state governed by law. But that does not mean submission in the face of injustice. On the contrary, it means civic courage, moral responsibility and determination not to allow the humiliation of this people any longer. Do you know what is happening in the students’ dormitories? Do you know how young people are living? Do you know how many families cannot feed themselves? These are not statistics. These are wounds. And when power closes its eyes to them, it no longer governs; it rules through indifference. The Democratic Party has been and remains on the side of the ordinary citizen. We will not accept poverty being called fate, misery being called order, silence being called peace. The Albanian people deserve freedom, dignity and a normal life. Students are not anyone’s tool. They are the conscience of the times. Whoever tries to smear them is gravely mistaken. Whoever tries to scare them forgets that fear has begun to break and cannot return as before. We have entered a road from which there is no turning back. Albania will be made. Albania will be democratic. And no one can hold its future hostage. I call on you to be determined, calm, dignified and united. No one should turn their back on a mother who is begging. This is a human, moral and political principle. It is a call for mercy, but also for justice. It is a call addressed to everyone: the government, the opposition, the student, the worker, the intellectual. Albania cannot be saved without compassion and without courage. Let us not forget that in the most difficult moments of a nation, the young have known how to speak first. And when they speak about bread, about freedom, about dignity, the nation must listen. (text partially illegible [?])

Democracy will win, and it will uproot communism from Albania

PD: Inspiring mass civic action It has been a week since the people of Tirana have been protesting peacefully in front of the government, without any irresponsible act. Citizens are insistently demanding the resignation of the incompetent government, improvement in daily life, and guarantees for democratic reforms. At the head of this movement are the students and the youth, who have once again shown that they are the most honest and most determined force in our society. The people of Tirana have joined them, turning the protests into a mass civic action. Power is trying to present this movement as destabilizing, but the truth is quite different. What is destabilizing is misery, the lack of bread, the lack of hope, the lack of a clear path toward a market economy and a state governed by law. The PD has been and remains the inspiring force behind this civic action. It did not invent people’s anger; it heard it and gave it a voice. Anyone who looks with open eyes understands that today’s revolt is the product of an unacceptable national situation. Albania cannot remain hostage to communist structures, to the old mentality and to the nomenklatura that is trying to survive at any cost. Democracy will win and communism will be uprooted from this country. Citizens are asking not for privileges, but for normal rights: work, bread, freedom, security and dignity. These demands cannot be branded as hostile. They are the foundation of democratic life. The Democratic Party calls on citizens to preserve calm, unity and determination. Peaceful protest is their moral and political weapon. Albania is entering a new stage, where the free citizen has the final word. (text partially illegible [?])

Without learning and knowledge... one cannot stand long on one’s feet

Dear Albanian friends? The annual meetings of the farmers’ cooperative of the village [?] were held, where the state of education and the need to school the younger generation were discussed. At the center of the discussions was the condition of the teacher, the lack of textbooks, and the poverty that is weighing on families. It was said that without knowledge and without school there can be no progress. It was demanded that local government do more for the school, for the children, and for the teachers. A society that puts knowledge aside is destined to remain at a standstill. The Albanian village needs books, light, roads, and hope. If we want a democratic and civilized Albania, we must start from the school. Without learning and knowledge, society cannot stand on its feet for long. (Continues on page 2)

Taken from 0.10.1991

Taken Tirana, on 10.10.1991.