May the voice of democracy remain independent $500,000 in Aid for Albania — INTERVIEW WITH MR. FRAN NAZI, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE «SOROS» FOUNDATION IN NEW YORK, GIVEN TO OUR JOURNALIST ME-MILL TANUSHI. — Question: Mr. Fran, to begin our conversation, we would like to know what this Foundation represents. Answer: This foundation covers the former communist states of Eastern Europe, in the fields of education, politics and the economy, within the framework of a pluralist system of government, and openly helps create prospects for these states so that they can be included and integrated as well and as quickly as possible into the market economy. Likewise, this (Continued on page 2)

— Without any justification, several hooligan police officers in Shkodër brutalized, arrested and tortured the student movement committee for 24 hours straight, savagely beating them until they lost their sight. — The chairman of the student movement and one of the founders of the DP in Shkodër, Flamur Bucapaj, had to be urgently admitted to hospital after the beating. — Under physical torture, several police officers forcibly demanded that the arrested students shout, «Long live Enver Hoxha», «Long live the Socialist Party!» It had become customary for the Public Order organs to demonstrate their strength against the democratic opposition, but the events of 18 December in Shkodër exceeded the limits of endurance. On the evening of that day, several hooligan police officers forcibly stopped and arrested the student movement committee of «Luigj Gurakuqi» University. Without any legal justification, police brutality went so far that, for 24 hours straight in torture-cell basements, they inhumanely beat students I. Seçi, P. Hyka, H. Berisha, K. Demalia, and especially the chairman of the student movement, one of the founders of the Democratic Party in Shkodër, student Flamur Bucapaj. Under physical torture and blows with rubber truncheons, they tried to force the students, its founders, to «We are with the President» or «Down with S. Berisha and the DP»... Enraged by the students’ unbowed stance in the face of physical torture, the law’s hooligans hurled insults and criminal threats such as «Berisha’s dogs, we’ll wipe you out without leaving a trace» or «we’ll do worse to you than to A. Broci»!!!... The following day, students from the University surrounded the police station, demanding the release of their leaders, who, after being beaten, were urgently taken to the city hospitals. In addition to the many bodily injuries they sustained, some had their eyesight, parts of their faces and their heads damaged. On the morning of 19 December, the police officers who had brutalized the innocent students faced this protest, which was supported by thousands of outraged and angry students protesting the manipulation of Albanian students by the communist police. This painful and shameful act is confirmed by public opinion and by the images and methods of communism—the very things that govern the enforcement of the law in Albania. This shows that the failed partisans of the dictatorial pyramid still hold legal and judicial positions from which they undermine and attack democratic processes in Albania for the purpose of destroying them, and in particular the student political opposition, the gravediggers of communism and Enverian genocide. The fact that the student leader, F. Bucapaj, is also chairman of the DP for the students of Shkodër University proves that the police and their accomplices acted deliberately, with clear political motives for revenge against the student strikers of November, who demanded the dissolution of parliament and the resignation of the communist president. This was conceived as a reminder of 2 April in Shkodër, a warning ahead of the election campaign; and the arrest of N. Hoxha and her colleagues, the «red guards», showed just how far their much-publicized depoliticization and democratization—as touted by «ZP» and the platforms of presidential mouthpieces—actually went. Above all, this barbaric act «showed what a great danger threatens democracy in Albania», forgetting that no dictatorship can violate the dreams of the student youth for democracy, even if thousands of Enverists and Sadamists beat them with clubs and inflict grievous wounds. Fortunately, that time has ended once and for all, and the students who defeated organized dictatorship will know how to destroy, through the web of the power-holding mafia, those who sow terror and bloodshed day after day. These were the reasons why the students, independent political forces and the people of Shkodër themselves demanded without hesitation that the terrorists in blue uniforms be brought before the court of democracy and human innocence. than to A. Broci»!!!... The next day, the University students surrounded the police, demanding the release of their leaders, who, after being brutalized, were rushed to the city hospitals. In addition to the numerous bodily injuries some of them had sustained, their eyesight, parts of their faces and their heads had been damaged. Because of this ugly act, Shkodra experienced the greatest shock and anger. At the students’ urgent request, a round table was convened with representatives of the area’s political and parliamentary parties, trade unions and the Human Rights Protection Forum. The chairman of the district executive committee, Mr. Ali Spahia, also took part. At the meeting, a protest was unanimously signed and addressed to the parliament, the president, the prime minister and the Helsinki Commission, strongly condemning the brutal violence against the student leaders and demanding that within da-

— Of 51 applications from various parties, only 4 were accepted, including the PSDSh. — The Socialist International is determined not to admit any former communist party, regardless of a change of name. On 25 November 1991, the General Meeting of the Governing Council of the Socialist International began its proceedings in Santiago, Chile. The Social Democratic Party of Albania had also been invited to this meeting. Alongside issues of world politics and the role of the Socialist International in them, 51 applications from new political parties around the world to join it were also considered. One of these parties was the Social Democratic Party of Albania. This is a major achievement for this Albanian opposition party, but it is also a victory for Albania’s democratic forces and for the entire country. The Council of the International took a firm position against admitting any former communist party, regardless of changes to their names. One such former communist party is the Socialist Party of Albania, which in this case has had its cards of demagoguery and political staging exposed. The Democratic Party welcomes this important event for the democratic opposition forces in Albania and wishes the Social Democratic Party of Albania further progress, in the interests of the complete victory of democracy in our country. «RD» Correspondent

— TV sketch — With considerable difficulty, we managed to get into the television group working on the New Year’s Eve comedy program. We are sharing with our readers what we learned. The program will open with Namik Dokle’s monologue: «I Almost Became President». Other sketches are based on articles from «ZP», for example: «The PS distances itself from E. Hoxha’s mistakes»; and on speeches by MPs H. Godole, A. Bregu, Xh. Tahiraj, etc. A special part of the program will be taken up by greetings from the PS and R. Alia addressed to the students. A greeting from E. Hoxha from the other world, wishing the opposition well, is also expected. The program will close with an emotional song sung by all the blokmen together: «We wanted democracy, but went chasing after dog fat». The presenter of this program will be the new talent Servet Pëllumbi.

Servet Pëllu-mbi. Sulo Gracedi has made several pleas to the General Investigation Directorate to come and arrest him, but they have fallen on deaf ears. I can’t, says Comrade Sulo, abandon in their old age those who raised me like true parents; otherwise I’m no man. Either come and arrest me now, or I’ll break out of prison and force my way in myself! My freedom without the freedom of mother Nexhi is meaningless! And Alone, a Hero in Battle We learned from poet Hysni Milloshi’s creative plans that he is writing the lyrics for a song to be presented at this year’s festival. Its title is: «And Alone, a Hero in Battle». Comrade Hysni told us that it doesn’t matter to him who composes the music or who sings it. Party Sport We inform sports fans that a boxing match between the PK and the PS will soon take place. This match is extremely important and will continue until one of the opponents wins decisively. The rivals have trained for a period of 50 years. If the PK wins, the PS must relinquish all the assets inherited from the PK1+PP and be outlawed as an independent party. If the PS wins, the PK must cease to exist because it has been transformed and changed from PK1-PP-PS. The equation PK1+PP+PS=PK2 makes no sense. In short, it is a real Russian salad that will be sorted out by the shemriputri match. This match will take place at the Palace of Brigades. The president himself will be the referee, since he is without a party. Notice The editorial office of «RD» informs the Hoxha family that they may collect from this editorial office the sum of 100 new lek as an honorarium for the article published by Mrs. Nexhmije Hoxha in «RD» on 22 June 1991. ARMAND SHKULLAKU

OBSERVATION - 85 people from Sri Lanka and 10 from Bangladesh who set out on a tour of Europe are staying at the «Adriatik» hotel in Durrës. These people, as they told Liam McDorme, a journalist for the American news agency AS, PRESS, set out on a tour of Europe organized by the «Trans National World Travell» company, based in New York, to which they paid 3000 USA for each person. The travel itinerary was initially: Colombo, Bangkok, Jordan-Athens, where they arrived on November 22, and then they were to travel by bus to Strugë. Their destination was Zagreb, from where they were expected to begin traveling by plane to some industrialized European country. But along the way these people were stopped by the police and on November 29 arrived in Durrës. Since that date they have been staying at the «Adriatik» hotel and, by means of a fax, the New York travel company informed our authorities that it would cover all the costs of their stay and would send a special plane to take them to Sri Lanka. Their lengthy stay in our country has aroused suspicion that this is not a tourist trip, but an attempt to emigrate, using Albania as a transit point. It is understandable that they cannot afford to pay 3000 dollars to satisfy a tourist curiosity in our country in the middle of winter. All the more so since in their passports they have only (Continued on page 4)

Assembly for National Unity and Reconciliation The intellectuals listed below met a few days ago. They discussed and debated the Assembly for National Reconciliation and Unity. At the end they issued the following statement: prof. Agim Popa, dr. Arben Sanko, K.sh. Aleksandër Kocani, prof. Besim Daja, prof. Bujar Hoxha, Doc. Hektor Peci, prof. dr. Femi Shahu, doc. Flamur Zeka, dr. Jovan Thereska, doc. Kristo Pano, Bvsh Luan Karcaj, K.sh. Maksim Cikuli, Mentor Verrela, People's Artist Ndrek Luca, dr. Nestor Thereska, dr. Pal Xhumari, dr. Pandeli Sina, People's Artist Robert Ndrenika, doc. Skënder Kola, doc. Skender Durësi, prof. dr. Selami Bekteshi, Master Sifi Bushati, dr. Shefkil Osmani, dr. Shyqyri Subashi, Tefik Çanushi, Telat Ahmeti, prof. Ylli Popa, Ylli Gjinali. The reason prompting us to issue this statement is that this great aspiration of all the genuinely patriotic forces of our nation is being manipulated and instrumentalized for one-sided political gain, through hasty and ill-considered actions that may be misunderstood by the wider public. The effective realization of a genuine pan-Albanian assembly requires, first and foremost, the development of a clear platform which, in our opinion, should meet several basic requirements or criteria: - It must be a platform built on the principles of pluralist democracy, recognition of human rights as defined in the international documents of our time, and the national right of peoples and nations, first and foremost their right to self-determination. - Such a platform cannot be the arbitrary work of a small circle of people, nor the result of work conducted behind closed doors according to the outdated methods and practices of monism; rather, it must be the fruit and result of broad democratic, pluralist discussion and debate, with the effective participation of all genuinely patriotic Albanian forces, including, first and foremost, Albanian political parties at home and abroad. - In addition to comprehensive and broad discussion for drafting a basic platform, convening a genuine pan-Albanian assembly requires reaching an agreement among the various forces on the question of participation in this assembly. (Continued on page 3)

Theoretically, everyone accepts that privatization is the driving force in a market economy. Lectures are given on this subject, people talk about it on TV, and it is written about in the daily newspapers. But what about in practice? Private businesses are treated like stepchildren. This is how the pluralist committee sees them, and this is how the government departments see them. Meanwhile, the government looks on. Why does this happen? We still proceed according to old ideas and concepts. The state supports and backs only state-owned enterprises. This contradicts the logic of the market economy. In a market economy, everyone competes as equals: private businesses and state-owned enterprises. The state plays the role of referee. The only mechanism that connects them is finance. (Read on page 4)

Dear Dr. Berisha, It was a pleasure for me to meet you in Bleckpul during our conference. The crisis unfolding in Yugoslavia is on everyone’s mind, and we are well aware that, despite Croatia’s difficult problems, the position of the Albanians in Kosovo must not be forgotten. For this reason, we have decided to work towards a comprehensive solution to the Yugoslav question, and Lord Carrington has made it possible for all communities in Yugoslavia to express their views to the Hague Conference. You can certainly assure your compatriots that Britain will help and encourage Albania to break free from the chains of the past. I am also convinced that continuing negotiations is the only way to save Kosovo from Croatia’s fate. I very much hope that we will be able to build links between the Conservative Party and the Democratic Party of Albania. I know that we have provided some assistance. I hope that other practical forms of assistance can be identified within the framework of the new political aid foundation, which, as you know, will begin operating in the new year. Yours sincerely, Xhon Mejxher.

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