The State Bank of Albania ordered crates for 180 tons of gold in 1983–87 The question of the gold has aroused great interest, and this is understandable, because this people, who have been enslaved all their lives, wake up one day from this and realize that they are the best people in Europe, and why not the whole world, so much so that today they keep themselves alive only on the alms others throw them. In these circumstances it is only natural that people should ask: What swallowed up the toil and sweat of so many generations? It is important to note that those interested in the question of the gold are not only ordinary people, who believe that the gold exists somewhere (and finding it might ease their misery somewhat), but, as it seems, all political forces are interested in «discovering» the secret of the gold, and first and foremost the president, as became clear from his forceful intervention immediately after Mr. Mekgou’s sensational statement on television. The report of the Parliamentary Commission on this issue revealed that the «ledgers» and other documents have «disappeared» (!), and that even the people directly responsible have no knowledge of the movements and the fate of the gold. (Continued on page 2)

March 22 is the day when Albania will finally decide its fate. It is the day when the sacrifices made by the people over the centuries will be rewarded with the great victory. March 22 will be the dividing line between darkness and light, between the past and tomorrow; it will be the day when God, through the people’s vote, will proclaim his law: justice, kindness, wisdom, love for people and work, freedom, respect, unity. We must all fight for this day, each of us giving a little so that tomorrow we can all enjoy it. First of all, we must fight the dark past. The past has not gone away. It is here among us and is working to regain what it has lost so far. This struggling corpse is a ghost, both savage and out of time. Look, it is coming and looks like a victor. It is coming accompanied by its black legions of dogmas, with the sword of despotism in its hand, with the banner of ignorance and illiteracy. It presses in, as if laughing at us; it threatens us, knocks at our door and tries to throw itself headlong into our food; it terrorizes us through crime, anarchy and theft. It marches on and gives birth to ugly daughters just like itself, leaving them along the roads to wander and [text unclear]. That is why today we are confronting the forces of darkness and all their collaborators. Despotism violates the moral border just as an occupier violates a geographical border. To drive out the tyrant is the same as driving out the Roman, the Turk, the Italian, the German, the Serb. To drive his successors from the political stage today means closing once and for all Albania’s shameful chapter; it means giving the green light to PROGRESS, restoring the truth, returning FREEDOM to its throne, giving power to the SOVEREIGN PEOPLE, restoring Albania’s dignity, and building PEACE. Before us stands a gigantic edifice of prejudices, privileges, dogmas, lies, violence, abuses, injustices and terror. This fortress must be demolished once and for all on MARCH 22! IT MUST, because our children, studying in classrooms without windows or heat, are asking us for a better and more beautiful life. IT MUST, because our parents are asking that our lives not be wasted as theirs were. IT MUST, because Albania demands its honor. IT MUST, because people demand the abolition of privilege over rights. IT MUST, because the NATION demands to live. IT MUST, because the people demand to breathe, demand light, demand sunshine, demand their blood too, demand those who fell! And their voice, gentlemen, listen carefully, because, as Hugo said, it is a «voice that strikes fear and is sacred, a voice made up of the beast’s roar and the word of God, which terrifies the weak and warns the wise, coming at once from below like a lion’s voice and from above like the rumble of lightning». This was the past, the present and the future for which we will vote on March 22 and determine our position in relation to all times. Albania is waiting for this day, so that she may call it a GREAT DAY, a DAY OF CELEBRATION, or else she will be forced to bow her head once again and wait for another day, not knowing when it will come again. But we will not allow this! The guarantee [text unclear] through this is the freedom we have won today, and we will not be deceived any more! Victory will smile upon the People and ALBANIANNESS! BESNIK BOGDANI …in goodness, a little, so that tomorrow we may dark past and become convinced that it, and it alone, is to blame for everything bleak that overwhelmed Albania, for the great poverty we suffer, for the misery in which we live. To become convinced of this, all you need to do is set your memory in motion and call to mind: - The ragged farmer, reduced to a serf on his own land (once the bey would not let peasants keep a chimney, while in the «era of the Party», the secretary of the basic organization would not even let them keep chickens). - The worker, who worked all day with a piece of bread and cheese and went home with his feet wet from the rain. Even so, he had to salute with a raised fist and shout in chorus with the party secretary: «Long live E H and the PPSH», and he was never allowed to shout «Long live Albania» first. - The history and geography teacher, who could never tell the truth about Albania’s history and geography, but turned these subjects into the history of the Party and E H, and a geography that began with Moscow, continued through Beijing and Havana, and ended in Belgrade. - Our military personnel, who had been made to honour the Party’s and E H’s ideals more than Albania. - Our student, who was forced to learn Marxist-Leninist theory by heart and not ask questions or discuss the doubts that arose in his mind; otherwise, he would lose the right to study. - Article 55, which could sentence you to eight years of forced labour in a mine for a word spoken during the murmur of a conversation at three in the morning. - And finally, we must remember our parents, now pensioners, who worked their whole lives, day and night, on Sundays and holidays, and who, after 40 years of work, are afraid to die because they have not managed to put aside a little money for their burial. Remember, O people, and never forget! …with the banner of ignorance and illiteracy. It was as if it laughed at us, threatened us, knocked at our door and tried to put hashish in our food; it terrorized out in the streets to confuse and divide people. It has opened its sack of deceit, lies and terror, and is scattering this refuse everywhere. But we must not despair. What should we, who have faith in the future, be afraid of? There is no longer an emptiness of ideas, just as there is no emptiness of struggle. Those who do not want the future may put everything under their feet. By saying «NO» to progress, they condemn not the future but themselves. With their own hands, they attach a terrible disease to themselves: the past. But what do we want? We want to bring the truth out of the darkness into which it has been put, because truth, like bread, is nourishment. We want to think independently of anyone whatsoever. Thinking is a first-order necessity, and it means feeling human. We want an Albania in which God’s law reigns, where reason stands on the heights and illuminates every corner of the country, where the light is complete, where people welcome and see one another off as in times of prosperity, where Albanians are blessed by God. But today, when we see so much darkness, the question people ask us seems justified: «Will the future ever come?» This question is the confrontation we are facing: on one side are we, the new forces and new ideas, and the people themselves, who have fallen into misery; on the other are those who enjoy power and the good things of this world, those who have privileges, those who have abused their power and office, those who destroyed us, those who lowered Albania’s dignity to such a degree that poor Albania has begun begging for its daily bread around the world, those who forced an entire people onto the roads of exile and left mothers without their children—they are the very same people who today want power again, in order to lead us once more…

Dear curious readers! We know that you pay little or no attention to «ZP». But during this campaign, perhaps it has crossed your minds to find out what our opponents are saying. We urge you, at least until March 22, not to leaf through «ZP», especially at mealtimes, because it stinks. Don’t believe it? Open Thursday’s newspaper, March 5, 1992, issue 13662, the 50th year of publication, and you will find the source of the bad smell: on page 2, in the article «You can’t hide, Keno...», fourth column, line 19; and on page 3, in the article «Election promises—sleds on the snow», again the fourth column, line 10. On the eve of the year 2000, the only daily newspaper of a European nation has turned into a newspaper with... filth. Is this the culture of the Albanian socialists? Is this the future they promise? Is this the kind of change the SP offers its readers? Perhaps you think we are joking. Please find that issue of «ZP» and verify our report. If it proves to be true, then we urge you to take revenge on it in the most cultured way possible: stop reading it! A. R.

REFLECTIONS From the time the (anti-)people’s power was established in our Albania—that is, for nearly half a century—our people have gone from poverty to destitution. The picture today is well known. It is so bad in every respect that one can only say: What should our mother weep for first! We are so poor we lack even bread to eat; so unsafe that even our caps are snatched from our heads in broad daylight, including in the streets of the capital, not to mention the danger to life resulting from the crime that has appeared here and there. Industry is backward, almost destroyed—unemployment in the cities is virtually total. The countryside, too, has many troubles. It received the land, but has no farm equipment, seed, fertilizer, insecticides, herbicides, agro-technical services, veterinary services, and so on. Getting out of this tragic situation requires continuous aid in the form of food supplies; it requires bank credit, fuel oil, fertilizer and favorable conditions; it requires advanced technology and comprehensive political support from the state and the nation. Germany, Italy, France and England offer us all these things, as do the United States of America. They are democratic states and want us, too, to become a truly democratic state. This condition can be fulfilled through the March 22 elections, by giving our votes to democracy. This means electing another government, one that truly belongs to the people, instead of this one, for which “of the people” was merely a propaganda slogan used by the red dictatorship. Someone may ask: Who am I to formulate the course of action for the elections as above? I am a veteran of the National Liberation War, an ordinary Albanian who loves his people and his country very much. I belong to no party, and I assure you that my judgments have not been influenced by any dose of propaganda. NEXHIMI BUALKA …had openly obstructed the rapid time when shops were undersupplied and only the black market, with its exorbitant prices, remained as a source of supplies for the population. In state warehouses, OUTSIDE THE RULES, they also «allowed goods belonging to former enterprise directors, who have now become red businessmen, to be brought in. Furthermore, the local authorities, led by the PS, took no measures to prevent the gatherings and did not adequately support the law-enforcement agencies in carrying out their duties. The spreading of rumours about the opening of warehouses or even… FROM THE TIME WHEN the (anti)people’s regime was established in our Albania, that is, for almost half a century, our is well known. It is so bleak lack even our daily bread; we are so insecure that they snatch our caps from our heads in broad daylight, even on the streets of the capital—not destroyed; unemployment in the cities is nearly land, but has no implements, seed, fertiliser, insecticides, herbicides, agro-technical services, veterinary services, etc. Getting out of this situation, so tragic, requires continued aid in food and other goods; it requires bank loans, fuel oil, fertiliser and favourable conditions; it requires advanced technology and comprehensive political, state and national support. Germany, Italy, France and England offer us all this, countries and want us, too, to become a genuinely democratic state. This condition can be fulfilled through the elections of 22 March, government to carry out the necessary reforms, unlike the government of Mr Ahmeti. beliefs, to turn away from the scenario of crime, theft and robbery and follow the path of democracy. We address the law-enforcement forces: do not allow democracy to be trampled underfoot through this scenario concocted by the forces of the old regime; instead, protect the law, property, peace and public order. Nothing will be able to prevent democracy’s victory! Chairman of the Democratic Party, Prof. Dr. SALI BERISHA …it is no longer a matter of party, but of salvation. A vote for the PD or for the opposition coalition parties is imperative. There is no other alternative and no time for hesitation, just as there is no point in judging that I do not like these or those people in this or these parties. We are not voting for the people the party has, but for the PD itself. Democracy has already given us many benefits since its establishment. The most important among them is freedom of speech and thought. The fear of the Enverian dictatorship, which had brought muteness, disappeared as soon as the PD was established. The people are no longer afraid and no longer keep silent. If the people see that someone, whatever their position in government or elsewhere, is not working for the good of Albania and the whole nation, they will demand that the person be removed—even if that person belongs to any party. The democratic government that emerges from the elections of 22 March will truly belong to the people, and this will no longer be a propaganda slogan, as it was under formulate the election campaign War, an ordinary Albanian who loves his people and any dose of propaganda. NEXHIMI BUALKA RD) +3 92

THE PARTY OF LABOUR AND ENVER HOXHA AMONG US These days an event was held at the International Cultural Centre. I took the admission ticket and glanced at it. At the top it read[?]: «Party of Labour of Albania» and below: «Enver Hoxha Museum». The ticket was numbered 048842. At first I laughed. But then a child reading the ticket’s contents aloud stopped me. Could this be a pre-election oversight? Is it a ploy to remind us of the «immortal» deceased, or has the worthy heir of the PPS and Enver’s loyal follower, the renewed PS, fallen so low that it is conducting election propaganda even through tickets to cultural events, to continue tomorrow with bus tickets and football-match tickets... ANNOUNCEMENT The independent radio station «VOICE OF ALBANIAN YOUTH» IN EXILE, based in New York, announces that during the election period it will broadcast an additional programme: on short waves, 41 metres on frequency 7.450 megahertz Sundays, 8.00–9.00. Wednesdays, 8.30–9.00

THOSE WHO STOLE THE GOLD FROM A POOR PEOPLE THOSE WHO STOLE THE LIVES OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THOSE WHO STOLE THE FREEDOM OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS MORE THOSE WHO STOLE THE JOY, PEACE AND PROSPERITY OF THREE MILLION Will we let them steal our future too?

The DP strongly condemns the scandalous acts that occurred last week in the towns of Pogradec, Lushnjë and Peqin. The attacks on state depots and warehouses and on enterprises caused the country’s crisis-stricken economy millions of lek in further losses, but, most tragically, they also cost human lives. The local authorities bear grave responsibility for these events; they openly neglected the prompt and fair distribution of food and other goods, at a time when the shops were unfunded and the only remaining source of supplies for the population was the black market, with its even higher prices. At state depots, people were allowed to enter and take things unlawfully, OUTSIDE THE RULES. The accusation made against the opposition, and especially the DP, by the socialist power-holders is unacceptable, even laughable. It is just like a thief shouting, «Stop the thief!» We demand that the government of Mr. Ahmeti urgently take preventive measures. We call on all decent people, regardless of their political convictions, to stay away from the scenario of crime, theft and looting, and to follow the path of democracy. We address the forces of order, urging them to