PING-PONG THE RECENT MEETINGS BETWEEN THE GREEK SOCIALISTS AND THE ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS INCITED RETALIATION AND THE MASS EXPULSION OF ALBANIAN EMIGRANTS FROM GREECE, A POLITICAL SCENARIO COOKED UP BY MR. NANO WITH MR. PAPANDREOU. THE SOCIALISTS SEEK VOTES AT THE EXPENSE OF THE EMIGRANTS. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CALLS FOR AN END TO THIS OPERATION, INCITED AND ORGANIZED BY THE SP. AZEM HAJDARI

Today «Rilindja Demokratike» celebrates its first anniversary. The first opposition newspaper was born together with the Democratic Party. It was born amid hardships, at the country’s historic moment when the winds of the powerful student movement were blowing and pluralism appeared on Albanian soil. Albanian readers had long been waiting for such a newspaper, a newspaper whose mission was to tell the truth. But could the truth be tolerated in a country where the communist dictatorship had survived for 45 years? That is why everyone attacked «Rilindja Demokratike». The Political Bureau cursed it. The State Security sought it out. Ramiz Alia himself fought it. All of them, in chorus around «ZP», tried to shut down the newspaper of truth as soon as it was born. The Stalinist state did not provide the newspaper with even a cart or a table to work at. There were difficulties printing it. A mountain of obstacles stood in the way of distributing the newspaper. There are villages that still do not receive «Rilindja Demokratike». In January, February and March, reports of the newspaper being burned, torn up or thrown into the river were commonplace. A true inquisition, at the end of this century, in the heart of Europe! Although there are many requests to make the newspaper a daily, it continues to come out twice a week; although readers have asked for the print run to be increased, it has been fixed at 69,000. The same has not happened to «ZP», even though its circulation is three times smaller than last year. Recently, according to a scenario cooked up in advance, the excuse given instead was a shortage of newsprint. For a whole month there was no paper for printing, an ugly and unprecedented episode in the history of the contemporary press. Cuts to the print run and failure to distribute the newspaper are commonplace now, not only in the countryside but also in the city. Citizens wander up and down trying to find the newspaper. «Rilindja Demokratike» has begun its second year, but faces the greatest danger of not being printed—because its supply of paper is not regular. It may not be distributed because the Government looks on passively. But the socialist schemers’ desire to obstruct the truth is in vain, especially now that new elections are being prepared. Many friends from all over the world, and first and foremost from the USA, have offered help to the opposition press. Soon, a contract will be implemented to bring 500 tons of paper from an American foundation. Likewise, an American modern printing house for opposition newspapers will be inaugurated by June. «Rilindja Demokratike», which was born together with the Democratic Party and has been its sole tribune, has supported and continues to support every democratic reform that serves to eliminate communism and the people’s misery. It has fought and continues to fight for the affirmation of the new person. It has fought and will fight against corruption, against those who, after relinquishing political power, are seizing economic power; against censorship; and for the affirmation of a new attitude toward people, society, the law and the world. Readers have the right to expect much from «Rilindja Demokratike». It should be tougher toward bureaucracy, whose roots are still deep. It should be more resolute in the fight against corruption, which hangs over people’s heads like a sword. It should pay more attention to the countryside—because the overwhelming majority of the population lives there, because the communist dictatorship left its deepest marks there, and because democratic processes in the countryside need greater support from everyone, first and foremost from the intelligentsia. «RD» must not sit idle when it sees the prices of everyday goods soar into the stratosphere, or when bureaucracy obstructs the privatization of the economy. Journalists and contributors must never forget the advice of Prof. Rexhep Qosja in his greeting sent to «Rilindja Demokratike»: «Write accurately and briefly, because we have been tied down by long party reports, conclusions and resolutions.»

A LETTER FROM THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS OF FUSHË-ARRËS — GRATITUDE AND RESPECT TO MR. SALI BERISHA — A LETTER FROM THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS OF FUSHË-ARRËS WHY DON’T WE VOTE FOR THE SP? — GRATITUDE AND RESPECT TO MR. SALI BERISHA — Mr. Sali! We are writing to you, deeply moved by the fact that you came to offer condolences to our families for the loss of our loved ones. Our people, victims of the communist crematorium, were not burned; their lives were… [?] thieves. Someone else incited and organized them; someone else created this situation. Everyone identified this anonymous culprit. It is the party in power, the Socialist Party, the thieving party that for nearly half a century stole the soul, judgment, land, livestock and everything else from the Albanian people. Our loved ones, who lost their lives, also became victims of this strategy, as did other citizens. Seeing great poverty in homes and shops, while the warehouses and the black market supplied by those warehouses were overflowing, they fell victim to the communist trap, with scenarios skillfully prepared by the communist mafia to show the people what democracy brings: theft, destruction, rape, murder, instability and insecurity. It is astonishing, but no coincidence, that on that day there were rows of cadres of the party in power in front of the warehouses, leading the entry into them (since their doors had neither bolts nor locks). Mr. Sali! Most of us family members whom you came to console do not belong to political parties. But we love democracy and the Democratic Party above all because they clarified our minds and restored our lost judgment. Today, seeing the present reality and the situation that has been created, most of the people (including honest former communists) have placed their hopes in the DP. We admire your courageous and manly, wise and principled stance at the Government meeting, calling for the withdrawal of the DP representatives from this Government. Without going into the details of its work, this Government, which failed to keep its own citizens in the country, no longer had the moral right to govern; nor does the S(P)P have that right, given its half-century of sins, which continue to grow. Although we did not vote for the DP on 31 March, that happened because of the pressures and manipulations of the PP; but now everything has become clear, and we owe this to you, which is why we expect much from you. In conclusion, we thank you with our deeply suffering hearts for the respect you showed. It is worth noting that your visit, your humane gesture, was reported neither in the press nor on RTV, which shows that you did this neither to be seen nor for an election campaign, but simply because your heart felt our pain. We understand you now. With great respect, from the families of the victims of 9 December in the town of Fushë-Arrëz

REPORTAGE A year has passed since, for the first time, the fifty-year accumulation of oppression appeared in black and white. Dates do not matter much, nor do anniversaries. Perhaps not everyone remembers them accurately. Today, a year later, when you ask different people, they tell you, “«Rilindja Demokratike» came out when we needed it; it came out at a time when the dictatorship had bared its teeth and raised its rubber truncheons.” Those six pages of paper, first published under the title RD, had something magical and unsettling about them. In them were combined[?] wonder, shyness, long waiting, joy, reactions to the articles that had been written... They were the enthusiastic days of December when Preç Zogaj invited us to contribute to the first opposition newspaper (which still had no title at the time). Everything was still a project. Together with my two friends Blendi Fevziu and Ben Blushi, I took part in all the meetings where plans were made for a new newspaper in every sense. As young people passionate about writing, our dream had always been to have a free newspaper. We were given that opportunity, but this time there were many passions and many generations coming and going on our ground. We worked while we waited. Our waiting was like the audience waiting in a hall before a hypnotist who was about to conjure up something. We were to free ourselves from the hypnosis of waiting by staying up through the night into 5 January. The printing-press workers were waiting for us at the door. It was unquestionably thanks to them that «RD» came out on 5 January. It was thanks to the wonderful workers Flamur Këmbora, Bashkim Lusha, Sokrat Xhovara and Firdes Saraçi that our six pages came to life that night. Work began immediately. Perhaps for the first time, those workers, who had printed millions of letters and thousands of words, were not working mechanically. They read the articles attentively and then set their fingers on the linotype keyboard. Frok Çupi, Preç Zogaj, Aurel Plasari and others came to the printing house in the only car the DP had. There we saw that, technically, our newspaper could not look different from the others. Nevertheless, its contents warmed us with hope for success. The talented page designer Mentor Shehu tried, as best he could, to do something distinctive. The workers were patient. Midnight was passing, and although they had not eaten and had been on their feet for hours, they kept setting the lead that would be printed the next day on thousands of pages and in thousands of minds. Passion triumphed over exhaustion. We were all anxious. We kept correcting, shortening, mixing up the positions of letters... All this intensity crashed against the cold walls of the printing house and our empty stomachs, mingling with the lead dust (continued on page 6) ARMANDO SHKULLAKU

The stormy year 1991 lowered its curtain to make way for another year: the New Year 1992, a year carrying the hopes, faith and convictions of Albanians that they will finally break away from the tyrannical communism that left us forever at Europe’s tail. These hopes and this faith were awakened and cultivated in the consciousness of the people at large precisely by the year we are leaving behind, which, despite countless difficulties, will remain in history. It will remain in history not as one of the “rosy” years of the so-called bright period of triumphant socialism, but as the year that shattered the myth of the workers’ party-state, that exposed the great wounds and sorrows of the Albanian people, carefully masked by the communist dictatorship; it will remain in history as the year freedom was restored to those persecuted for their conscience, that laid the foundations for the national reconciliation of Albanians throughout the world, that dealt a mortal blow to the communist State Security, which served the red leaders’ clique at the expense of the impoverished people; it will remain in history as the year of the first pluralist elections, which brought DP deputies and opposition deputies into parliament. The Democratic Party, like all Albanians, rejoices in the broad gains of this year, which ended communist deception and opened the gates to a new European future. We know: the economic crisis continues to haunt our families like a bogeyman. The communist power-holders—the losers in the democratic game of pluralism—are doing everything they can to obstruct and drag out reforms for the future; they are doing everything they can to spread pessimism and a crisis of confidence, so that this country will slide ever further toward the abyss and nostalgia for Enver will be revived. Their baseless plan will fail. Despite the shortages, at this New Year Albanians will once again celebrate freedom of expression; the farmer will explain what he has received and is receiving; the worker has reason to look toward the future with hope; some intellectuals have been liberated; the youth brought ...[?] new things; our newspaper, like a matryoshka, free and liberated in its thought, says the beautiful Albanian word: “Gëzuar!” To this greeting we add our joy, faith and conviction that the people have finally decided to overcome the communist nightmare.

KORÇË On 27 December 1991, Mr. Eduard Selami, secretary of the DP, accompanied by the chairman of the DP branch in Korçë, Mr. Petrika Minga, held a meeting at the town cinema with DP members and supporters. “Communism is leaving the home and democracy is coming in.” At all the meetings, Mr. Eduard Selami and Mr. Azem Hajdari were seen off by the participants with the conviction that democracy would win. He competently and logically explained the reasons for the DP ministers’ withdrawal from the Government of Stability, the statements by Mr. Neritan Ceka and G. Pashko, and the DP’s political course during its first year. Through the many questions put to him from the audience, he convincingly clarified all the issues raised. The atmosphere was very warm and enthusiastic despite the bitter cold. Then Mr. E. Selami also met with DP members and supporters from the village of Vishocicë. The hall, packed to capacity, showed not only enthusiasm but also affection for the DP. MALIQ That same day, the vice-chairman of the Democratic Party, Mr. Azem Hajdari, accompanied by the secretary of the DP branch of the Korçë district, Mr. Bahri Brezhu, held a meeting with DP members and supporters and residents of the town of Maliq and the villages of Drithas and Sovjan. Mr. Azem Hajdari spoke to those present about what the Democratic Party has done from its formation to the present, and about its principled and resolute positions in overthrowing communism and fully establishing democracy. The meeting was interrupted by the participants’ many questions, turning into a free and warm discussion. The questions, which are signs of the concerns that are being caused, certainly called for answers. “The concerns of ...[?]” … And Hajdari were seen off by the participants, who expressed their confidence that democracy would triumph and Albania would be rebuilt. TIRANA On Saturday, 28 December 1991, residents of neighborhoods 41, 42 and 43 in the city of Tirana met with their representative for the electoral district, Mr. Genc Ruli. The meeting, which lasted more than two and a half hours, was candid and aroused great interest among the voters. Mr. Ruli gave a brief overview of the PD’s [?] activities, focusing especially on those of the previous six months. He analyzed the work done during this period by the Democratic ministers in the Government of Stability. “The formula of the Government of Stability was not the right one,” Mr. Ruli continued, “and instead of helping to solve the people’s pressing problems, we indirectly and unintentionally served the PS. Despite the appointment of Democratic ministers to several ministries, the entire structure of those departments remained communist. Our ministers were obstructed at every step of their work by people who, more than anything else, were interested in solving their own problems, not those of the nation. They wanted to wage a major fight against corruption, which had flourished fully, but we achieved little. Communism was and remains a cancer that must be operated on. The coming elections must perform this operation. “We,” Mr. Genc Ruli stressed, “are looking with concern from the edge of the abyss, at the point where we currently find ourselves. I have complete confidence that we will climb the uphill stretch just as quickly. Our people are capable and intelligent. And the proof of this is abundant: the PD during this year. No opposition party in Eastern Europe has managed, within a year of its birth, to move from a group of people ...[?] (continued on page 2)

On the occasion of the anniversary of the first issue of the newspaper «Rilindja Demokratike», please accept our most sincere congratulations as colleagues and fighters for eradicating communism from Albania. Your newspaper was the first swallow heralding free speech after a cruel fifty-year dictatorship. Your articles were golden rays of hope for democracy in Albania, and they played an extraordinarily important role in raising the people’s awareness. Where it was distributed, it proved its effectiveness: democracy won. May you always remain a newspaper beloved by the people, a free newspaper, a tribune of truth, for which we, together with you, are also striving.